Why does graphite conduct electricity whereas diamond does not and they are both allotropes?

Answer 1

Diamond and Graphite have 2 different structures, Diamond has a rigid tetrahedral network whereas Graphite has layers which completely changes the properties of both types of carbon.

Basically graphite has free delocalised electrons which means electricity can be conducted, diamond however does not have any delocalised electrons which means it cannot conduct electricity.

Both diamond and graphite are made up of strong covalent bonds which means they both have high melting points. Graphite is soft though because the layers which it is made up of slide, this makes it soft. Diamond is made up of carbon atoms close to each other and in a 3 layered cube shape which is a lot more rigid and this makes it 'the hardest substance on earth'.

Hope this helps, Obrien9

Answer 2

Electrical conduction requires moving electrons. Carbon atoms have six electrons each. Two of these electrons are closely bound to the nucleus, and cannot move very far.

In diamond, each carbon atom is bonded to four others. Whereas in graphite each carbon atom is bonded to just three. In diamond these four electrons are locked into chemical bonds. But the one electron in graphite that is not part of a bond is free to move around; this makes it conduct electricity.

Answer 3

Both graphite and diamond are forms of carbon. Graphite, however, has a free electron, which allows it to conduct electricity. Diamond's carbon atoms use all of the bonds, and it has no such free electrons.

Answer 4

Graphite can conduct electricity because it has delocalized electrons in its layers that are free to move and carry electrical charge. On the other hand, diamond has a strong covalent bonding network that does not allow for the movement of electrons, making it an insulator. Despite both being made of carbon atoms, their different structures lead to differing electrical conductivity properties.

Answer 5

The cause is the layer structure of graphite; electrons can migrate free in these planes.