A carbyne strand
forms in laser-melted graphite. Carbyne is found in astrophysical bodies
and has the
potential to be used in nanoelectronic devices and superhard materials.
Image by Liam
Krauss/LLNL
The smallest of electronics could one day have the ability
to turn on and off at an atomic scale.
(September 17, 2015) Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory scientists have investigated a way to create
linear chains of carbon atoms from laser-melted graphite. The material, called
carbyne, could have a number of novel properties, including the ability to
adjust the amount of electrical current traveling through a circuit, depending
on the user’s needs.
Carbyne is the subject of intense research because of its
presence in astrophysical bodies, as well as its potential use in
nanoelectronic devices and superhard materials. Its linear shape gives it
unique electrical properties that are sensitive to stretching and bending, and
it is 40 times stiffer than diamond. It also was found in the Murchison and
Allende meteorites and could be an ingredient of interstellar dust.
Using computer simulations, LLNL scientist Nir Goldman and
colleague Christopher Cannella, an undergraduate summer researcher from
Caltech, initially intended to study the properties of liquid carbon as it
evaporates, after being formed by shining a laser beam on the surface of
graphite. The laser can heat the graphite surface to a few thousands of
degrees, which then forms a fairly volatile droplet. To their surprise, as the
liquid droplet evaporated and cooled in their simulations, it formed bundles of
linear chains of carbon atoms.