Diamond is a beautiful material.
Seeing this as spectacular jewelry, probably you thought that diamond is an alloy just like gold jewelry or silver jewelry.
But, is that true?
Is diamond an element, compound, or mixture?
Diamond is neither a compound nor a mixture. Diamond is an element since it purely consists of a single type of atom, which is Carbon (C). No matter how many times you break it down, it will stay as Carbon and it cannot produce other elements.
Wow, how amazing is that?!
That luxurious stone is only made up of one single atom, can you believe it?
Does diamond really only consists of Carbon?
In this article, you can learn more about diamond.
What Is Diamond?
Diamond is an allotrope (solid form of Carbon) with a tetrahedral structure. It’s crystal clear, bright, shiny, and hard.
Diamond Composition
Diamond is made of carbon. It consists of carbon atoms that form a strong covalent bond.
Diamond purely consists of carbon atoms.
Is Diamond Metal Or Nonmetal?
Diamond is non metal since it is the solid form of Carbon, which is also non metal.
Although it’s hard, diamond is not a metal. It doesn’t have other metallic features such as conductivity, malleability, or ductility.
Diamond is an allotrope of Carbon.
Is Diamond An Element?
Yes, diamond is an element. It’s one of the solid form of Carbon atom (allotrope). Diamond only consists of one single type of atom so it’s classified as element.
In science, an element is a matter that consists of 1 single type of atom. It’s pure and it cannot be broken down into other elements.
Some examples of element are pure silver (Ag), pure gold (Au), and Oxygen (O2)
Is Diamond A Homogeneous Mixture?
Diamond is not a homogeneous mixture. In fact, it’s NOT a mixture. It purely consists of 1 type of atom i.e. Carbon, so it’s classified as element, not a mixture.
In science, a homogeneous mixture is a matter that consists of two or more elements that combine (usually without forming chemical bonds) with no definite ratio and the constituents are distributed entirely so it becomes the same throughout.
Some examples of homogeneous mixtures are brass, bronze, gold, vinegar, and air.
Being so hard and looking so uniform throughout, diamond might have a little bit of similarities with metal alloy like jewelry gold or jewelry silver. But actually, diamond is NOT a mixture at all.
Diamond is an element because it only consists of one type of atom, which is Carbon.
Other Forms of Solid Carbon
Carbon, in solid form, has a few names, such as:
- graphite
- londsdaleite
- C60 buckminsterfullerene
- C540 Fullerite
- C70
- amorphous carbon
- buckytube
Each of them are solid form of carbon (allotrope) but with different structures.