Diamond, an allotrope of carbon, features a tetrahedral structure where each carbon atom is covalently bonded to four others. However, the carbon atoms at the surface of a diamond crystal present a unique challenge. Unlike the bulk structure, the surface structure is often strained and differs significantly from the internal arrangement. Specifically, surface characterization techniques, such as Auger Spectroscopy, reveal that the diamond surface exhibits a distorted face-centered cubic (FCC) structure, indicating that the surface properties are not consistent with the bulk properties. This discrepancy highlights the complexities involved in understanding the behavior of carbon atoms at the surface of diamond crystals.
