Why is carbon a conductor?

Answer 1

Carbon, in it's graphite form, is a semiconductor. But not in it's diamond form. Materials such as metals, conduct electricity do so because when their atoms are arranged together in a solid, they have loosely bound electrons which can easily move through the material if an electric potential is applied to it. For instance, in a copper lattice, there is about one free electron available per atom of copper for conduction, which makes it a very good conductor of electricity. But, carbon holds on more tightly to its electrons so they are not as free to move from place to place as in the case of copper or other metals. It is one of a number of elements known as semiconductors. Its neighbor, one row down on the periodic table, is silicon, which is used for most commercial microchips produced today. In a semiconductor, electrons can't just flow through the material. They have to move from atom to atom in "jumps", according to the laws of quantum mechanics. When they jump, they leave a positively charged "hole", which can be later filled by another electron jumping in to take the first electron's place. Under the influence of an electric potential, one sees a slow movement of negatively charged electrons in one direction and positively charged "holes" in the other direction.

Answer 2

Carbon is not typically a good conductor of electricity in its pure form because it has a unique structure that does not easily allow the flow of electrons. However, certain forms of carbon, such as graphite and graphene, can conduct electricity due to the presence of delocalized electrons that can move freely through the material.