Scientists Successfully Synthesize High-quality Black Gold Diamond

Diamond is not just a crystal clear white form. The diversity of its color comes from the differences in trace elements or inclusions within the crystal structure. Today we are going to mention Carbonado, commonly known as "black diamond". It not only has a deep and noble color, but its formation mystery spans across two major fields: earth science and astrophysics. Recently, a heavyweight achievement by Chinese scientists has brought dawn to solving this mystery.

 

Unlike common single crystal transparent diamonds, black diamond is a polycrystalline diamond polymer. It is made up of countless tiny diamond grains "embedded" inside, usually wrapped with graphite, amorphous carbon, or other mineral impurities. It is precisely these complex internal structures that give it a unique appearance that is dark and opaque, yet has a strong metallic luster, while also endowing it with extremely high hardness and toughness. Natural black diamond is extremely rare. Currently, natural black diamond is only found in alluvial deposits in Brazil and the Central African Republic, and its origin is still a scientific mystery. Scientists have proposed various hypotheses, including the formation of high pressure in the deep Earth, the impact of cosmic meteorites, or the remnants of ancient asteroid impacts on Earth. Due to its extreme rarity, natural black gold diamond has significant value in the fields of gemstones and collectibles.

 

 

The origin of black diamond has long been a cutting-edge topic of debate in the scientific community. The mainstream hypothesis suggests that it may have formed in extreme high-pressure and high-temperature environments deep within the Earth's mantle; Another hypothesis is that it may have originated from the instantaneous ultra-high pressure and high temperature generated by asteroids colliding with Earth in ancient times; There are even hypotheses that suggest it may have come from carbon rich interstellar space and descended to Earth with meteorites. This unsolved mystery has cast a cosmic level veil of mystery over this black diamond.

 

The vast majority of currently available "black diamonds" are colorless diamonds that have been artificially irradiated. This treatment only changes the color of the surface of the diamond, and its interior remains a single crystal structure, which is fundamentally different from the polycrystalline polymer structure and physical properties of natural black diamond. It can be said that prior to this, the laboratory had not truly replicated this type of natural structured black diamond.

 

Recently, this gap has been filled by a team of Chinese scientists. Professor Zhao Zhisheng and others from the academician team of the State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Preparation Technology and Science of Yanshan University, based on the new principle of solid solid transformation, have successfully achieved the artificial synthesis of high-quality black diamond. The black diamond they synthesized has a uniform and deep color, dense texture, and outstanding performance: its hardness can be controlled within a wide range of 40-150 GPa, and the highest hardness sample can easily carve natural diamonds; Its toughness is 2 to 4 times that of ordinary diamonds. In contrast, natural black diamond often has defects such as uneven composition and pores inside.

 

This breakthrough research provides key experimental evidence and a new perspective for verifying various hypotheses about the origin of black diamond in science. Technologically, this superhard material, which can synergistically regulate hardness and toughness, will bring long-term technological inspiration and is expected to be used to manufacture high-end cutting tools, ultra precision machining instruments, deep-sea drilling bits, and top-level protective armor with ultra-high wear resistance. Of course, it may also provide the jewelry market with reliable sources and uniform quality of genuine 'black diamonds'.