Aggregated diamond nanorod
Aggregated diamond nanorods, or ADNRs, are an allotrope of carbon believed to be the hardest and least compressible known material, as measured by its isothermal bulk modulus; aggregated diamond nanorods have a modulus of 491 gigapascals (GPa), while a conventional diamond has a modulus of 442 GPa.[1]
ADNRs are also 0.3% denser than regular diamond. The ADNR material is also harder than type IIa diamond and ultrahard fullerite.
A process to produce the substance was discovered by physicists in Germany, led by Natalia Dubrovinskaia, at the University of Bayreuth in 2005.[2] ADNRs are made by compressing allotropic carbon fullerene molecules (generally 60 carbon atoms per molecule) to a pressure of 20 GPa, while at the same time heating to 2500 [[kelvin], using a unique 5000-metric-ton (50 MN) multi-anvil press. The resulting substance is a series of interconnected diamond nanorods, with diameters of between 5 and 20 nanometres and lengths of around 1 micrometre each.
A diamond anvil cell, located at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility at Grenoble, France, was used to measure the compressibility of the material.
See also
References
- ^ Aggregated Diamond Nanorods, the Densest and Least Compressible Form of Carbon
- ^ Dubrovinskaia, Natalia (2005). "Aggregated diamond nanorods, the densest and least compressible form of carbon". Appl. Phys. Lett. 87: 083106. doi:10.1063/1.2034101.
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External links
- "Diamonds are not forever" at physicsweb.org.
- University of Bayreuth page on ADNRs (German)
- Photos of Aggregated diamond nanorods
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