Allotropes of Carbon

Question 1

Is Diamond hard?

Answer 1

Yes

Diamond has strong covalent bonds which takes a lot of energy to break and give diamond a very high melting point.

It doesn’t conduct electricity because no free electrons or ions.

Question 2

What are Fullerenes?

Answer 2

Molecules of carbon shaped like closed tubes or hollow balls.

Mainly made up of Carbon atoms arranged in hexagons, but can also contain pentagons (rings of five carbon atoms) or heptagons (rings of seven carbon atoms).

Fullerene structure forms around another atom or molecule, which is then trapped inside. This could be used to deliver a drug into a body.

Question 3

What is Graphene?

Answer 3

Graphene is one layer of Graphite

Sheet of carbon atoms joined together in hexagons.

One atom thick, making it 2D

network of covalent bonds makes it very strong. It’s also incredibly light

It contains delocalised electrons so can conduct electricity through the whole structure.

Question 4

What is Graphite?

Answer 4

Each carbon atom only forms 3 covalent bonds.

No covalent bonds between the layers, only held together weakly, so they’re free to move over each other.

Soft and slippery, so it’s ideal as a lubricating material.

High melting point - covalent bonds in the layers need loads of energy to break.

3 out of each carbon’s four outer electrons are used in bonds, so each atom has 1 electron that’s delocalised and can move

So can conduct electricity and thermal energy