Researchers from two higher-education institutions in China have created a super-rare, high-quality diamond in the lab, which is many times stronger than its natural counterparts.
The scientists who created the diamond believe their creation could have several applications in sectors where diamonds are already used. Perhaps the best-known example of an industry where diamonds are used is for polishing and cutting tools.
Until now, the hardest diamonds found on Earth were discovered only in impact craters, making them extremely rare and small. Research conducted at Jilin University in Changchun, led by Liu Bingbing and Yao Mingguang, along with Zhu Shengcai from Sun Yat-sen University in Shenzhen, discovered that graphite formed a structure called the post-graphite phase.
The research team from China was able to replicate the crystal structure of the strongest diamonds
The scientists discovered that the post-graphite phase formed a hexagonal diamond when compressed and heated to extreme temperatures. Immediately after making this discovery, the team published their findings in the academic journal Nature Materials.
Ultra-hard or ‘super’ diamonds are a relatively recent discovery. The first one was discovered in the Canyon Diablo meteorite in Arizona, in 1967. Since then, scientists have found replicating the structure of these diamonds to be challenging.
