Carbon and its Allotropes.

Carbon has three allotropes discovered till now i] Diamond ii] Graphite iii] Fullerene But what is allotropes ? Do we know I] Diamond : (a) Millions of yrs ago, brilliant and pure diamonds were formed by the crystallisation of carbon under tremendous pressure. b] In the diamond crystal, each carbon atom is linked to four other carbon atoms at specific distance. c] Brilliant, pure diamonds is the hardest known substance. d] It is a bad conductor of electricity. e] When it is heated to a very high temparature, it give out carbon dioxide. f] It doesn't reacts with acid and alkalies. g] When pure carbon is subjected to extreme high pressure and very high temparature, synthetic diamondr are formed. II] Graphite : a) Graphite is a hexagonal crystal. b) Six carbon atoms form a hexagonal and are at specific distances from each other. Thus, the regular arrangement of atoms in graphite is in layers c] Within each layer, every Carbon atom has three other carbon atoms around it at equal distances. d] The graphite is black, soft, and smooth and it is a good conductor of heat and electricity. e] It is used in pencils. f] It is used as positive electrode in dry cell g] It is used as lubricant. III] Fullerene : a] It is a allotrope of carbon atoms are linked to form a stable structure. b] C60 atoms are joined to each other in pentagonal and hexagonal arrangement. As a result, the structure of fullerene is exactly like a football. c] The properties of fullerene are still being studied. Scientist believe that fullerene may prove of great use in research related to superconductivity.