{"id":106115,"date":"2024-05-06T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/?post_type=ftm_article&p=106115"},"modified":"2024-05-03T09:23:12","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T13:23:12","slug":"synthetic-diamonds","status":"publish","type":"ftm_article","link":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/science\/synthetic-diamonds","title":{"rendered":"Synthetic diamonds may have just gotten way easier to make"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Korean researchers have developed a new technique for creating synthetic diamonds \u2014 and they think they\u2019ve only scratched the surface of its potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Synthetic diamonds<\/strong>: <\/strong>Aside from jewelry, diamonds are used<\/a> in drilling, manufacturing, healthcare, quantum computing<\/a>, and more. The cost and uncertainty of finding the right kind of diamonds in nature inspired scientists to see if they could make them in the lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1950s, a team at General Electric pulled it off<\/a> using a process called \u201chigh-pressure high-temperature\u201d (HPHT), which mimics the conditions that create diamonds in nature. This process is still used to make 99% of synthetic diamonds, though one called \u201cchemical vapor deposition\u201d (CVD), which doesn\u2019t require high pressures, also works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both techniques are far faster than the natural method, producing diamonds in weeks instead of eons, but they require expensive equipment, and diamonds produced using them are typically limited in size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“[T]his could be used to develop thin coatings of diamond on surfaces, and we use these all the time.” <\/p>\nTorben Daeneke<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s new?<\/strong> Researchers at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea have announced a new way to make synthetic diamonds under ambient pressure in under three hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technique starts with creating a liquid metal alloy out of four elements (gallium, iron, nickel, and silicon). The mix is then exposed to methane<\/a> and hydrogen gasses at a temperature of about 1025 C (1877 F) and a pressure of 1 atm (the same as air at sea level). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the researchers don\u2019t fully understand how or why, something about this combination of ingredients and conditions causes the carbon in the gasses to form a diamond film on top of the alloys, which can later be detached and applied to other surfaces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead: <\/strong>This is still early research, and more work is needed to determine how the new technique for creating synthetic diamonds compares to existing ones in terms of cost. So far, the largest of the team\u2019s diamond films is just tens of micrometers wide, but they believe the technique is scalable, which could make it useful for many diamond applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite evident that this could be used to develop thin coatings of diamond on surfaces, and we use these all the time,\u201d Torben Daeneke, a materials chemist at RMIT University, who wasn\u2019t involved in the study, told Chemistry World<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou could think about using this as an anti-corrosive coating in chemical reactors, for example. \u2026 Gallium is a relatively abundant, non-toxic liquid metal and all you have to do here is place it on the surface you want to coat and flush some methane over it,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There are numerous intriguing avenues to explore!”<\/p>Rod Ruoff<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The IBS researchers have already figured out that they can grow synthetic diamonds using the new technique and other alloys, including one where the nickel is replaced with cobalt, and they\u2019re hopeful their work will lead to even more discoveries in diamond synthesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNew designs and methods for introducing carbon atoms and\/or small carbon clusters into liquid metals for diamond growth will surely be important,\u201d said lead researcher Rod Ruoff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe creativity and technical ingenuity of the worldwide research community seem likely to me, based on our discovery, to rapidly lead to other related approaches and experimental configurations,\u201d he continued. \u201cThere are numerous intriguing avenues to explore!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’d love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at <\/em>tips@freethink.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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