Is Hydrogen a Metal or Non-Metal? What You Need To Know About This Natural Gas

Hydrogen is a chemical element with the symbol "H." It is a gas, but some confuse it with metal because it conducts caloric like metals do.

Is Hydrogen a Metal?

There are 118 recognized chemical elements, commonly called compounds, that we cannot degrade through non-nuclear reactions. Metals, non-metals, and metalloids are the three basic categories these elements fall into.

Since hydrogen has the same ns1 electron configuration as alkali metals, it is a non-metal and is positioned above the group in the periodic chart. It differs significantly from the alkali metals because it produces cations (H+) less readily than the other alkali metals.

The fact that hydrogen can behave like an alkali metal or a halogen non-metal is the key factor that perplexes students and makes it difficult to determine whether hydrogen is a metal or a non-metal. As a result, on the periodic table, hydrogen is positioned above halogens or alkali metals.

Alkali metals and halogen are both very different from hydrogen, though. Hydrogen is a non-metal that forms a diatomic molecule in a gaseous phase based on its physical and chemical properties. In contrast to non-metals, hydrogen may combine with other compounds to develop positively and negatively charged ions.

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Why Do People Confuse Hydrogen As Metal?

Physical and chemical characteristics unify all metals, making it simple to tell them apart from non-metals. Knowing the essential features makes determining if an element is a metal or non-metal simple.

The physical characteristics of metals include their ability to conduct heat and electricity, their high density, and their high melting and boiling points. They are also solid at room temperature, have luster, are hard and resistant to external forces, are malleable and ductile, and have high tensile strength.

Metals have a very low electronegativity. Some metals corrode when exposed to air, metals burn in oxygen to make metal oxides, soluble metals dissolve in water to form metal hydroxides, and metals react with acids to form salts.

On the other hand, the physical characteristics of non-metal include lower melting and boiling temperatures than metals, being solids, liquids, or gases at room temperature, being dull and non-lustrous, transmitting heat and electricity very inefficiently, lacking any malleability or ductility, and being brittle.

The chemical characteristics of non-metals include high electronegativity, high ionization energies, the formation of covalent bonds when reacting with other substances and obtaining electrons, the ability to serve as oxidizing agents, and the ability to generate non-metallic acidic oxides when reacting with oxygen.

As a gaseous material, hydrogen is a diatomic molecule under normal circumstances. Hydrogen has an electronegativity of 2.2, which is comparatively low compared to other non-metals. Also, hydrogen can share or absorb its electrons when reacting with other chemicals.

Therefore, hydrogen can behave like an alkali metal or a halogen non-metal in chemical processes. If the pressure is sufficiently high, hydrogen can also undergo phase transitions from a gas to a liquid to a solid and exhibit metallic characteristics.