Question

how does charcoal differ from graphene in its atomic structure?

Answer 1

Charcoal :

Impure amorphous carbon, which always bonds covalently and is most stable when bonded to 4 other carbon atoms.Charcoal is 65-85% carbon, with the rest being made from ash and volatile chemicals, which break up any structures which would otherwise form, although it contains micro-crystals of graphite. The atoms are bonded in a way such that there is no regular pattern. Harder charcoal is more graphite-like whereas very soft charcoal contains more soot and fullerenes (bucky balls commonly of 60 of 70 atoms)

Graphene :

graphene is fundamentally one single layer of graphite; a layer of sp2 bonded carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb (hexagonal) lattice. However, graphene offers some impressive properties that exceed those of graphite as it is isolated from its ‘mother material’. Graphite is naturally a very brittle compound and cannot be used as a structural material on its own due to its sheer planes (although it is often used to reinforce steel). Graphene, on the other hand, is the strongest material ever recorded, more than three hundred times stronger than A36 structural steel, at 130 gigapascals, and more than forty times stronger than diamond.