www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7926
Advertising A material that is harder than diamond has been created in the lab, by pa cking together tiny "nanorods" of carbon. The new material, known as aggregated carbon nanorods (ACNR), was created by compressing and heating super-strong carbon molecules called buckyba lls or carbon-60. These molecules consist of 60 atoms that interlock in hexagonal or pentagonal shapes and resemble tiny soccer balls. The super-tough ACNR was created by compressing carbon-60 to 200 times no rmal atmospheric pressure, while simultaneously heating it to 2226C. The properties of the resulting material were then measured using a diamo nd anvil cell at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France. This instrument squeezes a material between two normal diamonds, enablin g researchers to study it at high pressure using synchrotron radiation e xtremely intense X-rays which reveal the materials structure. The researchers found their ACNR to be 03% denser than ordinary diamond and more resistant to pressure than any other known material. Industrial applications "Our material actually scratches normal diamonds," says Natalia Dubrovins kaia, of the University of Bayreuth, in Germany, who led the research. While an ordinary diamond gets its hardness from the strong molecular bon ds between each of its atoms, ACNR derives its strength from the fact th at it is formed from interlocking nanorods, the researchers say. Dubrovinskaia told New Scientist the material could have a wide range of potential industrial applications. As it is stable at very high temperat ures, she says it could be better than normal diamond for deep drilling and polishing abrasive materials. She also believes it will be easy to m ass produce the super-tough material.
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