我国科学家合成了钻石里的“六边形战士”
Chinese Scientists Synthesize the “Hexagonal Warrior” of Diamonds
大众所熟知的金刚石是自然界中的最坚硬的物质之一。研究发现，在陨石中被发现的六方金刚石，其硬度高于普通金刚石，具有更高价值，然而高纯度六方金刚石的人工合成一直是世界难题。我国科学家日前成功合成百微米级的六方金刚石，该成果30日发表于国际期刊《自然》。
Diamond, commonly known to the public, is one of the hardest natural substances. Research has revealed that lonsdaleite, or hexagonal diamond, discovered in meteorites, is even harder than conventional diamond and is of higher value. However, the artificial synthesis of high-purity lonsdaleite has remained a global challenge. Recently, Chinese scientists successfully synthesized lonsdaleite at the scale of hundreds of micrometers. This achievement was published on the 30th in the international journal Nature.
金刚石的碳原子排布呈四面体网格状，坚硬又耐磨，被称为“硬度之王”。然而这一结构也有弱点：某些平面一旦受力，就容易错位滑移，限制其强度。于是科学家把眼光投向另一种结构更精美、性质更优越的超级钻石——六方金刚石。
Diamond’s carbon atoms are arranged in a tetrahedral lattice structure, which makes it extremely hard and wear-resistant, earning it the title of “King of Hardness.” However, this structure has a weakness: certain planes can easily slip under stress, limiting its overall strength. Therefore, scientists turned their attention to another form of diamond with a more refined structure and superior properties—lonsdaleite.
六方金刚石的形成条件极为苛刻，人工合成最大难点在于高温高压下六方金刚石的形成能量高于普通金刚石，因此高温高压产物常以普通金刚石为主，而难以得到六方金刚石。
The formation conditions for lonsdaleite are extremely stringent. The greatest difficulty in artificial synthesis lies in the fact that, under high temperature and pressure, the formation energy of lonsdaleite is higher than that of conventional diamond. As a result, products formed under these conditions are predominantly conventional diamond, making it difficult to obtain lonsdaleite.
我国科学家创新提出了一种由石墨到六方金刚石转变的方法，在可控的高温高压、准静水压条件下，压缩和加热石墨单晶，最终得到高纯度六方金刚石。
Chinese scientists have innovatively proposed a method for transforming graphite into lonsdaleite. Under controlled conditions of high temperature, high pressure, and quasi-hydrostatic pressure, single-crystal graphite is compressed and heated, ultimately yielding high-purity lonsdaleite.
左图为常见金刚石的碳原子结构排列，右图为六方金刚石的碳原子排列。（受访者供图）
The left image shows the carbon atomic arrangement of conventional diamond, while the right image shows the arrangement in lonsdaleite. (Image provided by the interviewee)
“普通金刚石的碳原子以相同的键长相连接。而我们合成的六方金刚石碳原子之间存在两种不同键长，四分之一的‘碳-碳’键更短更强，克服了金刚石密堆积面易滑移的弱点，具备更优越的硬度、韧性。”论文通信作者杨文革说。
“In conventional diamond, carbon atoms are connected by bonds of uniform length. In contrast, our synthesized lonsdaleite contains two types of bond lengths between carbon atoms, with one-quarter of the carbon-carbon bonds being shorter and stronger. This overcomes the slippage weakness of the close-packed planes in diamond, giving it superior hardness and toughness,” said Yang Wenge, corresponding author of the paper.
论文第一作者、北京高压科学研究中心研究员杨留响介绍，高纯度六方金刚石的合成，归功于两项关键技术：一是选择纯度高、无杂质的天然石墨单晶，有助于得到纯度更高、微米级大小、结构有序的六方金刚石样品；二是采用恰当的探测手段——研发人员给石墨晶体不断加压，并用高压原位X光观测样品变化，避免了密堆积面的滑移，最终制得纯净、未变形的六方金刚石块体。
Yang Liuxiang, the paper’s first author and a researcher at the Center for High Pressure Science & Technology Advanced Research in Beijing, explained that the successful synthesis of high-purity lonsdaleite resulted from two key technologies: First, selecting high-purity, impurity-free natural single-crystal graphite, which helps in obtaining lonsdaleite samples of higher purity, micrometer size, and orderly structure; second, using appropriate detection techniques—by continuously applying pressure to the graphite crystal and using in situ X-ray under high pressure to observe sample changes, slippage of close-packed planes was avoided, ultimately producing a pure, undeformed bulk lonsdaleite.
“这项工作为下一步类金刚石材料研究奠定方法基础。六方金刚石更加出色的硬度、导热性、光学性能、量子特性等，也将为超硬材料和高端电子器件研发开辟新路径。”高压物理学家、中科院外籍院士毛河光说。（记者张漫子）
“This work lays the methodological foundation for future research on diamond-like materials. The superior hardness, thermal conductivity, optical properties, and quantum characteristics of lonsdaleite will also open up new avenues for the development of ultra-hard materials and high-end electronic devices,” said Mao Heguang, high-pressure physicist and foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. (By reporter Zhang Manzi)
来源：新华网
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