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The mixture of these two materials gives an extremely strong but lightweight material, useful in building products from aerospace and automotive, to sports equipment and technology. CFRP is a polymer interwoven with fibres of carbon, which is 5-10μm in diameter. Graphene is a highly conductive, flexible and transparent – this means it can be used in electronics, medical biotechnology, and a variety of other innovative solutions.Īnother innovative material made from carbon is carbon fibre, which can then produce carbon-fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP). The structure of carbon atoms in graphene. Scientists had theorised its existence for years, but it was not isolated and characterised until 2004 by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov at the University of Manchester, UK. The pair won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work. Graphene is carbon allotrope that exists in thin, 2-dimensional layers, with the carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb formation. These molecular structures, known as allotropes, can result in vast differences in the end-result material.įor example, one allotrope, diamond, is the hardest and highest thermally conductive of any natural material, whereas another, graphite, is soft enough to be used in pencils, and is highly conductive of electricity. Organic chemistry – the study of carbon-based chemistry – has given us hundreds of modern medicines.Ītoms of carbon can make four bonds, each with another carbon attached, to arrange themselves into different molecular structures and form completely different substances. Since then, hundreds of organic compounds for medicinal use have been synthesised – from adrenaline to ibuprofen – and hundreds of unique synthesis pathways have been described. In the early 19 th century, chemist Justus von Liebig began synthesising organic, carbon-based molecules and said: ‘The production of all organic substances no longer belongs just to living organisms.’ The study of carbon-based chemistry, or organic chemistry, has allowed us to better understand our living world and the interactions that occur, leading to development of better tasting food, higher yielding crops and more efficient medicines to improve our health. So, why is carbon so important to life? Carbon’s chemistry allows it to form large, intricate 3D structures, which are the basis of its interaction in biology – like jigsaw pieces that come together to build a tree, an elephant or a human being. Carbon-based chemistry surrounds us – in the air we breathe, in the food we eat and in the soil beneath our feet. Today’s blog is about one of the most abundant and most used elements, carbon!Ĭarbon could be called the element of life – it can be found in every living creature on Earth in a variety of different forms, from the backbone of your DNA, to the taste receptors in your tongue and the hormones controlling your hunger.
#Carbon periodic table series
To celebrate, we are releasing a series of blogs about our favourite elements and their importance to the chemical industry. 2019 has been declared by UNESCO as the Year of the Periodic Table.