They create the world's thinnest electric wires with diamonds

[G.O.G]

A team of researchers at Stanford University in the United States has discovered a way to use diamantoids, which are the smallest possible diamond pieces, to create the world's thinnest electric wires, just three atoms thick. Thanks to this advance the way is paved to make one-dimensional materials with extraordinary properties.

To develop these ultra-thin cables, scientists have used a new method of self-assembly to couple various types of atoms as if they were LEGO pieces. "What we have shown here is that we can make tiny conductor cables of the smallest possible size that essentially assemble themselves," explains Hao Yan, lead author of the study.

The production process of these tiny cables is based on a synthesis that takes place in a single container. The researchers pour all the ingredients necessary to make the nanowires together, and in only 30 minutes the results are obtained. "It's almost as if the diamantoids know where they want to go," Yan says.

Following this manufacturing method, small pieces of diamond can be combined to create one-dimensional nanowires of cadmium, zinc, iron and silver. These tiny cables can be used for a multitude of applications, including tissue development to generate electricity, the creation of optoelectronic devices and even the production of superconducting compounds that have the ability to conduct electricity virtually without loss of energy.

Tiny pieces of diamonds have proven to be very useful and versatile, and they have other very interesting potential uses for science. In other studies, these Stanford scientists have discovered that they can help improve images in electronic microscopes and also that they can help to substantially reduce the size of the devices.