Diamond is strongly associated with eternal values being the hardest of all substances found in nature, but the new material, also composed of carbon atoms, may well outperform the king of minerals.
The researchers from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, have created a configuration of carbon atoms through computer simulations that makes it as hard as diamond, but a stronger and lighter substance, l-express.ca reported.
ATOMIC RECONSTRUCTION
Carbon is able to produce various types of crystals, the properties of which depend on the type of a chemical bond between the atoms. For example, diamond is formed when each carbon atom binds to the four nearest carbon atoms creating a three-dimensional structure similar to a tetrahedron.
As for the softest minerals, graphite, each atom binds to three others, thereby creating layers consisting of six-membered rings.
PENTADIAMOND
The scientists at the University of Tsukuba sought to figure out what kind of material they would get if the arrangement of carbon atoms was more complex, that is, by combining the same number of atoms to form four covalent bonds as those that bind to the three nearest atoms.
As a result of computer simulations, the researchers determined the most stable atomic configuration. The scientists called their discovery a ‘pentadiamond’ as this new material consists of the rings in the shape of a pentagon.
Theoretically, the pentadiamond could be stronger than a diamond and could withstand temperatures of almost 4000°C without compression. It could also conduct electricity and generate blue and green light.
In case pentadiamonds are produced at a reasonable price, these properties can make them useful in the optoelectronics.
It can also replace a diamond in some drilling operations and some research devices that recreate the extreme pressures existing inside planets.
The idea of the Japanese researchers to combine different configurations of carbon atoms opens up fresh opportunities for discovering several new molecules: the number of possible combinations is huge and allows creating new materials or improving already synthesized ones in the coming years, l-express.ca notes.
NEW FORMS OF CARBON
Although diamond and graphite are the best-known forms of carbon, researchers have long sought to discover new ones featuring unique characteristics.
In 1985, two American researchers, together with a British colleague, identified the third form of a carbon crystal - fullerenes, which earned them the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017.
The fullerenes are graphite-like molecules. However, the random arrangement of the pentagonal rings of atoms prevents the layers from remaining flat. They can be shaped like a soccer ball or a small cylinder.
Today, these nanoparticles are used in the pharmaceutical, electronic and cosmetic industries.
WONDER MATERIAL a world-shaking discovery
Almost 20 years later, in 2004, graphene was identified. This molecule consists of one layer of a carbon atom arranged in a hexagon shape. The graphene that was a world-shaking discovery thanks to its possibilities is an elastic, conductive, strong and transparent nanomaterial.
Finally, in 2009, the researches synthesized two new forms of carbon: a magnetic U-carbon and a cyclocarbon, a carbyne ring of 18 carbon atoms.
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished
