Question

why carbon exhibits the property of catenation to a great extent ​

Answer 1

Catenation is defined as the process in which atoms of same elements forms bonds with each other to form various types of compounds. The elements that exhibits the property of catenation are: carbon, silicon, etc.

Explanation:

• Two important reasons for exhibition of the catenation property for carbon is small size, and tetravalency.
• The bonds formed by carbon atoms are covalent bonds.
• The size of a carbon atom is very small, therefore its bond energy becomes higher. The bond energy of C- C atom is 347.3 kilojoules per mole.
• This allows it to form stable bonds that can be single, double or triple bonds.
• The carbon atom shows tetravalency, which means that it has 4 valence electrons with which it can form single, double or triple bonds.
• That's why large number of cyclic, aliphatic, linear or branched compounds are formed.
• And this is the reason for large number of carbon compounds in the nature.