Hardness of nano- and microcrystalline lonsdaleite

• Published in: Applied physics letters Vol. 122; no. 8
• Main Authors: Huang, Xingshuo, Salek, Alan, Tomkins, Andrew G., MacRae, Colin M., Wilson, Nicholas C., McCulloch, Dougal G., Bradby, Jodie E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melville American Institute of Physics 20.02.2023
• Subjects: Allotropy; Applied physics; Diamonds; First principles; Glassy carbon; Hardness; Meteorite collisions; Meteorites; Nanoindentation

Lonsdaleite is a hexagonal allotrope of carbon found in nature in meteorites and at meteorite impact sites. It has been predicted to have an indentation hardness greater than cubic diamond by first principles calculations. However, this has not been demonstrated experimentally. Here, nanoindentation...