Diamond Is a Mixture or Compound: Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures

The diamond we know as a gemstone is actually an allotrope of carbon consisting of five carbon atoms sharing electrons with each other in a tetrahedral lattice structure. The covalent bond between these carbon atoms is extremely strong and very difficult to break at room temperature. Because of this strong covalent bond, diamonds have no free electrons. This makes them a poor conductor of electricity but excellent heat. In fact, a diamond is about five times better at thermal conduction than copper. So, do you know diamond is a mixture or it is a compound?

Diamond is neither a mixture nor a compound. Mixtures are made up of two or more different substances mixed together equally or in a dispersed way. Compounds, on the other hand, are pure substances containing different elements in their structure. So what is a diamond? It is an element! Elements are either a single atom or several atoms of the same kind that come together. For diamond, it consists of 4 carbon atoms, which simply explains why it is classified as an element.

The power of the diamond is hidden in its structure. Unlike other elements, the carbon it contains is one of the most fascinating elements in nature with its chemical and physical properties. With just six protons in its nucleus, it is the lightest element capable of forming a series of complex bonds. All known life forms are carbon-based. The possible geometries of these bonds also allow the carbon to assemble into a stable crystal lattice, especially under high pressure. If the conditions are right, the carbon atoms can form a solid, ultra-hard structure known as a diamond.

Diamond becomes vulnerable at very high temperatures. When you heat a diamond above 800°C, its chemical and physical properties no longer remain the same. Therefore, researchers have long sought superhard materials with better chemical stability. Diamonds are still one of the hardest materials naturally found on Earth.

Not a Mixture nor a Compound: What Kind of Element Is Diamond?

Carbon atoms come together in a tetrahedral, that is, pyramid shape, forming an extremely solid structure; Therefore, diamond is the hardest substance known in nature. A perfect diamond is a single molecule made up of carbon atoms.

Carbon is a wonderfully versatile element found in Earth’s atmosphere and in all living things (as far as we know). It is also well represented in jewelry stores. Diamonds are formed when carbon atoms are exposed to extremely high temperatures and pressures. Diamonds generally have eight edges, but there are also six- and twelve-sided examples.

Each carbon atom in a diamond forms a strong bond with four other carbon atoms, making it surprisingly hard. Rub one of these stones against all the other known minerals and it will almost always leave a scratch behind.

The unique properties of the element carbon enable it to form bonds with carbon molecules and many other chemical elements. In this way, carbon can form millions of compounds, many of which are still being discovered or synthesized.

Diamond and Other Elements

A substance that cannot be separated by chemical analysis or obtained by synthesis is called an Element. Elements are pure substances made up of atoms of the same kind. The smallest building blocks of the elements are atoms. Elements are represented by symbols. Elements are pure substances. Its elements have fixed specific masses and melting and boiling points. Elements are found in nature in both solid, liquid, and gaseous forms. They are pure and homogeneous substances. They have a fixed density.

Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon are the main elements that make up our body. Although others are in small quantities, they are indispensable for our lives. As these elements take place in our structure, we obtain them from nature throughout our lives. Many elements enter our body even though they are not necessary. However, we have properties that make them harmless. If we look in general, we see that the amount of elements we need to live is not very much. Selenium is very important. But the amount above the required dose is lethal. The rate at which living organisms take the substances they need has been determined by evolution.

Likewise, resistance to useless foreign substances has also been gained in the development process. The level of this resistance is related to the abundance of elements around them. In other words, Living things live together with necessary and unnecessary elements. But their evolutionary accumulation and metabolism make the vital distinction. Elements have properties that seem strange to us when combined with each other. Both oxygen and hydrogen are sensitive to fire. Oxygen itself is not flammable, it just facilitates the combustion of other substances.

Hydrogen is extremely flammable in its gaseous state. But when they come to the moon, the feature that appears in the middle is the opposite. These two elements, which trigger the combustion event separately, extinguish the fire when they combine in the appropriate ratio. Sodium is an unstable element. Chlorine is quite toxic, that is, it has a poisoning effect on the body. If even a small amount of pure Sodium is thrown into the water, there will be a strong explosion. If chlorine is used in low concentrations, it destroys microorganisms. But the increase in density is very dangerous for us.

As a matter of fact, the chlorine thrown into swimming pools as a germicidal is very diluted. However, we feel its presence. When these two elements, which are harmful to us separately, come together, an interesting formation occurs. Sodium chloride. In other words, the table salt we add to our meals. If an element does not enter our body naturally, we do not have a resistance system against it. We can also express it like this: Substances that are not directly or indirectly related to our lives are harmful to us. For example, lead is poisonous to humans because we have no defense to render it harmless. So are mercury and plutonium.

More Information About Elements

An element is a collection of the smallest parts of the same genus and chemistry that cannot be divided into chemical reactions. These parts are called atoms. A new substance, a compound, is obtained by combining different atoms. Water is obtained from oxygen and hydrogen. An element cannot be broken down into simpler substances using any energy (such as heat, light, electricity). Another feature of the element is that its weight does not change when it undergoes a chemical reaction to give a compound.

Until 1960, the number of known elements was 103. Today, the number of known elements is 107. However, the number of elements whose properties are known is only 95. For the others, only their atomic and mass numbers are known. The number of elements present in nature is also about 93. Others have been obtained synthetically in laboratories. About 30 of the elements in nature can be found in the free state, that is, not combined with any of the other elements. These are substances that are inactive, that is, have little ability to react under normal conditions. Platinum, gold, silver, copper, molecular nitrogen, etc. are examples of these. Although oxygen is very active, it is abundant in the atmosphere in the form of O2.

But in compound form, it is also abundant in water, rocks, and minerals in the supply. There are 46.6% oxygen, 27.72% silicon, 8.13% aluminum, 5% iron, 3.63% calcium, 2.83% sodium, 2.59% potassium and 2.09% magnesium in the earth globe. Their total is 98.5%. All of the other elements make up 1.5% of the earth’s globe. At room temperature, eleven elements are gas and six elements are liquid.

The properties of elements largely depend on the size and electronic structure of their atoms. Therefore, the property of each element can be very different from the other. For example; The melting point of helium is -271,4°C (at 29.6 atm), and the boiling point is -268.98°C. The melting point of the tungsten (tungsten) element is 3370°C and the boiling point is 5900°C. The density of hydrogen at one atmosphere pressure and 0°C is 8,986.10 -5 g/cm3, while the density of iridium and osmium is 22.8 g/cm3. That is, the density of iridium is approximately 253,000 times the density of hydrogen under the same conditions (pressure and temperature). The properties of elements in the same period in the periodic table change regularly. For example, the melting point decreases as you go from left to right.

There are 77 genuine metals in the elements. They conduct electricity and heat well. Vapors are monoatomic and always have (+) valence in their compounds. The number of elements that are not metals, that is, nonmetals, is 17. Its physical properties are the opposite of metals. Except for Necip gases, other nonmetals are diatomic in the gaseous state. They can have negative and positive valences in their compounds. Fluor is always negative. Oxygen is negative in all its compounds except the compound with fluorine.

Compounds and Their Characteristics

Substances made up of atoms of the same type are called elements. Communities formed by two or more atoms are called molecules. Pure substances formed as a result of chemical reactions formed by the combination of two or more elements are called compounds. The vast majority of compounds are molecular in nature. The elements that make up the compound lose their properties and form a substance with a new chemical property. These substances are defined as compounds.

Compounds formed by combining two or more elements are classified according to the bond types present in their structure, the properties of the compound formed, and the structure of the elements. Compounds are examined in two subclasses as inorganic compounds and organic compounds. There are some important properties that the compounds have. These are:

Compounds are represented by formulas.
They are formed by the combination of at least two different elements.
Compounds are pure substances.
They have distinctive features.
They can be separated into their components by chemical means.
They are formed by chemical bonds.
As a result of the reactions of the compounds with each other, new compounds can be formed.

Undoubtedly, compounds are one of the most important topics that most people are curiously researching about the compound. Another issue that is asked when the subject is compounds and the answer of which is researched by many people is the answer to the question of whether compounds are pure substances and can be separated.

As stated before, a compound is a pure substance formed by two or more atoms coming together. Accordingly, compounds are pure substances. The smallest building blocks of compounds are molecules. For this reason, most of the compounds have a molecular structure.

However, the existence of compounds in atomic structures such as salts is also in question. Compounds are expressed by specific formulas. From time to time, compounds can be mixed with mixtures. However, there is an extremely important difference between the compound and the mixture itself.

The most important difference between compounds and mixtures is that they are formed as a result of bonding a certain number of element atoms with a chemical bond. But the mixture does not have a specific formula. The elements that make up the compounds come together and lose their unique properties, but the substances that make up the mixtures continue to have their own characteristics. All these elements make up the very important differences between compounds and mixtures.

The answer to the question of whether compounds can be decomposed, which is a frequently asked question about compounds is that yes, they actually are. According to this, compounds are in a structure that can be decomposed into the elements that form them or into simpler compounds. However, this separation process cannot be performed by physical methods as in mixtures. In order to decompose the compounds, it is necessary to resort to some chemical means. However, it is possible to decompose the compounds into their components by these chemical means.

Classification of Compounds

Compounds are classified according to the types of bonds in their structure, the structure of the elements, and the properties of the compound formed. Compounds are examined in two subclasses: organic compounds and inorganic compounds. Substances made up of the same type of atom are called elements. Communities formed by two or more atoms are called molecules.

Pure substances formed as a result of chemical reactions formed by the combination of two or more elements are called compounds. Many of the compounds are molecular in nature. The elements that make up the compound lose their properties and form a new substance with chemical properties. These substances are compounds. Compounds are divided into two. These; are inorganic and organic compounds.

Inorganic Compounds

They are compounds composed mostly of ions. Acids, bases, and salts, which are well known in the field of chemistry, can be given as examples of inorganic compounds. Compounds in this category are generally stable. In other words, they do not deteriorate easily in solutions and similar situations. The most common, known, and used compounds in chemical media are inorganic compounds. It is one of the compounds that are frequently encountered in daily life.

Acids: These are compounds that can produce H+ ions when dissolved with water. That is, they react with the OH+ ion. As there are very strong acids, there are also acids that we use in our daily life and even consume as food. Strong acids have the property of ionization. Acids become neutralized with bases to form water and salt. It has a sour taste.
Bases: Bases dissolve well with water. The resulting solutions conduct electric current. The color they give in the litmus paper tests is blue. They are bitter in taste. They give a slippery feeling to the skin. When combined with acids, they form water and salt.
Salts: The product resulting from the neutralization of acids and bases. Almost all are in solid form. It has many different geometric shapes in shape. It is crystalline in structure. Those with H+ cations are acid, those with OH- anions are bases, and those with O- anions are oxides. Except for these cases, all anion-cation compounds are in the salt category. They are divided into classes among themselves. These are acidic salt, basic salt, neutral salt, and double salt.
Oxides: All compounds of oxygen, except O2, that contains two different types of atoms are called oxides. These are also classified among themselves.
Acidic Oxides: These are oxides rich in oxygen. It has an acid character.
Basic Oxides: Since metal materials are basic; metal oxide compounds are also basic. They react with acids and compounds formed with acids. If they react with water, they form bases.

Neutral Oxides: It is the name given to the compounds of nonmetals that are not rich in oxygen. NO, N2O are examples of neutral oxides. They are oxides that show neither acidic nor basic properties. They are compounds that do not react with acids, bases, or water.
Amphoteric Oxides: These oxides can show both acidic and basic properties. When they encounter an acid, they behave like a base, and when they encounter a base, they behave like an acid. While amphoteric oxides can react with acids and bases; They do not react with water.
Peroxides: If the two oxygen atoms at hand have a -2 value, the name of the compound changes as peroxide.
Compound Oxides: Compounds that contain different oxides of the same element. As examples of compound oxides; Fe3O4 can be given.

Organic Compounds

They are also known as carbon compounds. No ionization occurs when dissolved with water. The force that keeps the elements in such compounds bound together is electrons. Organic compounds are unstable.

What Are Mixtures?

Most of the substances in nature are not found in pure form. The substances we see around us are usually in mixtures. The air we breathe, the chocolate we eat, the cake we drink, the juice we drink, even the milk we use are a mixture of different kinds of substances. A mixture is a physical system formed by two or more substances without losing their chemical properties. Each of the substances that make up the mixture is called a component.

According to the way the substances that make up the mixture are dispersed in the mixture, they are divided into homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures. The mixtures formed by the dissolution of a solid in a liquid and its dispersion are called suspensions. For example, chalk powder is a suspension mixed with water. Mixtures formed by the heterogeneous dispersion of two insoluble liquids are called emulsions. Olive oil-water mixture is an example of an emulsion.

Heterogeneous mixtures formed by the dispersion of a liquid or a solid in a gas are called aerosols. Smoke and fog are examples. Heterogeneous mixtures formed by a substance “suspended” in a liquid are called colloid mixtures. Milk is a colloidal mixture. The components that make up the mixture can be in different physical states.

Mixtures whose composition is the same everywhere are called homogeneous mixtures. Homogeneous mixtures are also called solutions. A solution consists of solvent and solute. A solute is a substance with a smaller amount and a solvent is a substance with a larger amount than a solute. When a tablespoon of sugar is dissolved in water, a homogeneous mixture is obtained, the composition of which is the same everywhere. In this homogeneous mixture, sugar dissolves and water is the solvent. Solutions whose solvent is water are called aqueous solutions.

Pure substances have identity properties that allow us to recognize them. Mixtures, on the other hand, do not have such identity features. Properties of mixtures such as density and boiling point vary according to the “combination rate” of the components that make up the mixture. For example, the boiling point of water is 100 °C at 1 atm pressure, while the boiling point of glycol is 198 °C. The boiling point of the glycol-water mixture is higher than the boiling point of water and lower than the boiling point of the glycol. The freezing point of glycol, whose boiling point is higher than the boiling point of water, is also lower than the freezing point of water. Glycol causes the freezing point of water to decrease and the boiling point to rise.

Seawater is a mixture of various salts dissolved. This salt ratio is different in different seas. One of the various reasons for this difference is the temperature and the other is the excess of the rivers feeding the sea in that region. The saltiest sea in the world is the Dead Sea, on the border of Israel and Jordan.