View source for Allotropes of carbon



[[Image:Eight Allotropes of Carbon.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Eight allotropes of [[carbon]]: 
a) [[Diamond]],  
b) [[Graphite]], 
c) [[Lonsdaleite]], 
d) C<sub>60</sub> ([[Buckminsterfullerene]] or [[buckyball]]), 
e) C<sub>540</sub>, 
f) C<sub>70</sub>, 
g) [[Amorphous carbon]], and 
h) single-walled [[carbon nanotube]] or [[buckytube]].]]

This is a list of the [[allotropes]] of [[carbon]].

==Diamond==
{{main|Diamond}}

'''Diamond''' is one of the best known [[allotropy|allotropes]] of carbon, whose hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful for industrial applications and jewelry. Diamond is the hardest known natural [[mineral]], which makes it an excellent abrasive and makes it hold polish and lustre extremely well.

The market for industrial-grade diamonds operates much differently from its gem-grade counterpart. Industrial diamonds are valued mostly for their hardness and heat conductivity, making many of the [[gemology|gemological]] characteristics of diamond, including clarity and color, mostly irrelevant. This helps explain why 80% of mined diamonds (equal to about 100 million carats or 20,000&nbsp;kg annually), unsuitable for use as gemstones and known as ''[[bort]]'', are destined for industrial use. In addition to mined diamonds, synthetic diamonds found industrial applications almost immediately after their invention in the 1950s; another 400 million carats (80,000&nbsp;kg) of synthetic diamonds are produced annually for industrial use&mdash;nearly four times the mass of natural diamonds mined over the same period.  

The dominant industrial use of diamond is in cutting, drilling (drill bits), grinding (diamond edged cutters), and polishing. Most uses of diamonds in these technologies do not require large diamonds; in fact, most diamonds that are gem-quality can find an industrial use. Diamonds are embedded in drill tips or saw blades, or ground into a powder for use in grinding and polishing applications. Specialized applications include use in laboratories as containment for high pressure experiments (see [[diamond anvil]]), high-performance [[bearing (mechanical)|bearings]], and limited use in specialized [[window]]s.

With the continuing advances being made in the production of synthetic diamond, future applications are beginning to become feasible. Garnering much excitement is the possible use of diamond as a [[semiconductor]] suitable to build [[integrated circuit|microchip]]s from, or the use of diamond as a [[heat sink]] in [[electronics]]. Significant research efforts in [[Japan]], [[Europe]], and the [[United States]] are under way to capitalize on the potential offered by diamond's unique material properties, combined with increased quality and quantity of supply starting to become available from synthetic diamond manufacturers.

Each carbon atom in a diamond is covalently bonded to four other carbons in a tetrahedron.  These tetrahedrons together form a 3-dimensional network of puckered six-membered rings of atoms. This stable network of  [[covalent bonds]] and the three dimensional arrangement of bonds is the reason that diamond is so strong.

==Graphite==
{{main|Graphite}}
'''Graphite''' (named by [[Abraham Gottlob Werner]] in [[1789]], from the Greek γράφειν: "to draw/write", for its use in pencils) is one of the most common allotropes of carbon. Unlike diamond, graphite is an electrical conductor, and can be used, for instance, as the material in the electrodes of an electrical arc lamp. Graphite holds the distinction of being the most stable form of carbon under [[standard conditions]]. Therefore, it is used in thermochemistry as the [[standard state]] for defining the [[standard enthalpy of formation|heat of formation]] of carbon compounds.

Graphite is able to [[conduct]] [[electricity]], due to [[delocalization]] of the [[pi bond]] [[electrons]] above and below the planes of the carbon atoms. These electrons are free to move, so are able to conduct electricity. However, the electricity is only conducted along the plane of the layers. In diamond all four outer electrons of each carbon atom are 'localised' between the atoms in covalent bonding. The movement of electrons is restricted and diamond does not conduct an electric current. In graphite, each carbon atom uses only 3 of its 4 outer energy level electrons in covalently bonding to three other carbon atoms in a plane. Each carbon atom contributes one electron to a delocalised system of electrons that is also a part of the chemical bonding. The delocalised electrons are free to move throughout the plane. For this reason, graphite conducts electricity along the planes of carbon atoms, but does not conduct in a direction at right angles to the plane.

Graphite powder is used as a dry [[lubricant]]. Although it might be thought that this industrially important property is due entirely to the [[cleavage (crystal)|loose interlamellar coupling]] between sheets in the structure, in fact in a [[vacuum]] environment (such as in technologies for use in [[Outer space|space]]), graphite was found to be a very poor lubricant. This fact led to the discovery that graphite's lubricity is due to [[adsorbed]] air and water between the layers, unlike other layered dry lubricants such as [[molybdenum disulfide]]. Recent studies suggest that an effect called [[superlubricity]] can also account for this effect.

When a large number of crystallographic defects bind these planes together, graphite loses its lubrication properties and becomes what is known as [[pyrolytic carbon]], a useful material in blood-contacting implants such as [[prosthetic]] [[heart valve]]s. 

Natural and crystalline graphites are not often used in pure form as structural materials due to their shear-planes, brittleness and inconsistent mechanical properties.

In its pure glassy (isotropic) synthetic forms, [[pyrolytic graphite]] and [[carbon fiber]]  graphite is an extremely strong, heat-resistant (to 3000 °C) material, used in reentry shields for missile nosecones, [[solid rocket]] engines, [[Pebble bed reactor|high temperature reactors]], [[brake]] shoes and [[electric motor]] brushes.

Intumescent or expandable graphites are used in fire seals, fitted around the perimeter of a fire door. During a fire the graphite intumesces (expands and chars) to resist fire penetration and prevent the spread of fumes. A typical start expansion temperature (SET) is between 150 and 300 degrees Celsius.

Density: its specific gravity is 2.3 which makes it lighter than diamond.

Effect of heat: it is the most stable allotrope of carbon. At a temperature of 2500 degree Celsius, it can be transformed into diamond. At about 700 degree Celsius it burns in pure oxygen forming carbon dioxide.

Chemical activity: it is slightly more reactive than diamond. This is because the reactants are able to penetrate between the hexagonal layers of carbon atoms in graphite. It is unaffected by ordinary solvents, dilute acids, or fused alkalis. However, chromic acid oxidises it to carbon dioxide.

==Amorphous carbon==
{{main|Amorphous carbon}}
'''Amorphous carbon''' is the name used for [[carbon]] that does not have any [[crystal]]line structure.  As with all [[Amorphous solid|glassy]] materials, some short-range order can be observed, but there is no long-range pattern of atomic positions.  

While entirely amorphous carbon can be made, most of the material described as "amorphous" actually contains crystallites of [[graphite]] [http://gltrs.grc.nasa.gov/reports/1996/CR-198469.pdf] or [[diamond]] [http://www.iupac.org/goldbook/D01673.pdf] with varying amounts of amorphous carbon holding them together, making them technically polycrystalline or nanocrystalline materials.  Commercial carbon also usually contains significant quantities of other elements, which may form crystalline impurities.

[[Coal]] and [[soot]] are both informally called amorphous carbon.  However, both are products of [[pyrolysis]], which does not produce true amorphous carbon under normal conditions. The coal industry divides coal up into various grades depending on the amount of carbon present in the sample compared to the amount of impurities. The highest grade, [[Anthracite coal|anthracite]], is about 90 percent carbon and 10% other elements.  [[Bituminous coal]] is about 75-90 percent carbon, and [[lignite]] is the name for coal that is around 55 percent carbon.

==Buckminsterfullerenes==
{{Nanomat}}
{{main|Fullerenes}}
The ''buckminsterfullerenes'', or usually just ''fullerenes'' for short, were discovered in 1985 by a team of scientists from Rice University and the University of Sussex, three of whom were awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They are named for the resemblance of their alliotropic structure to the geodesic structures devised by the scientist and architect [[Buckminster Fuller|Richard Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller]]. Fullerenes are molecules of varying sizes composed entirely of carbon, which take the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube.

As of the early twenty-first century, the chemical and physical properties of fullerenes are still under heavy study, in both pure and applied research labs. In April 2003, fullerenes were under study for potential medicinal use — binding specific antibiotics to the structure to target resistant bacteria and even target certain cancer cells such as melanoma.

====Buckyballs====
Spherical fullerenes are also called buckyballs. 


====Carbon nanotubes====
{{main|Carbon nanotube}}

Carbon nanotubes, also called buckytubes, are cylindrical [[carbon]] [[molecules]] with novel properties that make them potentially useful in a wide variety of applications (e.g., nano-electronics, [[optics]], [[materials]] applications, etc.). They exhibit extraordinary strength, unique [[electricity|electrical]] properties, and are efficient conductors of [[heat]]. [[Inorganic nanotubes]] have also been synthesized.
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:NanobudComputations70%.jpg|350px|thumb|right|An computer model of a [[NanoBud]].]] -->
A nanotube (also known as a buckytube) is a member of the [[fullerene]] structural family, which also includes [[Buckyball#Buckminsterfullerene|buckyballs]]. Whereas buckyballs are [[spherical]] in shape, a nanotube is [[cylinder (geometry)|cylindrical]], with at least one end typically capped with a hemisphere of the buckyball structure. Their name is derived from their size, since the diameter of a nanotube is on the order of a few [[nanometer]]s (approximately 50,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair), while they can be up to several centimeters in length. There are two main types of nanotubes: [[single-walled nanotubes]] (SWNTs) and [[multi-walled nanotubes]] (MWNTs).

====Carbon nanobuds====
[[Image:NanobudComputations70%.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Computer models of stable NanoBud structures]]
{{main|Carbon nanobud}}
'''Carbon NanoBuds''' are a newly discovered allotrope of [[carbon]] in which [[fullerene]] like "buds" are covalently attached to the outer sidewalls of the [[carbon nanotubes]]. This hybrid material has useful properties of both fullerenes and carbon nanotubes.  In particular, they have been found to be exceptionally good field emitters.

==Aggregated diamond nanorods==
{{main|Aggregated diamond nanorods}}
'''Aggregated diamond nanorods''', or '''ADNR'''s, are an [[Carbon#Allotropes|allotrope]] of [[carbon]] believed to be the least compressible material known to humankind, as measured by its [[isothermal bulk modulus]]; aggregated diamond nanorods have a modulus of 491 [[gigapascal]]s (GPa), while a conventional [[diamond]] has a modulus of 442 GPa. ADNRs are also 0.3% denser than regular diamond. The ADNR material is also harder than type IIa diamond and [[ultrahard fullerite]].

==Glassy carbon==
{{main|Glassy carbon}}
'''Glassy carbon''' is a class of non-graphitizing [[carbon]] which is widely used as an electrode material in [[electrochemistry]], as well as for high temperature crucibles and as a component of some prosthetic devices. It was first produced by workers at the laboratories of  [[The General Electric Company]], UK, in the early 1960s, using cellulose as the starting material. A short time later, Japanese workers produced a similar material from [[phenolic resin]].

It was first produced by Bernard Redfern in the mid 1950's at the laboratories of The Carborundum Company, Trafford Park, Manchester, UK. He set out to develop a polymer matrix to mirror a diamond structure and discovered a resole (phenolic) resin that would, with special preparation, set without a catalyst. Using this resin the first glassy carbon was produced. Patents were filed some of which were withdrawn in the interests of national security. Original research samples of resin and product exist.

The preparation of glassy carbon involves subjecting the organic precursors to a series of heat treatments at temperatures up to 3000<sup>o</sup>C. Unlike many non-graphitizing carbons, they are impermeable to gases and are chemically extremely inert, especially those which have been prepared at very high temperatures. It has been demonstrated that the rates of oxidation of certain glassy carbons in oxygen, carbon dioxide or water vapour are lower than those of any other carbon. They are also highly resistant to attack by acids. Thus, while normal [[graphite]] is reduced to a powder by a mixture of concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids at room temperature, glassy carbon is unaffected by such treatment, even after several months.

==Carbon nanofoam==
{{main|Carbon nanofoam}}
'''Carbon nanofoam''' is the fifth known allotrope of carbon discovered in [[1997]] by [[Andrei V. Rode]] and co-workers at the [[Australian National University]] in [[Canberra]]. It consists of a low-density cluster-assembly of carbon atoms strung together in a loose three-dimensional web.

Each cluster is about 6 nanometers wide and consists of about 4000 carbon [[atom]]s linked in [[graphite]]-like sheets that are given negative curvature by the inclusion of [[heptagon]]s among the regular [[hexagon]]al pattern. This is the opposite of what happens in the case of [[buckminsterfullerene]]s, in which carbon sheets are given positive curvature by the inclusion of [[pentagon]]s.

The large-scale structure of carbon nanofoam is similar to that of an [[aerogel]], but with 1% of the density of previously produced [[carbon aerogels]] - only a few times the density of [[air]] at [[sea level]]. Unlike carbon aerogels, carbon nanofoam is a poor [[electrical conductivity|electrical conductor]].

==Lonsdaleite (hexagonal diamond)==
{{main|Lonsdaleite}}
'''Lonsdaleite''' is a [[hexagonal]] allotrope of the carbon allotrope [[diamond]], believed to form when [[meteor]]ic [[graphite]] falls to [[Earth]]. The great heat and stress of the impact transforms the graphite into diamond, but retains graphite's hexagonal [[crystal]] [[crystal lattice|lattice]]. 

Lonsdaleite was first identified from the [[Canyon Diablo meteorite]] at [[Barringer Crater]] (also known as Meteor Crater) in [[Arizona]]. It was first discovered in [[1967]]. Lonsdaleite occurs as microscopic crystals associated with diamond in the Canyon Diablo meteorite; Kenna meteorite, [[New Mexico]]; and Allan Hills (ALH) 77283, Victoria Land, [[Antarctica]] meteorite. It has also been reported from the [[Tunguska impact site]], [[Russia]].



==Linear Acetylenic Carbon (LAC)==
{{main|Linear Acetylenic Carbon}}
Chemists in the USA have recently reported (ca 1995) an allotrope of carbon consisting of long chains of carbon atoms where the alternate carbon-carbon bonds are of different lengths; and consist of C-C bonds and C≡C bonds.

The same polymer was synthesized in early 1960s by group of Soviet chemists and was called carbyne (''Russian:'' карбин). It appeared to be a semiconductor that is very sensitive to light, thus it was suggested to use it in [[photodiode]]s and similar devices.

Carbyne, or polyyne, is also another name for Linear Acetylenic Carbon <ref>Dangerously Seeking Linear Carbon, Ray H. Baughman, Science 19 May 2006: Vol. 312. no. 5776, pp. 1009 - 1110.</ref> (LAC) the [[carbon]] [[allotrope]] that has the chemical structure <ref>Carbyne and Carbynoid Structures Series: Physics and Chemistry of Materials with Low-Dimensional Structures, Vol.  21 Heimann, R.B.; Evsyukov, S.E.; Kavan, L. (Eds.) 1999, 452 p., Hardcover ISBN 0-7923-5323-4</ref> -(C:::C)<sub>n</sub>- .Carbon in this modification is linear with ''sp'' [[orbital hybridisation]], and is a [[polymer]] with alternating single and triple bonds. This type of carbyne is of considerable interest to [[nanotechnology]] as its Young's modulus is forty times that of diamond  <ref>Harder than Diamond: Determining the Cross-Sectional Area and Young's Modulus of Molecular Rods, Lior Itzhaki et al, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 7432-7435.</ref>.

==Variability of carbon==
[[Image:Diamond and graphite.jpg|thumb|Diamond and graphite are two allotropes of carbon: pure forms of the same element that differ in structure.]]
The system of carbon allotropes spans an astounding range of extremes, considering that they are all merely structural formations of the same element.

Between diamond and graphite:
*Diamond crystallizes in the [[cubic (crystal system)|cubic system]] but graphite crystallizes in the [[hexagonal (crystal system)|hexagonal system]].
*Diamond is hardest mineral known to man (10 on [[Mohs scale of mineral hardness|Mohs scale]]), but graphite is one of the softest (1 - 2 on [[Mohs scale of mineral hardness|Mohs scale]]). 
*Diamond is the ultimate abrasive, but graphite is a very good lubricant. 
*Diamond is an excellent electrical insulator, but graphite is a conductor of electricity.
*Diamond is an excellent thermal conductor, but some forms of graphite are used for thermal insulation (i.e. heatshields and firebreaks)

==Other possible forms==
* '''[[Chaoite]]''' is a mineral believed to have been formed in meteorite impacts. It has been described as slightly harder than graphite with a reflection colour of grey to white. However, the existence of carbyne phases is disputed – see the entry on [[chaoite]] for details.

* '''Metallic carbon''': Theoretical studies have shown that carbon (diamond) is brought at enormous pressure, there are regions in the [[phase diagram]] where is metallic.<ref>[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1345714&rendertype=abstract Carbon under extreme conditions: Phase boundaries and electronic properties from first-principles theory<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> It seems that it can also become superconducting at very low temperatures (4 kelvins).<ref>[http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/19299 Superconducting diamond turns up in Russia - physicsworld.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

* '''Hexagonite''': in theory, instead of having the 6-arom rings of graphite, one sp carbon atom could be inserted between each of the 6 sp<sup>2</sup> atoms.<ref>http://www.hexagonite.com/hexagoniteII.pdf</ref>

* '''[[Prismane C8]]''' is another possible metastable form.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*http://www.dendritics.com/scales/c-allotropes.asp
*http://cst-www.nrl.navy.mil/lattice/struk/carbon.html


{{Allotropes of carbon}}

[[Category:carbon]]
[[Category:Carbon forms]]
[[Category:Allotropy]]

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