Carbon Compounds: Basic Properties, Features and Chemical Properties

Carbon compounds are made of carbons as their main chemical property. Carbon bonds with other elements are often covalent bonds. Although carbon is tetravalent, free radicals and carbenes exist as short-lived intermediates. Carbon may be found in all coal and petroleum products. Carbon, in fact, remains in organisms long after death. 

• Carbon is an element that is not a metal.
• It accounts for around 0.025 percent of the Earth's crust.
• Carbon is the fourth Periodic Table element.
• Carbon is found in all organic substances, including proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, and all plant and animal cells are made up of carbon compounds and their polymers.
• Diamond, for example, is non-flammable and does not conduct electricity, but graphite, another carbon molecule, is highly combustible and does conduct electricity.

Key Terms: Carbon, Allotropes, Oxidation, Catenation, Tetravalent, Covalent bond.

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Basic Properties of Carbon

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Carbon is present in the Earth's atmosphere as carbon dioxide at a concentration of roughly 0.04 percent by volume. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is found in all natural bodies of water. Carbon may be found in the Earth's crust as carbonates in rocks like marble, limestone, and chalk, as well as hydrocarbons, which are the primary ingredients of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Carbonate minerals are rich in metals such as sodium, magnesium, calcium, copper, and lead.

• Carbon is denoted by the symbol ‘C’.
• The atomic number of Carbon is 6.
• It is non-metallic in nature.
• It is tetravalent in nature with 4 electrons as valance electrons.
• Carbon may form bonds with other carbon atoms as well as other monovalent elements due to its valency.
• A covalent bond requires four electrons to form.
• Carbon bonds produced with other elements are extremely strong. As a result, these molecules are extremely stable.
• Carbon can swiftly create bonds with other atoms and build big molecules through catenation.

Read More: Atomic number and mass number

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Features of Carbon

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Carbon has a few very basic versatile features in nature in the form of Tetravalency, Catenation, Multiple Bond Formation, and Isomerism.

1. Tetravalency of Carbon – According to the octet rule, as the carbon atom contains four electrons in its shell, it may create four different types of covalent bonds. As a result, carbon is tetravalent.
2. Catenation of Carbon – Carbon and its isotopes form different covalent bonds within themselves or with other atoms by straight chains (Ethane), branched chains (Isopentane), or rings (Cyclohexane). This formation of long chains is known as catenation. Carbon exhibits a variety of allotropic forms due to its two features, catenation, and multiple bond creation.

Features of Carbon

3. Multiple Bond Formation of Carbon – Carbon forms different covalent bonds within themselves or with other atoms and by this multiple bond formation newer compounds are created.
4. Isomerism of Carbon – Carbon atoms with the same chemical formula can have a variety of characteristics and structures, known as isomerism.

Read More: Mole concept

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Allotropes of Carbon

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Any compound can be present in nature with similar chemical properties but different physical properties and such forms of any compound are known as allotropes. Considering the phenomenon of rigidity Carbon compounds can exist in different physical forms in nature such as:

1. Diamond
2. Graphite

These are the two most common allotropes of Carbon in nature existing with identical chemical properties but both vary from each other on the basis of crystal structures. 

Read More: Mendeleev's Periodic Table

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Carbon Compounds

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There are two generalized forms of Carbon compounds found in nature such as: 

1. Saturated carbon compounds – Saturated compounds are those created by a single bond between two components in the form of chains or rings. Saturated hydrocarbons have as many hydrogen atoms as possible linked to them. 

Example: Ethane (C₂H₆) 

Saturated carbon compounds

2. Unsaturated carbon compounds – Compounds formed by double or triple bonds between Carbon atoms in the shape of a chain or a ring are known as unsaturated Carbon compounds. Mostly such double or triple bonds between Carbon atoms are found in alkenes and alkynes. 

Example: Ethene (C₂H₄)

Unsaturated carbon compounds

Read More: Chemistry Study Material

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Chemical Properties of Carbon Compounds

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Combustion: Compounds can burn to create carbon dioxide and water as a result of the evolution of heat and light.

CH₃CH₂OH (I) + O₂(g) → CO₂(g) + H₂O(I) + heat and light

Carbon compounds can oxidize when exposed to an oxidizing agent. For example, by the oxidization of alcohol carboxylic acid is formed.

Unsaturated hydrocarbons repress further processes in the presence of catalysts. For example, The hydrogenation of vegetable oils is an example of an additional reaction. In this process, hydrogen is added to unsaturated vegetable oils. This is carried out in the presence of a catalyst in order to transform it into a saturated compound.

Saturated hydrocarbons can be used to complement replacement processes. In the presence of sunshine, methane undergoes chlorination.

Read More: Sigma and Pi Bonds

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Things to Remember

• Carbon bonds with other elements are often covalent bonds.
• Carbon is found in all organic substances, including proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, and all plant and animal cells are made up of carbon compounds and their polymers.
• Carbon may be found in the Earth's crust as carbonates in rocks like marble, limestone, and chalk, as well as hydrocarbons, which are the primary ingredients of coal, petroleum, and natural gas.
• Carbon is denoted by the symbol ‘C’.
• The atomic number of Carbon is 6.
• It is non-metallic in nature.
• It is tetravalent in nature with 4 electrons as valance electrons.
• Considering the phenomenon of rigidity Carbon compounds can exist in different physical forms in nature such as Diamond and Graphite.