Diamondiyne: Scientists Create a New Porous Carbon Cousin of Diamond for the First Time

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have created diamondiyne, a three-dimensional carbon allotrope first proposed 35 years ago. The material forms a porous, diamond-like structure using triple bonds between carbon atoms, and it does not require high pressure to assemble. Electron microscopy at Stockholm University confirmed the crystal pattern in patches just 10 nanometers wide on a thin film created where two liquids meet. The team built diamondiyne with relatively inexpensive equipment, adding a new 3D structure to the known carbon family that includes diamond, graphite, fullerenes, nanotubes, and graphene. The porous architecture might allow multiple diamondiyne frameworks to interweave, but practical uses are not established yet. The findings were published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.