近日，郑州大学单崇新团队研究了块体六边形金刚石。2026年3月4日，《自然》杂志发表了这一成果。
被誉为“终极半导体”的立方金刚石在科学界和工业界均引发了广泛关注。其同素异形体六方金刚石因与陨石撞击相关的奇特性质而更具研究价值。然而由于缺乏确凿的实验证据证实其存在，六方金刚石的物理特性至今仍属未解之谜。
研究组报道了在高温条件下沿c轴方向压缩高定向热解石墨，成功合成毫米级纯相六方金刚石的突破性成果。通过先进结构表征与理论模拟相结合的手段，研究组不仅确认了六方金刚石的物相特征，更揭示了石墨向金刚石转变的相变机制。实验表明，块体六方金刚石展现出优于立方金刚石的硬度和优异的热稳定性。该研究终结了关于六方金刚石是否作为独立碳相存在的长期争议，为理解石墨-金刚石相变提供了新视角，同时为六方金刚石在尖端技术领域的应用研究开辟了新路径。
附：英文原文
Title: Bulk hexagonal diamond
Author: Lai, Shoulong, Yang, Xigui, Shi, Jiuyang, Liu, Shijie, Guo, Ying, Yan, Longbin, Zang, Jinhao, Zhang, Zhuangfei, Jia, Qiuhan, Sun, Jian, Cheng, Shaobo, Shan, Chongxin
Issue&Volume: 2026-03-04
Abstract: Known as the ‘ultimate semiconductor’, cubic diamond (CD) has gained substantial interest both scientifically and industrially. Its polymorph, hexagonal diamond (HD), is even more intriguing because of its fascinating properties associated with the meteorite impacts1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. As no solid experimental evidence has been provided to prove its existence, the physical properties of HD remain largely unexplored. Here we report the synthesis of millimetre-sized, phase-pure HD from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) compressed along the c-axis at elevated temperatures. Combining advanced structural characterizations and theoretical simulations, we confirm the identity of HD and clarify the transformation pathway from graphite. Bulk HD exhibits a slightly higher hardness than CD and high thermal stability. These findings resolve the long-standing controversy on the existence of HD as a discrete carbon phase and provide new insight into the graphite-to-diamond phase transition, paving the way for future research and practical use of HD in advanced technological applications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10212-4