Carbon atomic radius

The halogens F Cl Br and I do not differ much in their preference for the equatorial position As the atomic radius increases in the order F < Cl < Br < I so does the carbon-halogen bond dis tance and the two effects tend to cancel... 

The single-bond covalent radius of C can be taken as half the interatomic distance in diamond, i.e. r(C) = 77.2pm. The corresponding values for doubly-bonded and triply-bonded carbon atoms are usually taken to be 66.7 and 60.3 pm respectively though variations occur, depending on details of the bonding and the nature of the attached atom (see also p. 292). Despite these smaller perturbations the underlying trend is clear the covalent radius of the carbon atom becomes smaller the lower the coordination number and the higher the formal bond order. 

Using the carbon atom covalent radius 0.77 A and the covalent radii given in Figure 19-3, predict the C—X bond length in each of the following molecules CF<, CBr4, CI4. Compare your calculated bond lengths with the experimental values C—F in CF4 = 1.32 A, C—Br in CBr = 1.94 A, C—I in CI4 = 2.15 A. 

A.24 Assume that the entire mass of an atom is concentrated in its nucleus, a sphere of radius 1.5X10-5 pm. (a) If the mass of a carbon atom is 2.0 X 10-2j g, what is the density of a carbon nucleus The volume of a sphere is nr3, where r is its radius. 

Steel is an alloy of about 2% or less carbon in iron. Carbon atoms are much smaller than iron atoms, and so they cannot substitute for iron in the crystal lattice. Indeed, they are so small that they can fit into the interstices (the holes) in the iron lattice. The resulting material is called an interstitial alloy (Fig. 5.48). For two elements to form an interstitial alloy, the atomic radius of the solute element must be less than about 60% of the atomic radius of the host metal. The interstitial atoms interfere with electrical conductivity and with the movement of the atoms forming the lattice. This restricted motion makes the alloy harder and stronger than the pure host metal would be. 

Buckminsterfullerene is an allotrope of carbon in which the carbon atoms form spheres of 60 atoms each (see Section 14.16). In the pure compound the spheres pack in a cubic close-packed array, (a) The length of a side of the face-centered cubic cell formed by buckminsterfullerene is 142 pm. Use this information to calculate the radius of the buckminsterfullerene molecule treated as a hard sphere, (b) The compound K3C60 is a superconductor at low temperatures. In this compound the K+ ions lie in holes in the C60 face-centered cubic lattice. Considering the radius of the K+ ion and assuming that the radius of Q,0 is the same as for the Cft0 molecule, predict in what type of holes the K ions lie (tetrahedral, octahedral, or both) and indicate what percentage of those holes are filled. 

Because carbon stands at the head of its group, we expect it to differ from the other members of the group. In fact, the differences between the element at the head of the group and the other elements are more pronounced in Group 14/IV than anywhere else in the periodic table. Some of the differences between carbon and silicon stem from the smaller atomic radius of carbon, which explains the wide occurrence of C=C and G=Q double bonds relative to the rarity of Si=Si and Si=0 double bonds. Silicon atoms are too large for the side-by-side overlap of p-orbitals necessary for -it-bonds to form between them. Carbon dioxide, which consists of discrete 0=C=0 molecules, is a gas that we exhale. Silicon dioxide (silica), which consists of networks of —O—Si- O - groups, is a mineral that we stand on. 

It has been found that a carbon-oxygen double bond decreases the single-bond radius of the carbon atom involved Pauling and Brockway, paper to be submitted to This Journal. 

Fig.4- Radial part / (r) of three 2p type orbitals (/= , one radial node) of the Carbon atom corresponding to three different energy values. The full line corresponds to the RHF energy and the other ones to the RHF energy plus or minus 0.2 H. The radius r is given in Bohr units.

This prompted us [111 to try to represent CeoMu by clusters of carbon atoms, CisHuMu and C30H12MU, the external atoms being constrained to lie on a part of a spherical surface with the same radius as Ceo- The results were very similar to the CeoMu calculations with partial geometry optimisation to suggest that this adduct did not depend on the full structure but corresponded to a locdised defect , both structurally and electronically. 

The outer most levels in C60 are due to rc orbitals . These are formed by 2p electrons which have their orbitals oriented along the radius of the molecule. The different environment inside and outside the spherical molecule causes the double-peaked structure in the momentum densities. In graphite the n band is formed by 2p orbitals oriented perpendicular to the sheets of carbon atoms. Using single-crystal graphite films we have a unique opportunity to study the effects of the orientation of these 2p orbitals in detail. 

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