Lonsdaleite (named in honour of
Kathleen Lonsdale), also called hexagonal diamond in reference to the
crystal structure, is an
allotrope of carbon with a hexagonal lattice, as opposed to the cubical lattice of conventional
diamond. It is found in nature in
meteorite debris; when
meteors containing
graphite strike the Earth, the immense heat and stress of the impact transforms the graphite into
diamond, but retains graphite's hexagonal
crystal lattice. Lonsdaleite was first identified in 1967 from the
Canyon Diablo meteorite, where it occurs as microscopic crystals associated with ordinary diamond.[5][6]
It is translucent and brownish-yellow and has an
index of refraction of 2.40–2.41 and a
specific gravity of 3.2–3.3 . Its
hardness is theoretically superior to that of cubic diamond (up to 58% more), according to computational simulations, but natural specimens exhibited somewhat lower hardness through a large range of values (from 7–8 on
Mohs hardness scale). The cause is speculated as being due to the samples having been riddled with lattice defects and impurities.[7]
In addition to meteorite deposits, hexagonal diamond has been
synthesized in the laboratory (1966 or earlier; published in 1967)[8] by compressing and heating
graphite either in a static press or using explosives.[9]
Hardness
According to the conventional interpretation of the results of examining the meagre samples collected from
meteorites or manufactured in the lab, lonsdaleite has a
hexagonalunit cell, related to the
diamond unit cell in the same way that the hexagonal and cubic
close packedcrystal systems are related. Its diamond structure can be considered to be made up of interlocking rings of six carbon atoms, in the
chair conformation. In lonsdaleite, some rings are in the
boat conformation instead. At nanoscale dimensions, cubic diamond is represented by diamondoids while hexagonal diamond is represented by wurtzoids.[10]
In diamond, all the carbon-to-carbon bonds, both within a layer of rings and between them, are in the
staggered conformation, thus causing all four cubic-diagonal directions to be equivalent; whereas in lonsdaleite the bonds between layers are in the
eclipsed conformation, which defines the axis of hexagonal symmetry.
Mineralogical simulation predicts lonsdaleite to be 58% harder than diamond on the
<100> face, and to resist indentation pressures of 152
GPa, whereas diamond would break at 97 GPa.[11] This is yet exceeded by
IIadiamond's <111> tip hardness of 162 GPa.
The extrapolated properties of lonsdaleite have been questioned, particularly its superior hardness, since specimens under
crystallographic inspection have not shown a bulk hexagonal lattice structure, but instead a conventional cubic diamond dominated by structural defects that include hexagonal sequences.[12] A quantitative analysis of the
X-ray diffraction data of lonsdaleite has shown that about equal amounts of hexagonal and cubic stacking sequences are present. Consequently, it has been suggested that "stacking disordered diamond" is the most accurate structural description of lonsdaleite.[13] On the other hand, recent shock experiments with
in situ X-ray diffraction show strong evidence for creation of relatively pure lonsdaleite in dynamic high-pressure environments comparable to meteorite impacts.[14][15]
Occurrence
Lonsdaleite occurs as microscopic crystals associated with diamond in several meteorites:
Canyon Diablo,[16]Kenna, and
Allan Hills 77283. It is also naturally occurring in non-bolide diamond
placer deposits in the
Sakha Republic.[17] Material with d-spacings consistent with Lonsdaleite has been found in sediments with highly uncertain dates at
Lake Cuitzeo, in the state of
Guanajuato, Mexico, by proponents of the controversial
Younger Dryas impact hypothesis,[18] which is now refuted by earth scientists and planetary impact specialists.[19] Claims of Lonsdaleite and other nanodiamonds in a layer of the Greenland ice sheet that could be of Younger Dryas age have not been confirmed and are now disputed.[20] Its presence in local peat deposits is claimed as evidence for the
Tunguska event being caused by a meteor rather than by a cometary fragment.[21][22]
In 2021, Washington State University's Institute for Shock Physics published a paper stating that they created lonsdaleite crystals large enough to measure their stiffness, confirming that they are stiffer than common cubic diamonds. However, the explosion used to create these crystals also destroys them nanoseconds later, providing just enough time to measure stiffness with lasers.[30]
^Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Mayewski, Paul A.; Steffensen, Jorgen P.; West, Allen; Kennett, Douglas J.; Kennett, James P.; Bunch, Ted E.; Handley, Mike; Introne, Douglas S.; Hee, Shane S. Que; Mercer, Christopher; Sellers, Marilee; Shen, Feng; Sneed, Sharon B.; Weaver, James C.; Wittke, James H.; Stafford, Thomas W.; Donovan, John J.; Xie, Sujing; Razink, Joshua J.; Stich, Adrienne; Kinzie, Charles R.; Wolbach, Wendy S. (20 September 2022).
"Discovery of a nanodiamond-rich layer in the Greenland ice sheet". PubPeer. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
^
Nur, Yusuf; Pitcher, Michael; Seyyidoğlu, Semih; Toppare, Levent (2008). "Facile synthesis of poly(hydridocarbyne): A precursor to diamond and diamond-like ceramics". Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part A. 45 (5): 358.
doi:
10.1080/10601320801946108.
S2CID93635541.
^
Nur, Yusuf; Cengiz, Halime M.; Pitcher, Michael W.; Toppare, Levent K. (2009). "Electrochemical polymerizatıon of hexachloroethane to form poly(hydridocarbyne): A pre-ceramic polymer for diamond production". Journal of Materials Science. 44 (11): 2774.
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2009JMatS..44.2774N.
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10.1007/s10853-009-3364-4.
S2CID97604277.