Question

Diamond is a crystalline form of carbon which is a good conductor of electricity.
A.True
B.False

Answer 1

Hint: Carbon is capable of forming many allotropes (structurally different forms of the same element) due to its valency. Well-known forms of carbon include diamond and graphite.

Complete Step by Step Solution:
Diamond is a well known allotrope of carbon. The hardness and high dispersion of light of diamond make it useful for both industrial applications and jewelry. Diamond is the hardest known natural mineral. This makes it an excellent abrasive and makes it hold polish and luster extremely well. No known naturally occurring substance can cut (or even scratch) a diamond, except another diamond.
Each carbon atom in a diamond is covalently bonded to four other carbons in a tetrahedron. These tetrahedrons together form a 3-dimensional network of six-membered carbon rings (similar to cyclohexane), in the chair conformation, allowing for zero bond angle strain. This stable network of covalent bonds and hexagonal rings is the reason that diamond is so strong. Although graphite is the most stable allotrope of carbon under standard laboratory conditions (273 or 298 K, 1 atm), a recent computational study indicated that under idealized conditions (T = 0, p = 0), diamond is the most stable allotrope by 1.1 kJ/mol compared to graphite.
The crystal lattice of the carbon when in the form of diamond has all the carbon’s electrons tied up in the lattice such that there are no freely bound electrons for current flow. Hence diamond is a bad conductor of electricity. Hence the statement is False.

Hence, option B is the correct answer.

Note: In a graphite molecule, one valence electron of each carbon atom remains free, thus making graphite a good conductor of electricity. Whereas in diamond, they have no free mobile electron. Hence there won't be flow of electrons that is the reason behind diamond are bad conductor electricity.