Atomic carbon in chemistry is single carbon atom with chemical formula :C: - in effect a dicarbene.
This very short lived species is created by passing a large current through two adjacent carbon rods, generating an electric arc. Atomic carbon is generated in the process. Professor Phil Shevlin has done the principal work in the field based at Auburn University in the USA.
The way this species is made is closely related to the formation of fullerenes C60, the chief difference being that a much lower vacuum is used in atomic carbon formation.
This species has been used to generate "true" carbenes by the abstraction of oxygen atoms from carbonyl groups:
- R2C=O + :C: → R2C: + CO
Carbenes formed in this way will exhibit true carbenic behaviour. Carbenes prepared by other methods such as diazo compounds, might exhibit properties better attributed to the diazo compound used to make the carbene (which mimic carbene behaviour), rather than to the carbene itself. This is important from a mechanistic understanding of true carbene behaviour perspective.
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- Moss, Robert A; Jones, Maitland (2004). "Atomic carbon". Reactive intermediate chemistry. pp. 463–500. ISBN 978-0-471-23324-4.