Scientists create diamonds in minutes using liquid metal

A team of researchers has developed a new method, which uses a liquid metal alloy, to produce diamonds under moderate pressure conditions.

Typically, diamonds take billions of years to be formed naturally, and a few weeks to be produced synthetically.

In a new study, a team of researchers developed a method that uses a special mixture of liquid metal capable of producing diamonds in 150 minutesand at normal atmospheric pressure.

The new technique, which was presented in an article published this Wednesday in the journal Nature, eliminates the need to submit materials to huge pressure usually required for the production of diamonds.

Synthetic diamonds can only be produced using liquid metal catalysts in “gigapascal pressure range” (typically 5-6 GPa, where 1 GPa is about 10,000 atm), and typically within the range of temperature of 1,300-1,600°C.

However, diamonds thus produced are always limited to sizes of approximately one cubic centimeterthat is, reaching such high pressures can only be done on a relatively small length scale.

The discovery of alternative methods for producing diamonds in liquid metal under milder conditions, particularly low pressure, It’s a huge challenge of materials science — which, if overcome, could revolutionize diamond production.

In the new study, a team of researchers from South Korea’s National Institute of Science and Technology, led by American physicist Rodney Ruoffused a specific mixture of liquid metals — gallium, iron, nickel and silicon — heated quickly in a vacuum chamber with methane and hydrogen gases.

Under these conditions, carbon atoms remain suspended in the liquid metal, forming diamond crystal seedsIt is. At just 1 ATM of pressure and 1,025°C, and in less than 15 minutes, small fragments of diamond appear, and a continuous film of diamond can be formed in just 150 minutes.

The new technique, say the study authors, cited by Phys.org, has the potential to revolutionize diamond production in various fields, from industrial and electronic applications to quantum computers.

The study authors believe this liquid metal approach can be developed to grow diamonds on different surfaces and even on existing diamond particles.