Diamonds, long revered as one of the hardest substances on Earth, may soon face competition from an even tougher material, according to recent scientific advancements.
Diamonds, comprised of carbon crystals, are naturally occurring and renowned for their exceptional hardness. However, a team of physicists from the United States and Sweden has proposed a method to enhance diamond’s resilience further, potentially creating a material up to 30% more resistant to compression.
Utilizing quantum-accurate molecular-dynamics simulations conducted on a supercomputer, researchers sought to explore how diamond behaves under extreme pressure and temperatures, conditions that could render it unstable. Their simulations unveiled a novel configuration known as the eight-atom body-centered cubic (BC8) phase, theorized to surpass diamond in hardness.
The BC8 structure, previously observed only in silicon and germanium, maintains the tetrahedral lattice characteristic of diamonds but lacks the cleavage planes inherent in diamond structure, enhancing its resistance to compression.
While the concept appears promising, practical synthesis of the BC8 phase has proven challenging due to the narrow temperature and pressure ranges conducive to its formation, which remain elusive. Physicist Jon Eggert from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory elucidated, stating, “The BC8 structure maintains this perfect tetrahedral nearest-neighbor shape, but without the cleavage planes found in the diamond structure.”
Physicist Ivan Olyenik from the University of South Florida elaborated on the experimental limitations, noting, “We predicted that the post-diamond BC8 phase would be experimentally accessible only within a narrow high-pressure, high-temperature region of the carbon phase diagram.”
While practical implementation of the BC8 phase awaits further exploration, its potential to surpass diamond in hardness underscores the continual pursuit of innovative materials with extraordinary properties, promising advancements in various fields of science and technology.
