Diamond nanothread was created by Pennsylvania State University in 2015. The one-dimensional structure is similar to carbon nanotubes. The structures are similar to cylindrical tubes some 10,000 times smaller than human hair. The material is very strong, with a similar strength to steel. This accounts for the term diamond, which doesn’t refer to the appearance but more to the many carbon atoms that are packed together. It is this structural formation that gives the material its strength.
The potential of diamond nanothread has been tested out by Dr Haifei Zhan, who works at the Queensland University of Technology. The researcher has improved on the original design by incorporating Stone-Wale transformation defects, which are tiny kinks of hydrogen. This process reduces the brittleness and makes the material more flexible.
The Stone-Wale transformation defects act like hinges and can connect together the straight parts of the structure. Variations with the spacing of the defects allow the degree of flexibility with the material to be varied. Further variations occur when the spacing is altered to change the thermal conductivity of material; in addition the tensile strength can also be altered.
In a research note, Dr Zhan says: “Further modelling is needed to fully investigate all the properties of DNT. However, I am excited about the potential range of applications it could be used for, given we’ve proven we can control its flexibility, conductivity and strength.”
A further key feature is the abundance of the raw material – carbon – which is found everywhere and which is renewable. The potential uses of diamond nanothread include everything from clothing to cars. Dr Zhan has modeled this through running several complex computer simulations. The material can also be combined with other materials, such as to create materials that need to be light and strong, such as aircraft fuselages.
The findings have been published in the journal Nanoscale. The research is titled “The morphology and temperature dependent tensile properties of diamond nanothreads.”
