Diamond Structure Flashcards

All 6 cards in this deck

How many covalent bonds does each carbon atom form in diamond?

Four covalent bonds, with four other carbon atoms.

What type of structure does diamond have?

A giant covalent structure (a giant covalent lattice / macromolecular structure) of carbon atoms.

Why is diamond very hard?

Its carbon atoms are joined by many strong covalent bonds in a rigid giant lattice.

Why does diamond have a very high melting point?

Its covalent bonds are strong and many of them must be broken, so a lot of energy is required.

Why does diamond not conduct electricity?

It has no delocalised electrons — all the outer electrons of each carbon atom are used in covalent bonds, so it has no charged particles free to move.

True or false? In diamond, one electron from each carbon atom is delocalised.

False. In diamond all four outer electrons of each carbon are used in covalent bonds; it is graphite that has one delocalised electron per carbon atom.