Carbon (C), atomic number 6
Single Carbon atom looking for another single atom to form a bond with. I currently have four electrons in the outer shell that I am willing to share with any willing and ready atom. I am pretty universal, as my oxidation state varies from -4 to +4. Therefore, I am willing to give or take electrons in a polar covalent bond. I am pretty awesome because I am the foundational part of all organic matter on Earth because of my ability to form carbon bonds. Thus, even if you are another lonely carbon atom, you can still create a bond with me. Maybe we will even be a part of an integral part of human beings.
In fact, I love carbon bonds so much that, at room temperatures, I am pretty inert and do not want to give these bonds. I am very useful and pretty material in this state. It can be graphite in your pencil or a diamond in your ring. However, if you are still interested and willing to form a bond with me, you only need to warm me up to high temperatures to break me away from other carbons. This advice is special for oxygen, with which we can form carbon monoxide or dioxide.
I am arguably the most forward-looking and future-oriented atom. I am used in nanomaterials and new technologies that try to combat climate change and emissions of my atoms (Khodabakhshi et al., 2020). Graphene quantum dots made from my atoms can be used to store renewable energy more efficiently (Khodabakhshi et al., 2020). As I mentioned before, I am pretty universal and, thus, can be used to harm and restore the environment, even to capture myself. Therefore, I am arguably one of the best atoms in the Periodic Table.
References
Khodabakhshi, S., Fulvio, P. F., & Andreoli, E. (2020). Carbon black reborn: Structure and chemistry for renewable energy harnessing. Carbon, 162, 604-649.