Allotropes of Carbon - Bonding

and Properties

ALLOTROPES OF CARBON AND EXAMPLES - DEFINITION

Carbon shows allotropic forms like Diamond, graphite and Buckminsterfullerene.

STRUCTURE OF DIAMOND - DEFINITION

1. Diamond has three dimensional structure.

2. Each carbon atom is bonded to four other carbon atoms, which occupy four corners of a tetrahedron and each of these
carbon four carbon atoms are bonded to four more carbon atoms.
3. Such a pattern is repeated in the entire crystal atoms.

PROPERTIES AND USES OF DIAMOND - DEFINITION

Diamond has high density of 3.51 gcm− 3 due to three dimensional giant structure.It is a non-conductor of
electricity. Diamond is the hardest substance on the earth. It is used as an abrasive for sharpening hard tools, in making
dyes and in the manufacture of tungsten filaments for electric light bulbs.

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STRUCTURE OF GRAPHITE - DEFINITION

1.Graphite has a two dimensional sheet like structure and the sheets may be considered as fused system of planar
hexagonal rings.
2. In the planar hexagonal rings, each carbon atom is bonded to three other carbon atom.

PROPERTIES AND USES OF GRAPHITE - DEFINITION

Graphite contain carbon atom which shows sp2 hybridization, hence, it become good conductor of heat and electricity. It
is very soft and slippery and for this reason, graphite is used as lubricant in machine running at high temperature, where
oil cannot be used as lubricant.

FULLERENES - DEFINITION

1. Fullerene is a newly discovered allotrope of carbon which contain soccer ball shaped cluster of carbon atoms C60 .
STRUCTURE OF FULLERENES - DEFINITION
Fullerenes are cage like molecules. C6 0 molecules has a shape like soccer ball and called Buckminsterfullerene. It contain 20
six membered ring is fused with six or five membered ring. All the carbon atoms are sp2 hybridized.

PROPERTIES AND USES OF FULLERENE - DEFINITION

1. Fullerene being covalent are soluble in organic solvents.
2. They react with group 1 alkali metals, forming solids such as K35 C60 , which behave as super conductor below 18 K.
3. Fullerene have many nanotechnological applications

DIAMOND, GRAPHITE AND BUCKMINISTER FULLERENE - DEFINITION

1. Buckminster Fullerene is one type of fullerene. Fullerenes are made from carbon atoms joined together to make balls,
cages or tubes of carbon. The molecules of Buckminster Fullerene are spherical and are also known as 'buckyballs' formula
C60.
Buckminster Fullerene is a black solid although it's deep red when in solution in petrol. The tube fullerenes are called
nanotubes which are very strong.
2. Diamond is another allotrpic form of carbon in which carbon is tetrahedrally arranged and it is shiny, lustrous , and non
conductor of heat and electricity.
3. Graphite is an alotrope of carbon in which carbon atoms are hexagon-ally placed to form network structure.It is blackish
, slippery and conductor of heat and electricity.

AMORPHOUS ALLOTROPIC FORM OF CARBON - DEFINITION

Those allotropic form of carbon which are not present in crystalline form are called as Amorphous allotropic form of
carbon. Charcoal and lampblack is the example of this forms.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF CARBON - DEFINITION
Carbon when heated in oxygen forms carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. CO is neutral but CO2 is acidic in nature.
Carbon is not affected by water and combines with halogens to form both simple and mixed halides.

GRAPHITE - EXAMPLE
The ability to leave marks on paper and other objects gave graphite its name, given in 1789 by German mineralogist
Abraham Gottlob Werner.

CHARACTERISTIC OFGRAPHENE - EXAMPLE

Chemical. Graphene is the only form of carbon in which every atom is available for chemical reaction from two sides ).
Atoms at the edges of a graphene sheet have special reactivity. Graphene has the highest ratio of edge atoms of any
allotrope.

CRYSTALLINE AND NON-CRYSTALLINE CARBONS - EXAMPLE

The crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules or ions) are arranged in a highly
ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions eg. diamond and amorphous
carbon is free, reactive carbon that does not have any crystalline structure