A recent simulation has shown that thin layers of ice could persist on specially treated diamond coatings at temperatures well above body temperature, which could make ice-coated-diamond films an ideal coating for artificial heart valves, joint replacements, and wear-resistant prosthetics.
Physicists Alexander D. Wissner-Gross and Efthimios Kaxiras of Harvard modeled water ice on top of a diamond surface coated with sodium ions. They found that ice layers should persist on the treated diamond up to temperatures of 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 Celsius), and in some circumstances could remain frozen beyond the boiling point of water.
Because of the gem's strength and other unusual characteristics, artificially grown diamond films are among the most promising candidates for applications ranging from medical implants to solar cells. Adding a layer of high-temperature ice could make the diamond even more suitable for medical devices by reducing its abrasiveness and inhibiting protein build-up.
Among other promising applications, the physicists believe that the ice layer could enhance the efficiency of diamond film-based solar collectors, while being much more environmentally friendly than lithium-ion batteries and other energy storage devices.
A short film that the researchers made from of some of their simulations was a finalist in the 2007 Materials Research Film Festival (
http://www.alexwg.org/DiamondIce.mov). The work also earned Wissner-Gross the 2007 Dan David Prize Scholarship from Tel Aviv University and the 2007 Graduate Student Silver Award from the Materials Research Society.
Citation: Alexander D. Wissner-Gross and Efthimios Kaxiras,
Physical Review E (August 2007)
Source: American Physical Society
Related stories:
Exploding asteroid theory strengthened by new evidence located in Ohio, Indiana
Geological evidence found in Ohio and Indiana in recent weeks is strengthening the case to attribute what happened 12,900 years ago in North America -- when the end of the last Ice Age unexpectedly turned into a phase of extinction for animals and humans -- to a cataclysmic comet or asteroid explosion over top of Canada.
University of Pennsylvania engineers reveal what makes diamonds slippery at the nanoscale
They call diamonds "ice," and not just because they sparkle. Engineers and physicists have long studied diamond because even though the material is as hard as an ice ball to the head, diamond slips and slides with remarkably low friction, making it an ideal material or coating for seals, high performance tools and high-tech moving parts.
Cold conspirators: Ice crystals implicated in Arctic pollution
Frost flowers. Diamond dust. Hoarfrost. These poetically named ice crystal forms are part of the stark beauty of the Arctic. But they also play a role in its pollution, a new study by scientists at the University of Michigan, the Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory and the University of Alaska has found.
New volume chronicles recent insights into Earth's interior
A new volume published by the Geological Society of America focuses on techniques that have opened new windows of observation into Earth processes. Advances in High-Pressure Mineralogy highlights recent technical developments in high-pressure mineral physics as well as new results that have changed our understanding of Earth's deep interior.
'Hot' ice could lead to medical device
Harvard physicists have shown that specially treated diamond coatings can keep water frozen at body temperature, a finding that may have applications in future medical implants.
Liquid CO2 drives rapid thrust of diamond-bearing structures
In the May 3 issue of
Nature, James Head, a Brown University professor of geology and Lionel Wilson, a professor of volcanology at the University of Lancaster, propose an inte-grated and dramatic mechanism for the formation of kimberlites, the enigmatic structures bearing most of the world’s diamonds. Their theory explains many puzzling features of the formations and also suggests that the location of kimberlites is not related to near-surface geology.
Hidden gems: New composites are stiffer than diamond
Using a unique combination of barium titanate and tin, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have made the first known material that's stiffer than diamond. The group published its results in the Feb. 2 issue of
Science.
'Cosmic freezer' yields unique discovery
Stardust, the NASA spacecraft mission, was given that name in hopes that the seven-year journey to capture comet samples would bring back to Earth, well, stardust.
