The study of diamond holds significant importance for IIT JEE aspirants as it combines concepts from chemistry, physics, and material science. Known for its exceptional hardness and unique crystal structure, diamond is a key topic under carbon allotropes.
Questions related to its bonding, properties, and applications frequently appear in IIT JEE exams, making it essential for students to understand its atomic arrangement and industrial uses. Learning about diamond not only strengthens fundamental concepts in chemistry but also helps in solving advanced-level questions, thereby boosting your JEE preparation effectively.
Diamonds are solid, often inorganic, homogenous, naturally occurring substances with definite chemical composition and an organised internal atom arrangement. Diamonds are formed under great pressure. In the upper mantle, 150 kilometres deep. The diamond structure is made up entirely of pure carbon. Deep mantle rock rises as a result of rifting. Kimberlite pipes contain diamonds.
Although certain diamonds are semiconductors, they do not conduct electricity well. When exposed to a high temperature in the presence of oxygen, diamonds can burn. Diamond has a high specific gravity; given the low atomic weight of carbon, it is incredibly dense. A diamond’s brilliance and fire are attributable to its high dispersion and refractive index. Any transparent substance with the maximum reflectance and index of refraction is diamond.
Diamonds are typically transparent or pale blue, but coloured diamonds, known as ‘fancies,’ have been discovered in every colour of the rainbow. Boron, which gives the colour a bluish tint, and nitrogen, which gives the colour a yellow tint, are two prevalent trace contaminants. Kimberlite and lamproite are two volcanic rocks that may contain diamonds.
Also Check: Uses of Diamond
Transparency, lustre, light dispersion, and colour are the four fundamental optical qualities of diamonds. Diamond is absolutely clear and translucent in its pure carbon state. Perfection, like all-natural substances, is nearly impossible to achieve. Diamonds are the world’s hardest substance.
And the only thing that separates this ugly lump of coal from this lovely diamond is pressure and heat. This lovely diamond didn’t start off looking like it does now. Uncut diamonds, in reality, have a greasy sheen and aren’t particularly bright. When cut, however, the same stones have a brilliant brilliance. The basic goal of diamond cutting is to bring out the stone’s fire and brightness.
Because it is composed of the element carbon, a diamond’s chemical formula is simple and is symbolised by just a “C.” Other trace elements or impurities account for less than 0.05 percent of the chemical composition of a diamond. These trace elements, which can be found in kimberlite igneous rocks, can sometimes impact the colour or shape of the mineral. Trace elements, commonly known as impurities, can increase or decrease the value of valuable minerals.
The mineral graphite is similarly made out of carbon, although it is softer than diamonds. Diamonds are so hard, in fact, that they can damage glass and other materials.
Graphite appears black when compared to glittering diamonds.
Diamond is the smallest element with the lowest mass that can form a stable covalently bonded crystal lattice that is highly symmetric and securely bound.
The importance of geometric crystallography stems from the fact that the exterior form of a crystal reveals the symmetry aspects of its interior structure, which are in turn directly related to the solid’s physical properties.
The material’s extraordinary qualities, combined with recent advances in its synthesis, have sparked a surge of interest in it for a variety of optical technologies, including sensors, sources, and light manipulators. As a result, understanding diamond’s crystal formations is a crucial first step toward comprehending its many unique qualities.
Diamonds are often found as single complete crystals surrounded on all sides by natural faces, which is a distinguishing feature.
Each carbon atom in a diamond is covalently connected to four other carbon atoms. As a result, it is extremely robust and has a high melting and boiling point. Diamond cannot carry electricity because it lacks electrons.
The presence of nitrogen as a prominent impurity in diamond has been recognised, as has the presence of boron ( 20 ppm), which is responsible for Type IIb diamond’s semiconducting properties. Diamond is a poor chemical sink for various elements in terms of concentration levels, despite the fact that 58 elements have been identified at the trace impurity level.
The most prevalent impurity detected in gem diamonds is nitrogen, which is responsible for the brown and colour of diamonds.
Because of the material’s outstanding physical properties, diamonds have been adopted for a wide range of applications.
Diamonds that have been mined naturally
The type and quantity of impurities present in natural diamonds are used to classify them.
Diamonds are produced deep beneath the Earth's surface over billions of years. Diamonds are formed by the element carbon under extreme heat and pressure.
Diamonds are one-of-a-kind minerals made up entirely of pristine crystalline structures. Diamonds are made up entirely of the element carbon.
Diamond, as an allotrope of carbon, is crucial for understanding chemical bonding, hybridization (sp³), and its unique properties like exceptional hardness and thermal conductivity. These concepts often appear in IIT JEE questions.
Diamond's hardness is due to its strong covalent bonds in a 3D tetrahedral lattice. This makes it the hardest natural substance, a fact often tested in JEE.