Diamonds AREN'T forever! Scientists create microscopic jewels that fade away ... - Daily Mail

Researchers at Rice University in Houston, Texas, created the nanodiamonds in treated coal using a powerful electron beam
The diamonds measured between two and 10 nanometers wide
Some of the microscopic diamonds lasted seconds before returning to less-structured forms of carbon

Published: 06:22 EST, 23 May 2014 | Updated: 06:23 EST, 23 May 2014

Not all diamonds last forever and some can fade away in just a few seconds, according to new research.

The finding contradicts Shirley Bassey's 1971 James Bond theme song and the popular belief that diamonds last forever - the word 'diamond' even means 'unbreakable' in ancient Greek.

Scientists used an electron beam to prove that microscopic diamonds in treated coal only survive for seconds before they revert to a form of less exciting carbon.

Diamond in the rough: The creation of nanodiamonds in treated coal show that some microscopic diamonds only last seconds before fading back into less-structured forms of carbon under the impact of an electron beam. The dark spots in these images taken using an electron microscope, are nanodiamonds among coal

Researchers at Rice University in Houston, Texas, discovered the effect of the nanodiamonds while they were working on ways to chemically reduce carbon from coal and make it soluble.

Nanodiamonds are used in a variety of industrial processes and are increasingly being used in medical research to deliver chemotherapy and improve bone growth, for example.

Chemists Ed Billups and Yanqiu Sun first noticed nanodiamonds forming among the shapeless, hydrogen-infused layers of graphite.

They took close-up images of the coal with an electron microscope - which fires an electron beam at the point of interest - and found that the energy from the beam congealed clusters of hydrogenated carbon atoms, some of which took on the lattice-like structure of nanodiamonds.

Energy from the electron beam congealed clusters of hydrogenated carbon atoms, turning them temporarily to nanodiamonds. This image shows a nanodiamond (the dark spot) reverting to coal

Dr Billups said: 'The beam is very powerful. To knock hydrogen atoms off of something takes a tremendous amount of energy.'

Even without the kind of pressure needed to make diamonds that can be seen with the naked eye, the energy knocked loose hydrogen atoms to prompt a chain reaction between layers of graphite in the coal.

This resulted in diamonds between two and 10 nanometers wide (up to 0.00001mm), according to the study published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.

The duo discovered that most of the diamonds faded away under the power of the electron beam and documented the changes in photos taken over 30 seconds.

'The small diamonds are not stable and they revert to the starting material - the anthracite [coal],' Dr Billups said.

Scientists have previously discovered that nanodiamonds could be used to promote bone growth and improve the durability of dental implants. The miniscule gems, which are invisible to the human eye, could be used to combat forms of bone loss including osteonecrosis

COULD NANODIAMONDS BE THE FUTURE OF DENTAL IMPLANTS?

In the future humans could have diamond-encrusted teeth to improve oral health and fight disease.

Scientists discovered in September 2013 that nanodiamonds could be used to promote bone growth and improve the durability of dental implants.

The miniscule gems, which are invisible to the human eye, could be used to combat forms of bone loss including osteonecrosis, which is a potentially debilitating disease in which bones break down due to reduced blood flow.

Scientists from the UCLA and the NanoCarbon Research Institute in Japan discovered that nanodiamonds - by-products of conventional mining that are four to five nanometers in diameter - could be used as a delivery system for proteins in the mouth as an improved treatment for osteonecrosis.

The disease affects the jaw and can prevent people from eating and speaking.

Dean Ho, professor of oral biology and medicine at the UCLA School of Dentistry explained that doctors performing bone repair operations, which are typically costly and time consuming, surgically inset a sponge to administer proteins that promote bone growth such as bone morphogenic protein.

His team discovered that using nanodiamonds to deliver these proteins could be more effective in administering the proteins as they quickly bind to the bone.

The unique surface of the diamonds allows the proteins to be delivered more slowly, which may allow the affected area to be treated for a longer period of time.

Furthermore, the nanodiamonds can be administered non-invasively, such as by an injection or even an oral rinse.