What Is The Valency Of Carbon?

Carbon has four valence electrons, and here the valency of carbon is four.

Explanation

The valency of an element is a measure of its combining power with other atoms when it forms chemical compounds or molecules.

Electronic configuration of carbon (C = 6) = 1s² 2s² 2p² = [He]  2s² 2p²

The valency of Carbon depends on the following factors:

• To complete the octet structure, either carbon gains four electrons or lose four electrons.
• However, if Carbon gains electrons, it would be hard for the nucleus to hold four additional electrons as the carbon atom is tiny in size.
• If Carbon loses its electrons, it requires a large amount of energy to remove four electrons of the nucleus.
• Carbon makes four covalent bonds and attains the noble gas configuration by sharing its valence electrons.