Compounds of carbon are formed with oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, chlorine and many other elements giving rise to compounds with specific properties which depend on the elements other than carbon present in the molecule. (ii) Since carbon has a valency of four, it is capable of bonding with four other atoms of carbon or atoms of some other mono-valent element. This gives us a large number of compounds with many carbon atoms linked to each other. The carbon-carbon bond is very strong and hence stable. Silicon forms compounds with hydrogen which have chains of up to seven or eight atoms, but these compounds are very reactive. No other element exhibits the property of catenation to the extent seen in carbon compounds. Compounds of carbon having double or triple bonds between their carbon atoms are called unsaturated compounds. Compounds of carbon, which are linked by only single bonds between the carbon atoms are called saturated compounds. In addition, carbon atoms may be linked by single, double or triple bonds. These compounds may have long chains of carbon, branched chains of carbon or even carbon atoms arranged in rings. (i) Carbon has the unique ability to form bonds with other atoms of carbon, giving rise to large molecules. ![]() Two factors noticed in the case of carbon are – Graphite is also a very good conductor of electricity, unlike other non-metals. Diamond is the hardest substance known while graphite is smooth and slippery. These two different structures result in diamond and graphite having very different physical properties even though their chemical properties are the same. Graphite structure is formed by the hexagonal arrays being placed in layers one above the other. One of these bonds is a double-bond, and thus the valency of carbon is satisfied. In graphite, each carbon atom is bonded to three other carbon atoms in the same plane giving a hexagonal array. In diamond, each carbon atom is bonded to four other carbon atoms forming a rigid three-dimensional structure. Both diamond and graphite are formed by carbon atoms the difference lies in the manner in which the carbon atoms are bonded to one another. The element carbon occurs in different forms in nature with widely varying physical properties. This allows each hydrogen atom to attain the electronic configuration of the nearest noble gas, helium, which has two electrons in its K shell. So two hydrogen atoms share their electrons to form a molecule of hydrogen, H2. Hence hydrogen has one electron in its K shell and it requires one more electron to fill the K shell. As you have learned earlier, the atomic number of hydrogen is 1. The simplest molecule formed in this manner is that of hydrogen. Before going on to compounds of carbon, let us look at some simple molecules formed by the sharing of valence electrons. The shared electrons ‘belong’ to the outer shells of both the atoms and lead to both atoms attaining the noble gas configuration. ![]() Not just carbon, but many other elements form molecules by sharing electrons in this manner. But it would require a large amount of energy to remove four electrons leaving behind a carbon cation with six protons in its nucleus holding on to just two electrons.Ĭarbon overcomes this problem by sharing its valence electrons with other atoms of carbon or with atoms of other elements. (ii) It could lose four electrons forming a C4+ cation. ![]() But it would be difficult for the nucleus with six protons to hold on to ten electrons, that is, four extra electrons. (i) It could gain four electrons forming C4– anion. In the case of carbon, it has four electrons in its outermost shell and needs to gain or lose four electrons to attain noble gas configuration. Bonding with Carbon-Covalent BondĮlements forming ionic compounds achieve this by either gaining or losing electrons from the outermost shell. Due to its property of infinite catenation, it can form different types of compounds and has the vastest range of compounds which are known as organic compounds. Carbon is one of the most dynamic elements which are present in the earth.
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