Copper and graphite both conduct electricity at room temperature
CHEMISTRY · Single correct · A Level · Chemistry · Bonding · Bonding
Problem
Copper and graphite both conduct electricity at room temperature. Which statement best accounts for the difference in how electrical conductivity arises in these two solids?
(a) Copper conducts via σ bonds between metal atoms, whereas graphite conducts via metallic bonding between carbon atoms.
(b) In copper, delocalized metallic electrons move freely in three dimensions; in graphite, delocalized π electrons conduct primarily within two-dimensional layers.
(c) Both solids conduct because each atom donates exactly one electron to a three-dimensional conduction band that extends throughout the crystal.
(d) Copper’s d electrons are localized, limiting conduction to its s electrons along close-packed planes, whereas graphite’s π electrons hop between layers as well as within them, giving three-dimensional conductivity.