2.3.11

Carbon Structures - Diamond

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Diamond

Diamond is an allotrope (form) of carbon. Diamond has the following properties:

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Covalent bonds

  • Every carbon atom in diamond is bonded to 4 other carbon atoms by strong covalent bonds.
  • This creates a giant covalent structure.
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Is diamond hard?

  • There are lots of strong covalent bonds in diamond. This makes it very hard.
  • Because diamond is hard, it is used as a cutting tool to cut other materials.
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Does diamond conduct electricity?

  • Diamond is NOT an electrical conductor because there are no delocalised electrons in the diamond structure.
Illustrative background for What is diamond's melting point?Illustrative background for What is diamond's melting point? ?? "content

What is diamond's melting point?

  • A lot of energy is needed to break strong covalent bonds.
  • Diamond has lots of strong covalent bonds. This means that diamond has a high melting point.

Jump to other topics

1Atomic Structure

2Chemical Bonding

3Quantitative Chemistry

4Chemical Changes

5Energy Changes

6The Rate & Extent of Chemical Change

7Organic Chemistry

8Chemical Analysis

9Chemistry of the Atmosphere

10Using Resources

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