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Fresh claim of making elusive ‘hexagonal’ diamond is the strongest yet

After decades of debate, researchers say that they have found the clearest evidence yet for this rare form of carbon.
By
  1. Mark Peplow

Diamond is famously known as the hardest mineral on Earth. But researchers have been pursuing an unusual variant of it — known as hexagonal diamond — that might be even harder. After decades of claims and counterclaims about whether this mysterious material can be synthesized in a laboratory, researchers in China report that they have done it1.

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Nature 651, 290-291 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00711-9

To learn more about this study, listen to a podcast that discusses it here.

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