Chinese scientists create ultra-hard 'super diamond'

Chinese scientists have developed an artificial "super diamond" that is much harder than its natural counterpart. This super diamond is expected to revolutionize industries that use such materials.

According to a new study published in Nature Materials, highly compressed graphite was heated to synthesize well-crystallized, nearly pure hexagonal diamond. The process resulted in the formation of a high-structured block containing ultra-small hexagonal diamond nanolayers, each millimeter in size.

Scientists noted that this "super diamond" structure possesses "high thermal stability up to 1100°C and an extremely high hardness of 155 Giga Pascals (GPa)." In contrast, natural diamonds are known to have thermal stability up to around 700°C and a hardness of about 100 GPa.

The researchers emphasized that the material's high thermal stability and hardness hold "great potential for industrial applications."