Carbon

This article is about the chemical element. For other uses, see Carbon (disambiguation).
"Element 6" redirects here. For the company, see Element Six.
Not to be confused with Cabrón.

Carbon, 6C
Graphite (left) and diamond (right), two allotropes of carbon
Carbon
Allotropesgraphite, diamond and more (see Allotropes of carbon)
Appearance
  • graphite: black, metallic-looking
  • diamond: clear
Standard atomic weight Ar°(C)
Carbon in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium
Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon
Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon
Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton
Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon
Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon
Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson
–
↑
C
↓
Si
boron ← carbon → nitrogen
Atomic number (Z)6
Groupgroup 14 (carbon group)
Periodperiod 2
Block  p-block
Electron configuration[He] 2s2 2p2
Electrons per shell2, 4
Physical properties
Phase at STPsolid
Sublimation point3915 K ​(3642 °C, ​6588 °F)
Density (near r.t.)graphite: 2.266 g/cm3[3][4]
diamond: 3.515 g/cm3
amorphous: 1.8–2.1 g/cm3
Triple point4600 K, ​10,800 kPa[5][6]
Heat of fusiongraphite: 117 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacitygraphite: 8.517 J/(mol·K)
diamond: 6.155 J/(mol·K)
Atomic properties
Oxidation statescommon: −4, +4
−3,[7] −2,[7] −1,[7] 0, +1,[7] +2,[7] +3[7]
ElectronegativityPauling scale: 2.55
Ionization energies
  • 1st: 1086.5 kJ/mol
  • 2nd: 2352.6 kJ/mol
  • 3rd: 4620.5 kJ/mol
  • (more)
Covalent radiussp3: 77 pm
sp2: 73 pm
sp: 69 pm
Van der Waals radius170 pm
Color lines in a spectral range
Spectral lines of carbon
Other properties
Natural occurrenceprimordial
Crystal structuregraphite: ​simple hexagonal (hP4)
Lattice constants
Simple hexagonal crystal structure for graphite: carbon
a = 246.14 pm
c = 670.94 pm
(at 20 °C)[3]
Crystal structurediamond: ​face-centered diamond-cubic (cF8)
Lattice constant
Diamond cubic crystal structure for diamond: carbon
a = 356.707 pm
(at 20 °C)[3]
Thermal expansiondiamond: 0.8 µm/(m⋅K) (at 25 °C)[8]
Thermal conductivitygraphite: 119–165 W/(m⋅K)
diamond: 900–2300 W/(m⋅K)
Electrical resistivitygraphite: 7.837 µΩ⋅m[9]
Magnetic orderingdiamagnetic[10]
Molar magnetic susceptibilitydiamond: −5.9×10−6 cm3/mol[11]
Young's modulusdiamond: 1050 GPa[8]
Shear modulusdiamond: 478 GPa[8]
Bulk modulusdiamond: 442 GPa[8]
Speed of sound thin roddiamond: 18,350 m/s (at 20 °C)
Poisson ratiodiamond: 0.1[8]
Mohs hardnessgraphite: 1–2
diamond: 10
CAS Number
  • atomic carbon: 7440-44-0
  • graphite: 7782-42-5
  • diamond: 7782-40-3
History
DiscoveryEgyptians and Sumerians[12] (3750 BCE)
Recognized as an element byAntoine Lavoisier[13] (1789)
Isotopes of carbon
Main isotopes Decay
abun­dance half-life (t1/2) mode pro­duct
11C synth 20.34 min β+ 11B
12C 98.9% stable
13C 1.06% stable
14C 1 ppt (1⁄1012)
Preview warning: Infobox C isotopes: Abundance percentage not recognised "na=1 ppt (1⁄1012)" cat#%
 5.70×103 y β− 14N
 Category: Carbon
| references

Carbon (from Latin carbo 'coal') is a chemical element; it has symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 electrons. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table.[14] Carbon makes up about 0.025 percent of Earth's crust.[15] Three isotopes occur naturally, 12C and 13C being stable, while 14C is a radionuclide, decaying with a half-life of 5,700 years.[16] Carbon is one of the few elements known since antiquity.[17]

Carbon is the 15th most abundant element in the Earth's crust, and the fourth most abundant element in the universe by mass after hydrogen, helium, and oxygen. Carbon's abundance, its unique diversity of organic compounds, and its unusual ability to form polymers at the temperatures commonly encountered on Earth, enables this element to serve as a common element of all known life. It is the second most abundant element in the human body by mass (about 18.5%) after oxygen.[18]

The atoms of carbon can bond together in diverse ways, resulting in various allotropes of carbon. Well-known allotropes include graphite, diamond, amorphous carbon, and fullerenes. The physical properties of carbon vary widely with the allotropic form. For example, graphite is opaque and black, while diamond is highly transparent. Graphite is soft enough to form a streak on paper (hence its name, from the Greek verb "γράφειν" which means "to write"), while diamond is the hardest naturally occurring material known. Graphite is a good electrical conductor while diamond has a low electrical conductivity. Under normal conditions, diamond, carbon nanotubes, and graphene have the highest thermal conductivities of all known materials. All carbon allotropes are solids under normal conditions, with graphite being the most thermodynamically stable form at standard temperature and pressure. They are chemically resistant and require high temperature to react even with oxygen.

The most common oxidation state of carbon in inorganic compounds is +4, while +2 is found in carbon monoxide and transition metal carbonyl complexes. The largest sources of inorganic carbon are limestones, dolomites and carbon dioxide, but significant quantities occur in organic deposits of coal, peat, oil, and methane clathrates. Carbon forms a vast number of compounds, with about two hundred million having been described and indexed;[19] and yet that number is but a fraction of the number of theoretically possible compounds under standard conditions.

  1. ^ "Standard Atomic Weights: Carbon". CIAAW. 2009.
  2. ^ Prohaska, Thomas; Irrgeher, Johanna; Benefield, Jacqueline; Böhlke, John K.; Chesson, Lesley A.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Ding, Tiping; Dunn, Philip J. H.; Gröning, Manfred; Holden, Norman E.; Meijer, Harro A. J. (2022-05-04). "Standard atomic weights of the elements 2021 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure and Applied Chemistry. doi:10.1515/pac-2019-0603. ISSN 1365-3075.
  3. ^ a b c Arblaster, John W. (2018). Selected Values of the Crystallographic Properties of Elements. Materials Park, Ohio: ASM International. ISBN 978-1-62708-155-9.
  4. ^ Lide, D. R., ed. (2005). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (86th ed.). Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0486-5.
  5. ^ Haaland, D (1976). "Graphite-liquid-vapor triple point pressure and the density of liquid carbon". Carbon. 14 (6): 357–361. doi:10.1016/0008-6223(76)90010-5.
  6. ^ Savvatimskiy, A (2005). "Measurements of the melting point of graphite and the properties of liquid carbon (a review for 1963–2003)". Carbon. 43 (6): 1115–1142. doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2004.12.027.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-08-037941-8.
  8. ^ a b c d e Properties of diamond, Ioffe Institute Database
  9. ^ "Material Properties- Misc Materials". www.nde-ed.org. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  10. ^ Magnetic susceptibility of the elements and inorganic compounds, in Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 81st edition, CRC press.
  11. ^ Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 978-0-8493-0464-4.
  12. ^ "History of Carbon and Carbon Materials - Center for Applied Energy Research - University of Kentucky". Caer.uky.edu. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  13. ^ Senese, Fred (2000-09-09). "Who discovered carbon?". Frostburg State University. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
  14. ^ "carbon | Facts, Uses, & Properties". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2017-10-24.
  15. ^ "carbon". Britannica encyclopedia. 22 February 2024.
  16. ^ Kondev, F. G.; Wang, M.; Huang, W. J.; Naimi, S.; Audi, G. (2021). "The NUBASE2020 evaluation of nuclear properties" (PDF). Chinese Physics C. 45 (3): 030001. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddae.
  17. ^ "History of Carbon". Archived from the original on 2012-11-01. Retrieved 2013-01-10.
  18. ^ Reece, Jane B. (31 October 2013). Campbell Biology (10 ed.). Pearson. ISBN 978-0-321-77565-8.
  19. ^ Chemical Abstracts Service (2023). "CAS Registry". Retrieved 2023-02-12.