China creates super diamond "hybrid of the universe"

(NLDO) - The new type of "super diamond" promises to bring many breakthroughs in the fields of industry and technology.

A Chinese-Swedish research team led by Jilin University (China) announced that they have created a new miracle by creating a type of hexagonal crystal lattice diamond that is much harder than natural diamond.

Recreating the conditions of a cosmic collision, scientists have created "super diamonds" - AI illustration: Thu Anh

According to Science Alert , the research team placed graphite under great pressure before heating it to 1,527 degrees Celsius and obtained the diamond with the strange crystal structure mentioned above.

The crystal lattice of ordinary diamond has a face-centered cubic structure.

The above method interferes with the formation of diamonds in a way that recreates an ancient impact event.

A meteorite that crashed into Earth naturally produced these hexagonal diamonds. These interstellar and terrestrial hybrids were found in the impact crater about 50 years ago.

Cosmic collisions create sudden, intense temperatures and pressures, enough to turn the carbon in the material of the meteorite and the planet it lands on into the most exotic diamonds.

By following the exact path the universe once intervened, the team created perfect copies of the ancient "hybrids."

This new super diamond has a hardness of 155 gigapascals (GPa). For comparison, natural diamonds have a maximum hardness of about 110GPa.

Their thermal stability is also impressive: They remain intact at temperatures of at least 1,100°C, well above the 900°C of nanodiamonds commonly used in industry.

In addition to overcoming some of the limitations that previous researchers have encountered when synthesizing hexagonal lattice diamonds, the team also identified ways to scale up the production process for this material in the future.

Writing in the scientific journal Nature Materials , the authors say they could be the ultimate materials of the future, helping to make better drill bits and machine parts than they are today, or to be used in data storage technology, a field that is expected to boom.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/trung-quoc-tao-ra-sieu-kim-cuong-con-lai-cua-vu-tru-196250305085001352.htm