Instead of having to use tons of crushing force and volcanic heat to forge diamonds, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a way to cheaply make nanodiamonds on a lab bench at atmospheric pressure and near room temperature. (Clockwise) Microplasma dissociates ethanol vapor, carbon particles are collected and dispersed in solution, and electron microscope image reveals nanosized diamond particles. Credit: Case Western Reserve University   The nanodiamonds are formed directly from a gas and require no surface to grow on. The discovery holds promise for many uses in technology and industry, such as coating plastics with ultrafine diamond powder and making flexible electronics, implants, drug-delivery devices and more products that take advantage of diamond’s exceptional properties. Their investigation is published today in the scientific journal Nature Communications. The findings build on a tradition of diamond research at Case Western Reserve. Beyond its applications, the discovery may offer some insight into our universe: an explanation of how nanodiamonds seen in space and found in meteorites may be formed. “This is not a complex process: ethanol vapor at room temperature and pressure is converted to diamond,” said Mohan Sankaran, associate professor of chemical engineering at Case Western Reserve and leader of the project. “We flow

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