Allotrope Blog Post: Graphite

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Graphite is a naturally occurring allotrope of Carbon. It is classified as the most stable allotrope under STP and its atoms are arranged in a hexagonal structure. Graphite has a very similar composition to that of diamond, but they have completely different properties and structures. Graphite is very soft and is used mainly in manufacturing and for being known as the “lead” in pencils. Graphite itself can come in many different forms. There is flake graphite, chunks of graphite, and it can be trapped in different substances such as marble and metamorphic rocks. Graphite is an interesting allotrope because of the way the carbon atoms are positioned in the network covalent structure. Graphite is made up of many single layers of Carbon atoms that are off-centered from each other. This is what makes writing with pencils so easy. The graphite layers slide right off of each other because of the weak London Dispersion Forces between layers. This differs from other Carbon allotropes like diamond, where the atoms are compactly bonded together. As for some properties of graphite, it has an extremely high melting point and it can conduct electricity due to the delocalized electrons between the layers.

Interesting Facts about graphite
  1. A single layer of graphite (graphene) is 200 times stronger than the hardest steel
  2. Graphite has a melting point of approximately 4300 K
  3. Graphite was first discovered in the 1500’s by farmers in England who used it to mark their sheep
  4. Graphite is not poisonous to humans in any way
  5. Due to the mobility of electrons, graphite is the best conductor of electricity out of all the Carbon allotropes
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