In a groundbreaking development, researchers have devised a new method for rapidly growing diamonds, significantly reducing the time required from weeks to just 150 minutes, all at normal atmospheric pressure. This innovation has profound implications across various industries, offering a faster, easier, and more efficient way to produce diamonds.
Traditionally, diamonds take billions of years to form naturally or weeks to be synthesized artificially, typically involving immense pressure. However, this new technique eliminates the need for such high pressure, paving the way for scalable industrial applications.
Led by a team from South Korea’s Institute for Basic Science, the researchers achieved this feat by utilizing a special blend of liquid metals – gallium, iron, nickel, and silicon – heated rapidly in a vacuum chamber with methane and hydrogen gases. This process allows carbon atoms to become suspended in the liquid metal, forming diamond crystal seeds. Within just 15 minutes, tiny diamond fragments emerge, and a continuous diamond film can be formed within 150 minutes.
While acknowledging current limitations, such as the depth of the diamond film, the researchers are optimistic about improvements through larger growth areas and optimized carbon distribution methods.
The potential implications of this innovation are vast. It could revolutionize diamond production across diverse fields, including industrial applications, electronics, and quantum computing. The researchers envision further development of this liquid metal approach to grow diamonds on various surfaces and even on existing diamond particles.
Published in the journal Nature, this research marks a significant step forward in diamond production technology, offering a promising solution for meeting the growing demand for diamonds in various sectors.
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