Natural diamonds form in Earth’s mantle at high temperatures and pressures. The most popular method developed to make synthetic diamonds mimics those conditions by using anvil presses to achieve extreme pressures. A second approach, chemical vapor deposition, is used to grow diamonds layer by layer on a substrate in a vacuum. The process is more akin to the diamond growth that occurs in interstellar gas clouds. Now researchers have unveiled another route to diamond growth. The approach, which involves methane gas and a catalyst of molten metals, requires less energy and less advanced equipment than conventional methods, and it works at ambient pressure.
To read more, click here.