Synthetic Hexagonal Diamond Surpasses Natural Diamonds in Hardness and Stability

A team of researchers has successfully created a synthetic diamond that displays more rigor than its natural counterpart. Development included scientists from many Chinese institutions who collaborated with a researcher from Umeå University in Sweden. Their findings describe a process where graphite is subjected to excessive heat and pressure, resulting in a synthetic diamond with a hexagonal lattice structure. Unlike traditional cubic-altis diamonds, which are usually found in nature and synthetic production, this new structure increases rigidity and thermal stability.

New insights from nature material studies

As Study Published in nature content, the previous efforts to produce hexagonal diamonds have been interrupted by boundaries in size and purity. The research team addressed these challenges by heating the graphene under controlled high pressure conditions, allowing the material to be converted into a structured synthetic diamond with desired lattice configuration.

As Informed By pHys.org, the first sample was measured in millimeters and demonstrated the ability to withstand pressures up to 155 GPA and the temperature reached 1,100 ° C. In comparison, natural diamonds typically tolerate pressure between 70 and 100 GPA and can only maintain stability up to 700 ° C.

Potential industrial application

According to the researchers, newly developed synthetic diamonds are unlikely to be used for jewelery due to its structural properties. Instead, its increased hardness and thermal resistance can make it suitable for industrial applications such as drilling, machining, data storage and thermal management. The ability to produce this type of diamond on a large scale is a focus for further research.