Carbon a streak on paper (hence its name, from the Greek verb "γράφειν" which means "to write"), while diamond is the hardest naturally occurring material known. Graphite is a good electrical conductor while diamond has a low electrical conductivity. Under normal conditions, diamond, carbon nanotubes, and graphene have the highest thermal conductivities of all known materials. All carbon allotropes are solids under normal conditions, with graphite being the most thermodynamically stable form at standard temperature and pressure. They are chemically resistant and require high temperature to react even with oxygen. The most common oxidation state of carbon in inorganic compounds is
Atom economy versatile and dependable, but poorly atom-economical reactions. For example, synthesis of an alcohol is readily accomplished by reduction of an ester with lithium aluminium hydride, but the reaction necessarily produces a voluminous floc of aluminum salts, which have to be separated from the product alcohol and disposed of. The cost of such hazardous material disposal can be considerable. Catalytic hydrogenolysis of an ester is the analogous reaction with a high atom economy, but it requires catalyst optimization, is a much slower reaction and is not applicable universally. It is fundamental in chemical reactions of the form A+B→ C+D that two