A new innovation in diamond production has emerged, with researchers from South Korea’s Institute for Basic Science developing a method to grow diamonds in just 150 minutes using a special liquid metal mix. The traditional process of producing diamonds takes billions of years to form naturally or weeks to be produced synthetically. However, this new technique eliminates the need for immense pressure typically required for diamond production and offers a faster and more efficient alternative.
Led by Dr. Hyun-Jin Kim, the team believes that this method can be scaled up for significant industrial applications. While dissolving carbon in liquid metal is not a new concept, previous methods involved high pressure and diamond seeds. The new approach utilizes a specific blend of liquid metals – gallium, iron, nickel, and silicon – heated rapidly in a vacuum chamber with methane and hydrogen gases.
Under these conditions, carbon atoms become suspended in the liquid metal, forming diamond crystal seeds in just 15 minutes. Tiny diamond fragments then emerge, and a continuous diamond film can be formed within 150 minutes. Although the researchers acknowledge limitations such as the current diamond film’s depth, they are confident that improvements can be made through a larger growth area and optimized carbon distribution methods.
This groundbreaking technique has the potential to revolutionize diamond production in various fields, including industrial applications, electronics, and even quantum computers. The study’s authors believe that this liquid metal approach can be further developed to grow diamonds on diverse surfaces and existing diamond particles. Published in the journal Nature Communications, this research offers a promising solution for a faster, easier, and more efficient way to produce diamonds.
Diamond production has significant implications for various industries such as jewelry manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing, and even space exploration. With this new technique eliminating the need for immense pressure typically required for diamond production while also being much faster than traditional methods it could significantly impact those industries.
The use of liquid metals to grow diamonds is not entirely new but requires rapid heating in vacuum chambers with methane and hydrogen gases which allows carbon atoms to become suspended in the liquid metal forming diamond crystal seeds quickly.
The study’s lead author Dr Hyun-Jin Kim believes that this method could be scaled up for significant industrial applications like electronics manufacturing where high-quality diamonds are used extensively.
The use of this technique is not limited to just growing diamonds on flat surfaces; it also has the potential to grow diamonds on existing particle structures which could revolutionize space exploration where high-quality materials are essential.
In conclusion, this groundbreaking research offers a promising solution for a faster