Are Both Diamond and Graphite Carbon?

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Carbon is found widely in the crust of the earth and its atmosphere. Carbon is essential to human life and production.
Diamonds are forever

Diamond, the hardest substance found in nature. Its hardness exceeds that of corundum by 4 times and quartz by 8 times.

What is the reason for diamond’s high hardness?

In the 1st Century AD, diamond was first mentioned in literature. During the next 1,600-year period, however, no one knew the actual composition of diamond. The “material” of diamonds was only discovered in the second half the 18th century.

French chemist Lavoisier (1743) and other scientists conducted experiments during the 70s and 90s in the 18th century on diamonds burned with oxygen. The result was carbon dioxide, which is an oxygen-carbon mixture. substance. The carbon in this case comes from diamond. These experiments confirmed that carbon is the main component of diamond.

Although diamonds are composed of carbon, the reason for their high hardness is still unknown. Carbon is used in the production of pencil lead. But graphite has a softer mineral than human nails.


Why is the difference between diamond and graphite?

William Bragg (1862-1942), British physicist and his son, answered this question only in 1913. Bragg (1862-1942) and his son used X rays to study diamonds, and the arrangement atoms. They discovered that every carbon atom was tightly combined with four carbon atoms surrounding it to form a dense, three-dimensional structure in the diamond. This unique structure has never been observed in other minerals. This dense structure gives diamonds a density of 3.5g/cm, about 1.5 times that of graphite. This dense structure is what gives diamonds their greatest hardness. Other words, diamonds are formed when carbon atoms are squeezed.

Synthetic diamond

It is the hardest material in nature. As such, it has many industrial applications, such as fine materials for abrasives, cutting tools with high hardness, different drill bits, and dies for wire drawing. It is also used to make precision instruments.

Diamond also has excellent properties like super-hardness. It is called the “king” of hardness and the “king” of gems. The angle of diamonds crystals is 54deg44’8″. In the 1950s the United States successfully created synthetic diamonds by using graphite. Synthetic diamonds can be found in many areas of production and daily life. However, it is difficult to create large diamond particles.

Graphite Graphite Graphite is a dark grey opaque fine-scale solid with lustrous metallic luster. It is soft with a greasy feeling and excellent electrical conductivity. The graphite atoms form a layered, planar structure. Because the bonds between the layers are relatively weak, it is very easy to separate and slide between them. Main functions: making pencils, electrodes, tram cables, etc.

Fullerene was discovered as the fourth carbon crystal in 1985. It is found after graphite, linear carbon and diamond. Fullerene was discovered as a new industrial material. Its hardness exceeds diamond and its stiffness (ductility), is superior to steel.

It’s 100 times stronger than copper. It conducts electricity better, is more conductive, and weighs only 1/6 as much.

The columnar and tubular molecules can also be called carbon nanotubes, or Bucky Tubes. C60 is aromatic, soluble with benzene and sauce red. It can be produced by resisting heating graphite or using the arc method. C60 may be a superlubricant due to its lubricity. C60 with metal doping has superconductivity. It is a promising material. C60 is also used in many different fields, including semiconductors.

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