Professor Chen Yabin's research team at the Beijing Institute of Technology has made significant progress in synthesizing diamonds under extreme conditions.

Their work uncovers the impact of nanocarbon precursors dimensions and their transformation mechanisms during high-temperature and high-pressure diamond synthesis. These findings were published in Advanced Materials under the title Dimensionality Effect of Nanocarbon Precursors on Diamond Synthesis Under Extreme Conditions.

Due to their unique physical and chemical properties, diamonds are widely used in fields such as nanoelectronics, optics, and biomedical applications. Since F. Bundy and other scientists first experimented with the artificial synthesis of diamonds in 1955, the synthesis mechanism of diamonds under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, as well as the transformation relationships between different carbon precursors and diamond products, have remained key scientific issues in this research area.

Professor Chen's research group conducted a comparative study using nanocarbon materials of different dimensions as reactants. They found that both zero-dimensional carbon nanocages (CNCs) and one-dimensional carbon nanotubes (CNTs) undergo structural collapse, graphitization, forming a mixture of amorphous carbon and nanodiamond clusters under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, eventually transforming into high-quality cubic diamonds.

This research provides valuable insights into the transformation mechanisms of carbon nanomaterials into diamonds under extreme conditions. It holds significant implications for the controlled preparation and application of diamonds and their derivative materials in the future. By enhancing the understanding of these processes, the study could facilitate advancements in the structural control of diamond synthesis, potentially leading to new applications and improved material performance.