Scientists have solved a decades-long puzzle and unveiled a near unbreakable substance that could rival diamond as the hardest material on Earth. The research is published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Researchers found that when carbon and nitrogen precursors were subjected to extreme heat and pressure, the resulting materials—known as carbon nitrides—were tougher than cubic boron nitride, the second hardest material after diamond.
The breakthrough opens doors for multifunctional materials to be used for industrial purposes including protective coatings for cars and spaceships, high-endurance cutting tools, solar panels and photodetectors, experts say.
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The team subjected various forms of carbon nitrogen precursors to pressures of between 70 and 135 gigapascals—around 1 million times our atmospheric pressure—while heating it to temperatures of more than 1,500°C.
To identify the atomic arrangement of the compounds under these conditions, the samples were illuminated by an intense X-ray beam at three particle accelerators—the European Synchrotron Research Facility in France, the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Germany and the Advanced Photon Source based in the United States.
Researchers discovered that three carbon nitride compounds were found to have the necessary building blocks for super-hardness.
Remarkably, all three compounds retained their diamond-like qualities when they returned to ambient pressure and temperature conditions.
Further calculations and experiments suggest the new materials contain additional properties including photoluminescence and high energy density, where a large amount of energy can be stored in a small amount of mass.
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More information: Dominique Laniel et al, Synthesis of Ultra‐Incompressible and Recoverable Carbon Nitrides Featuring CN4 Tetrahedra, Advanced Materials (2023). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202308030
Source: Newly created ultra-hard material rivals diamond
Robin Edgar
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