In a revolutionary new process, scientists have created defect-free nanodiamonds from a hydrocarbon using electron radiation.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a new method for creating synthetic diamonds using electron radiation. This technique, they suggest, could pave the way for powerful new forms of imaging and analytical techniques.
Currently, diamonds are typically formed under extreme conditions of heat and pressure, such as those deep inside the Earth, or through a controlled growth process called chemical vapor deposition. However, the Japanese team, led by Professor Eiichi Nakamura, discovered a way to create tiny diamonds at relatively low pressures using an electron beam.Their starting material was adamantane, a cage-shaped hydrocarbon molecule with the same basic tetrahedral carbon skeleton as diamond.In adamantane, the carbon atoms are in the right diamond-like arrangement, but each carbon is capped with hydrogen atoms. As the team explains, to turn adamantane into diamond, you need to remove the hydrogens .You also need to link the carbons together . To achieve this, the team used electron beams inside a transmission electron microscope , and they carefully “zapped” adamantane crystals.Breakthrough in synthetic diamonds “Computational data gives you ‘virtual’ reaction paths, but I wanted to see it with my eyes,” Nakamura said. “However, the common wisdom among TEM specialists was that organic molecules decompose quickly as you shine an electron beam on them. My research since 2004 has been a constant battle to show otherwise,” he added.Instead of destroying the molecules , the beam caused the hydrogens to detach and the carbons to link up, thereby slowly building up a diamond lattice.During this process, hydrogen gas was released, and defect-free nanodiamonds up to ~10 nanometers in diameter formed. This is a big deal as the new process requires no crushing pressure or scorching heat. Instead, controlled electron irradiation was performed in modest conditions. Also, in most instances, TEM usually destroys organic samples under the beam.The new technique, however, not only didn’t destroy them, but actually allowed a controlled chemical reaction. That’s revolutionary for microscopy.Interestingly, the team found that adamantane is key, as other hydrocarbons didn’t work. Its diamond-like skeleton makes it uniquely suited as a precursor.Interesting potential in various industriesLooking ahead, the new technique could have some interesting applications in various industries. For example, it could be used to develop new quantum tech where nanodiamonds can host “color centers” that are used in quantum computers and sensors.It could also be used in surface engineering and lithography, providing new ways of “writing” materials with electron beams. Astrochemistry could also benefit from the idea that diamonds in meteorites and rocks may form through cosmic particle irradiation, rather than solely through heat and pressure.Looking at the bigger picture, the discovery overturns a long-standing belief that electron beams just destroy organic molecules. Nakamura’s team has shown that, with the right molecular design , electron beams can instead drive highly specific chemical reactions, opening up new frontiers in both nanomaterial synthesis and electron microscopy.“This example of diamond synthesis is the ultimate demonstration that electrons do not destroy organic molecules but let them undergo well-defined chemical reactions, if we install suitable properties in molecules to be irradiated,” Nakamura explained.The study has been published in the journal Science.
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