Carbon it is nonmetallic and tetravalentmaking four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds.

There are three naturally occurring isotopes, with 12C and 13C being stable

Diamond The crystal structure of diamond is an infinite threedimensional array of carbon atoms, each of which forms a structure in which each of the bonds makes equal angles with its neighbours. If the ends of the bonds are connected, the structure is that of a tetrahedron, a three-sided pyramid of four faces (including the base). Every carbon atom is covalently bonded at the four corners of the tetrahedron to four other carbon atoms.

Graphite The crystal structure of graphite amounts to a parallel stacking of layers of carbon atoms. Within each layer the carbon atoms lie in fused hexagonal rings that extend infinitely in two dimensions. The stacking pattern of the layers is ABABA . . . ; that is, each layer separates two identically oriented layers.

Differences Diamond is highly transparent, while graphite is opaque and black. Diamond is among the hardest materials known, while graphite is soft enough to form a streak on paper (hence its name, from the Greek word "to write"). Diamond has a very low electrical conductivity, while graphite is a very good conductor. Under normal conditions, diamond has the highest thermal conductivity of all known materials.

Some allotropes of carbon: a) diamond; b) graphite; c) lonsdaleite; df) fullerenes (C60, C540, C70); g) amorphous carbon; h) carbon nanotube.