Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A graphene sheet is a plane of hexagons. The C-C bond length is . The area of one regular hexagon with side is , and each hexagon has 2 carbon atoms of its own. Take and . Find the mass of one square metre of graphene, in mg, and the area that one gram of graphene would cover, in square metres. Then find the density of graphite, if the layers are apart.
A fullerene with carbon atoms has edges, 12 pentagons and hexagons, and . The diamond cell holds 8 atoms, with . At equilibrium between two forms, .
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. Area for each atom. The hexagon has an area of . Two atoms share it: each.
Step 2. Mass for each atom. .
Step 3. Mass for each square metre. .
Step 4. Area of one gram. .
Step 5. Density of graphite. A column of with a height of holds . Volume: . Density: .
Answer: , and .
Check. The measured density of graphite is , so the model is good.
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