What is the chemical formula of a diamond?

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1 Answer
Ernest Z. · Wendy K. · Shreyans Bhansali · Becca M. · Jackie Shlecter
Jan 27, 2014

The answer is simple: #"C"#.

Explanation:

Diamond is one form of carbon; the other is graphite. To distinguish them, we write:

  • diamond: C(s,diamond)

  • graphite: C(s,graphite)

The s stands for solid.

Both diamond and graphite are allotropes of carbon. There are other exotic allotropes of carbon (graphenes and fullerenes among them) but they are much less common.

A diamond consists of a giant three-dimensional network of carbon atoms.

www.chm.bris.ac.uk

In effect, a diamond is one giant molecule. All we can do is write its empirical formula, which is #"C"#.

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