Carbon Element

Carbon, denoted as chemical element with the symbol ‘C’ is a member of Group 14 in the periodic table and has atomic number 6, which taken from the total number of 6 protons resides in its nucleus.Its ground state electron configuration is 1s²2s²2p². It is a solid, and sublimes at 3,642 °C which is the highest sublimation point of all the elements. The carbon compounds form the basis of all known life on Earth, and the carbon-nitrogen cycle provides some energy produced by the sun and other stars. Carbon has an affinity for bonding with other small atoms, including other carbon atoms, via the formation of strong and stable covalent bonds. Despite the fact that it is present in a vast number of compounds, carbon is weakly reactive compared to other elements under normal conditions. At standard temperature and pressure, it resists oxidation; it does not react with sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, chlorine, or any alkali metals. However, at higher temperatures, carbon will react with oxygen to give carbon oxides, and metals to give metal carbides. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of carbon materials are depending on its surface chemistry. It is highly influenced by the presence of heteroatoms (mainly oxygen and nitrogen, phosphorus, boron and sulphur) that may form different surface functionalities. They can be found naturally on the carbon surface, but they can also be generated during the carbon material preparation or by subsequent treatments. The occurrence of diverse surface functionalities over the carbon surface governs its reactivity, chemical stability, physical properties and structure.

Field of Research

The development of carbon material to date leads to a vast field of research including [3];

• Manufacturing Technologies
• Functional Ceramics and Inorganics
• Materials for Energy Applications
• Photonic Materials
• Polymer Materials
• Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering
• Condensed Matter: Electronic Structure
• Computational & Theoretical Chemistry
• Materials Engineering – Composites
• Condensed Matter: Magnetism and Magnetic Materials
• Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology

Applications

Carbon materials form the basis of numerous applications in a wide variety of research and engineering areas. This causes publications on carbon-based materials to appear traditionally in various journals from both scientific and engineering domains. Applications regarding environmental protection, energy storage and generation, semiconductors, transparent conducting materials, structural materials, biomaterials, chemical sensors, biosensors, catalysis, and photocatalysis, summarize most of the fields in which the presence of carbon materials play an essential role [4].

Field of study: PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY

Updated:: 08/07/2020 [nashrin]