Diamonds are not only a girl's best friend, they are important in many industrial applications. Recently, scientists from North Carolina State University found a way to make another form of carbon (besides graphite, graphene, and diamond) at room temperature/pressure in the air.
Too simple to be true? Well, it is if you have a laser that can heat a substrate like glass, sapphire, or a plastic polymer to over 3,727 degrees Celsius (6,740 degrees Fahrenheit) for a few seconds and then cool it super fast. The result, called Q-carbon, is 20-500 nanometers thick depending on how many times you do the laser-pulse/cooling process. The internal diamond structure can also be controlled by changing the duration of the laser pulse.
Diamond nanoneedles, nanodots, or large-area diamond films, drug delivery applications, industrial processes, and high-temperature switches and power electronics are all possible, explains Jay Narayan, the John C. Fan Distinguished Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at NC State.
Like a lot of super small nanotechnology materials, Q-carbon has cool and unexpected properties. It glows in low levels of energy and can be magnetized. Since it is also inert, Q-carbon can be used in the body to fight disease, repair/replace damaged joints, and as artificial retinas.
Since Q-carbon can be formed on a silicon substrate, it has important applications in electronics and communications too.
So next time you think about diamonds, you may have an entirely difference reference than the faceted gem of romantic fame. Go science!
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