Skip to main content
Skip to navigation

Another 43 new kinds of carbon could still be out there to find

By Andy Extance2019-09-23T14:30:00

Three of 43 newly predicted superhard carbon structures

Source: Bob Wilder/University at Buffalo, adapted from Figure 3 in P. Avery et al., npj Computational Mater

Predictions could lead to forms of carbon that are even harder than diamond

Forms of diamond continue to shine as the hardest material known – but now, a team led by Eva Zurek from University at Buffalo, US, has given the material a new cutting edge. The researchers have predicted 43 never-before identified forms of carbon, with three that may be slightly harder than single-crystal diamond.