Lab Grown Breakthrough: The 15-Minute Diamond
May 26, 24
(IDEX Online) - Scientists in South Korea say the can grow a diamond in just 15 minutes.
The research team has developed a technique to synthesize diamonds at normal, atmospheric pressure without a starter gem and has published details of its breakthrough in the prestigious science journal Nature.
The experimented with a variety of metals and gasses, flushing extremely hot carbon-rich methane through a home-made chamber at sea level atmospheric pressure levels.
The found that a gallium-nickel-iron mixture, with silicon added, provided the best chemical environment for diamond growth.
The diamonds it produces are, however, currently far too small for gem use and will be suitable only for drilling and polishing.
"This pioneering breakthrough was the result of human ingenuity, unremitting efforts, and the concerted cooperation of many collaborators," Rodney Ruoff, the physical chemist who led the research team at the Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials, part of the Institute for Basic Science in South Korea, told livescience.com.
"For over a decade I have been thinking about new ways to grow diamonds, as I thought it might be possible to achieve this in what might be unexpected ways."
Pics courtesy the Institute for Basic Science.