Novel super-hard diamond developed

"Any time you need a super-hard material to cut something, this new diamond has the potential to do it more easily and more quickly," said Bradby.

Melbourne, Dec 13 Scientists have created synthetic diamonds that are harder than the regular ones and may help cut through ultra-solid materials on mining sites.

Nano-sized Lonsdaleite is a hexagonal diamond only found in nature at the site of meteorite impacts.

"This new diamond is not going to be on any engagement rings. You'll more likely find it on a mining site - but I still think that diamonds are a scientist's best friend," said Jodie Bradby, associate professor at Australian National University (ANU).

"Any time you need a super-hard material to cut something, this new diamond has the potential to do it more easily and more quickly," said Bradby.

Researchers made the Lonsdaleite in a diamond anvil at 400 degrees Celsius, halving the temperature at which it can be formed in a laboratory.

"The hexagonal structure of this diamond's atoms makes it much harder than regular diamonds, which have a cubic structure. We've been able to make it at the nanoscale and this is exciting because often with these materials 'smaller is stronger'," said Bradby.

PTI