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Concept
Allotropes of carbon
Summary
Carbon is capable of forming many allotropes (structurally different forms of the same element) due to its valency. Well-known forms of carbon include diamond and graphite. In recent decades, many more allotropes have been discovered and researched, including ball shapes such as buckminsterfullerene and sheets such as graphene. Larger-scale structures of carbon include nanotubes, nanobuds and nanoribbons. Other unusual forms of carbon exist at very high temperatures or extreme pressures. Around 500 hypothetical 3‐periodic allotropes of carbon are known at the present time, according to the Samara Carbon Allotrope Database (SACADA).
Atomic carbon and diatomic carbon
Under certain conditions, carbon can be found in its atomic form. It can be formed by vaporizing graphite, by passing large electric currents to form a carbon arc under very low pressure: in vacuum arc. It is extremely reactive, but it is an intermediate product used in the creation of carbenes.
Diatomic carbon can also be found under certain conditions. It is often detected via spectroscopy in extraterrestrial bodies, including comets and certain stars.
Diamond
Diamond is a well-known allotrope of carbon. The hardness, extremely high refractive index, and high dispersion of light make diamond useful for industrial applications and for jewellery. Diamond is the hardest known natural mineral. This makes it an excellent abrasive and makes it hold polish and luster extremely well. No known naturally occurring substance can cut or scratch diamond, except another diamond. In diamond form, carbon is one of the costliest elements.
The crystal structure of diamond is a face-centred cubic lattice having eight atoms per unit cell to form a diamond cubic structure. Each carbon atom is covalently bonded to four other carbons in a tetrahedral geometry. These tetrahedrons together form a 3-dimensional network of six-membered carbon rings in the chair conformation, allowing for zero bond angle strain. The bonding occurs through sp3 hybridized orbitals to give a C-C bond length of 154 pm.
Official source
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