World’s Toughest Synthetic Diamond Created by Australian National University Researchers

Toughest Synthetic diamond: The Australian Researchers have created a type of diamond that is the toughest known to mankind till date. The Australian National University has created Lonsdaleite that is tough enough to cut through the other solid materials found on earth.

The research was led by experts from the Australian National University (ANU) and RMIT University of technology and design, Melbourne.

Toughest Synthetic diamond created from glassy carbon will help to make industrial processes lot easier

Lonsdaleite is a nanocrystalline hexagonal diamond that has been created in the laboratory from glassy carbon at a temperature of 400-degree celsius. Such type of tough diamonds formed naturally is found at the meteorite sites.

“This new diamond is not going to be on any engagement rings. You’ll more likely find it on a mining site – but I still think that diamonds are a scientist’s best friend.”

– Jodie Bradby, associate professor at Australian National University

Bradby further added, “The hexagonal structure of this diamond’s atoms makes it much harder than regular diamonds, which have a cubic structure. We’ve been able to make it at the nanoscale and this is exciting because often with these materials smaller is stronger”.

She also said that this type of diamond will help cut the toughest of the materials, even the ones found at the mining sites – “Any time you need a super-hard material to cut something, this new diamond has the potential to do it more easily and more quickly”.

The thorough study by the university has been published in the journal named “Scientific Reports”.