Method for analyzing pure carbon

Guo Jia

I have a sample on which I think carbon is formed physically but not chemically. What is an analysis technique to determine that there is carbon for sure?

Simon Bridge

Welcome to PF;
You have a black deposit on something?
You can analyse it with a spectrometer - or a mass-spectrograph.
Either is pretty sure.

You could burn it in pure oxygen and test for carbon-dioxide... (bubble though lime water)

chill_factor

what about a nondestructive test for carbon that's in a more crystalline form like nanotubes, graphene, etc? just curious, since in this case, you cannot burn it, mass spec it, or anything like that.

Simon Bridge

You use a spectrometer like I said: you shine something on the sample, like light or some sort of particle beam, and examine the spectrum of either the reflected or transmitted beam.

I have used 2 and 4MeV protons to determine the elements present in an unknown sample.