Various Carbon Forms

 

 

What is the difference between the various forms of Carbon?

Carbon takes many forms, called allotropes, and each form has its own properties and features.

Fullerene are a family of carbon allotropes, molecules composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, tube, or plane. Spherical fullerenes are also called buckyballs, and cylindrical ones are called carbon nanotubes or buckytubes. Graphene is an example of a planar fullerene sheet. Fullerenes are similar in structure to graphite, which is composed of stacked sheets of linked hexagonal rings, but may also contain pentagonal (or sometimes heptagonal) rings that would prevent a sheet from being planar.

Diamond is the hardest known mineral that occurs in nature has a clear crystalline lattice is the 2nd most stable carbon structure after graphite is sought after as an expensive gemstone	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allotropes_of_carbon
Graphite is the most stable carbon structure is opaque metallic grey/black in color is soft, flexible and slippery is made up of many carbon ring (graphene) layers stacked together is thermally and electrically conductive
Graphene one atom thick flat layer of hexagonal carbon rings. looks like a honeycomb or chicken wire in structure is the strongest substance known to man (as of April 2008)
Buckyball (Buckminsterfullerene) is a spherical formation of hexagonal and pentagonal carbon rings. resembles a soccer ball in form.
Carbon Nanotube or Nano Tube (aka Buckytube) is made from a single layer of Graphene rolled into a hollow tube. can have different properties depending on how the rings align with the length of the tube A = Armchair - Metallic B = Zig Zag - Small Gap Semi-Conductor OR Semi-Conductor C = Chiral - Semi-Conductor