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A combination of scanning probe microscopy and quantum sensing is used to investigate changes in water structure under confinement. A liquid–solid phase transition is observed in thin films of water below a confinement size of 2 nm at ambient temperature.

Shock synthesis of diamond and even harder carbon polymorphs from graphite is of great interest for science and technology. Here, the authors present unprecedented in situmeasurements of the structural changes, showing ultrafast formation of diamond and, at higher pressures, evidence for a pure lonsdaleite structure.

Methods to increase nuclear spin polarization can enhance the sensitivity of magnetic resonance techniques however they are often limited to unfavourable conditions. Here, the authors achieve room temperature hyperpolarization of bulk ¹³C nuclear spins by exploiting the optical response of nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond crystals.

Static pressures exceeding 4 million atmospheres are extremely challenging to achieve, but are necessary for the study of matter that exists under these conditions in natural environments. Here, diamonds anvils with a toroidal design are demonstrated to sustain over 6 million atmospheres in a diamond anvil cell.

Obtaining quantitative information on nanoscale magnetic structures is a challenge. Here, the authors apply scanning probe magnetometry based on a single nitrogen-vacancy defect in diamond to quantitatively map the stray magnetic field emitted by a vortex state in a ferromagnetic dot.

The synthesis, recovery and detailed characterization of bulk hexagonal diamond under high pressure and temperature conditions using precursor graphite carbon is described, demonstrating the first successful synthesis in the 100 µm to millimetre size range.

Group-IV color centers in diamond show promise for spin-photon interfaces, but precise positioning and activation are challenging. Here the authors combine site-controlled ion implantation with laser annealing and in-situ photoluminescence monitoring to create and tune individual tin vacancy centers in diamond.

The accurate structure of the platelet defects in diamond is now resolved by transmission electron microscopy, and, out of all the proposed models, it agrees well with the zigzag atomic model.

Electronic devices usually rely on the charge or spin of electrons to encode information. A less exploited route is to manipulate the valley quantum number of electrons. It is now shown that the generation, macroscopic transport and detection of valley-polarized electrons in bulk diamond can be achieved with a relaxation time of 300 ns at 77 K, forming a basis for valleytronic devices.

Diamond crystals and polycrystalline diamond films can be grown using liquid metal at standard pressure and high temperature instead of conventional high pressure and high temperature.

While high-energy heavy ions create cylindrical damage zones called ion tracks in many materials, diamond was an exception for a long time. The authors have succeeded in creating the ion tracks in diamond utilizing 2−9MeV C₆₀ fullerene ion irradiation and studied the structure of the tracks.

A diamond layer that becomes thicker with time is generated from carbon exsolution at the core-mantle boundary of Mercury, owing to cooling of its metallic core and potentially the silicate magma ocean.

The progress in generating high static pressures in diamond anvil cells opens opportunities for studying novel materials with unusual properties. Here, the authors report a universal high-pressure diamond edge Raman scale up to 500 gigapascals, which does not require an additional pressure sensor.

Large-volume high-resolution X-ray nanotomography is used to identify topological defects emerging in a self-assembled triblock terpolymer single-diamond network.

Peroxidases have long been considered to use ferryl heme intermediates (Fe(IV) = O) to catalyze oxidative chemistries. Here, Williams et al. find that ferric-oxyl (Fe^III–O^•–) excited states exist along the catalytic reaction coordinate of a peroxidase.

Single-crystal diamond is a promising material for applications in classical and quantum optics, but the lack of scalable fabrication remains an issue. Here, Burek et al. adapt angle-etching nanofabrication techniques to realize ring resonators and photonic crystal cavities in single crystal diamond with quality factors in excess of 10⁵.

Perovskites are desirable for photoelectrochemical applications but are unstable in aqueous electrolytes. Here, the authors report a perovskite photoanode in aqueous electrolyte, preserving 95% photocurrent density after over 100 h of operation.

Superradiance is usually driven by light-mediated couplings, leaving the role of direct emitter interactions unclear. Now, it is shown that dipole–dipole interactions in diamond spins drive self-induced pulsed and continuous superradiant masing.

In nanoscale magnetic resonance, the coupling with negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond—used as optical transducers—broadens the spectrum of the spin to detect. Wang et al.present a detection technique that resolves the spin spectra through optically detected cross-relaxation.

Diamond quantum magnetometry is utilized to directly read the vorticity of antiferromagnetic spin textures through coupled multi-polar emergent magnetic charge distributions.

The Argyle deposit erupted 1.3 billion years ago into an ancient rift at the edge of a craton. Argyle coincided with supercontinent breakup, highlighting the link between diamond emplacement, former rifts and continental breakup.

Exposure to high-energy heavy ions creates defects in semiconductors, modifying their electronic properties. Here, the authors demonstrate the formation of color centers in nitrogen-doped diamond using 1 GeV gold and uranium ions, revealing isolated quasi-1D NV-center chains with promising electron spin properties for quantum sensing and computing applications.

The transfer of spin polarization from electrons to nuclei is important for nuclear spin-based techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance. Here Wang and colleagues achieve sensitive magnetic control of the hyperpolarization of nuclei near optically polarized nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond.

Due to entrainment of mantle and crustal fragments, orangeites provide information about the deep Earth; however, the nature of the source of orangeites remains uncertain. Here, the authors suggest that mica-amphibole-rutile-ilmenite-diopside (MARID) enriched mantle produces the orangeite magmas.

Direct growth of large-area graphene on dielectric substrates is a promising route to wafer scale integration. Here the authors use a rapid thermal annealing process to grow graphene layers on four-inch diameter polycrystalline diamond, eliminating the need for transfer.

Nitrogen-vacancy centres in surface-engineered diamond are demonstrated to operate as charge-sensitive fluorescent reporters, enabling an optical scheme for voltage recording in physical and biological systems.

This article reports finding of a highly oxidised mineral in diamond inclusion derived from mantle transition zone or lower mantle, very reduced areas on our planet. Such oxidised material is likely linked to subduction of carbonates into this region.

Interfacing spin quantum memories with photons requires the controlled creation of defect centre—nanocavity systems. Here the authors demonstrate direct, maskless creation of single silicon vacancy centres in diamond nanostructures, and report linewidths comparable to naturally occurring centres

Colloidal crystals arranged in a diamond lattice are desirable for photonic applications, yet are challenging to create. Here, Wanget al. show the self-assembly of a binary system composed of two interlocked diamond structures with lattice spacing comparable to the wavelength of visible light.

X-ray diffraction measurements of solid carbon compressed to pressures of about two terapascals (approximately twenty million atmospheres) find that carbon retains a diamond structure even under these extreme conditions.

Diamond is a promising host material for color-center photon source. Here the authors provide the experimental evidence of lasing in (NV−) centers in diamond. Through a rational fine-tuning of the pump condition they decrease the photoionization, ultimately increasing the laser efficiency.