Question

What is the purest form of carbon?

Answer 1

Carbon:

• It is the only element of group $14$ of the periodic table which occurs in the free states as in diamond, graphite, and coal.
• In the combined state, it is widely distributed in nature.
• It is an important constituent of all organic compounds.

The purest form of carbon:

• The purest form of carbon is diamond.
• In diamond, each carbon atom is ${\mathrm{sp}}^3$ hybridized. It is bonded tetrahedral to four other carbon atoms by strong covalent bonds. Thus, it has a three-dimensional network of strong covalent bonds in which the $\mathrm{C}-\mathrm{C}$ bond length is $154\mathrm{pm}$ and each bond angle is $109.5^{\mathrm{o}}$.
• The composition of a diamond is homogenous, making it the purest form of carbon.