Allotropes of Carbon

Allotropes are DIFFERENT STRUCTURAL forms of the SAME ELEMENT in the same physical state.

Diamond is an example of an allotrope of Carbon:

Diamond

• Formed from CARBON ATOMS each sharing four COVALENT BONDS in a rigid, three-dimensional structure.
• DIAMOND is very hard, with a high melting point. This is because of the LARGE NETWORK of covalent bonds that require a LARGE AMOUNT of ENERGY to overcome.
• It does not conduct electricity as it has NO FREE MOVING ELECTRONS OR IONS.