Scientists create new super-strong material, which is second only to diamond in its hardness

An international team of scientists from Scotland, Germany, and Sweden has announced a breakthrough in creating super-strong materials. They achieved the production of carbon nitrides that are only slightly less hard than diamonds. The research has been published in the scientific journal Advanced Materials (AdvMat).

The team's discovery is the result of experiments with carbon nitrides that began in the 1980s. Researchers subjected carbon-nitrogen compounds to pressures ranging from 70 to 135 gigapascals (1 million times Earth's atmospheric pressure) at temperatures exceeding 1500 °C.

The resulting materials proved to be harder than cubic boron nitride, which was the second hardest substance on Earth after diamonds until recently.

Moreover, these super-hard carbon nitrides exhibit additional properties, including photoluminescence and high energy storage density.

According to the researchers, these new materials could find applications in various industries, such as protective coatings for cars and spacecraft, solar panels, photodetectors, and the manufacturing of high-strength cutting tools.