Boron Group - Characteristics

Characteristics

Like other groups, the members of this family show patterns in their electron configuration, especially the outermost shells, resulting in trends in chemical behavior:

Z	Element	No. of electrons per shell
5	boron	2, 3
13	aluminium	2, 8, 3
31	gallium	2, 8, 18, 3
49	indium	2, 8, 18, 18, 3
81	thallium	2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 3
113	ununtrium	2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 18, 3

The boron group is notable for trends in the electron configuration, as shown above, and in some of its elements' characteristics. Boron differs from the other group members in its hardness, refractivity and reluctance to participate in metallic bonding. An example of a trend in reactivity is boron's tendency to form reactive compounds with hydrogen.