Lesson 4.9 - Carbon Allotropes

Allotropes

An allotrope is a form of an element.

Many elements, such as carbon, can be structured in different ways.

These structures are called allotropes, and they change the properties of the substance.

There are 4 main types of carbon allotrope:

Each have different properties and structure.

In a diamond, each carbon atom is bonded to 4 other carbon atoms.

They are bonded together in a giant covalent structure, meaning the covalent bonds are very strong.

This means that diamond is very hard and has a high melting and boiling point.

In graphite, carbon atoms form bonds with 3 other carbon atoms.

This forms layers of hexagonal rings.

There are no covalent bonds between the layers. This means that the layers can easily slide past each other.

Graphite can conduct electricity. This is because it has a delocalised electron and is free to move and carry charge.

Graphite shares some properties with metals, despite bonding covalently.

Graphene is just a single layer of graphite.

It has the same structure as a layer of graphite - 3 bonds in a hexagonal structure.

However, because it is just a single bond, there are no layers which can slide over each other. This makes graphene incredibly strong.

It is very useful in electronics and composites due to its properties.

Fullerenes are hollow carbon allotropes.

They are usually based on hexagonal rings (like graphene / graphite) but can sometime have different structures.

They are often used for drug delivery and other medical uses, due to their extremely small size but larger volume.

Carbon nanotubes are a type of fullerene with a large length (in relation to the diameter).

They are useful for nanotechnology and electronics.

Last updated 2 years ago