🔰Carbon and its Compounds🔰
✍️ Introduction
➖Carbon plays very important roles for all living beings.
➖The amount of carbon in the earth’s crust is merely 0.02%, which is available in the form of minerals such as carbonates, hydrogen-carbonates, coal, and petroleum.
➖The presence of carbon in the atmosphere of the earth is 0.03%, in the form of carbon dioxide.
✍️ Compounds of Carbon
➖Almost all carbon compounds (except a few) are poor conductors of the electricity.
➖The diamond and graphite both are formed by carbon atoms; however, the difference lies between them in the manner in which the carbon atoms are bonded to one another.
➖In diamond, each atom of the carbon, is bonded to four other carbon atoms and form a rigid three-dimensional structure.
➖In graphite, each atom of the carbon, is bonded to three other carbon atoms in the same plane, which gives a hexagonal array.
➖There is also difference in some physical structure of diamond and graphite.
➖Diamond is the hardest substance known whereas graphite is smooth and slippery substance.
➖Graphite is good conductor of electricity whereas diamond is not.
➖The compounds, which has identical molecular formula, but different structures, are known as structural isomers.
➖The saturated hydrocarbons are known as alkanes.
➖The unsaturated hydrocarbons, which comprise of one or more double bonds, are known as alkenes.
➖The unsaturated hydrocarbons, which comprise of one or more triple bonds, are known as alkynes.
✍️ Use of Alcohol as Fuel
➖Sugarcane plants very efficient convert sunlight into chemical energy and its juice can be used to prepare molasses.
➖When molasses is fermented, it produces alcohol (ethanol).
➖Some of the countries now using alcohol as an additive in petrol, as it is a cleaner fuel.
➖These alcohol, on burning in sufficient air (oxygen), gives rise to only carbon dioxide and water.
✍️ Esters
➖Esters are sweet-smelling substances, which are most commonly formed by reaction of an acid and an alcohol.
➖When esters react in the presence of an acid or a base, it gives back the alcohol and carboxylic acid.
➖The reaction of esters with an acid or a base, is known as saponification because it is used in the preparation of soap.
➖The molecules of soap normally are sodium or potassium salts of long-chain carboxylic acids.
➖Interestingly, the ionic-end of soap dissolves in water whereas the carbon chain dissolves in oil. This typical features of the soap molecules forms structures known as micelles.
➖In micelles, one end of the molecules is towards the oil droplet whereas the ionic-end remains outside.
➖The soap micelle helps in dissolving the dirt in water; likewise, the clothes get cleaned.
➖On the other hand, detergents are usually ammonium or sulphonate salts of long chain carboxylic acids, which remain effective even in hard water.
➖Detergents are customarily used to make shampoos and some other products for cleaning clothes.
