THE SYNTHESIS OF NEW METASTABLE ULTRAHARD MATERIALS

THE HARDEST MATERIALS AVAILABLE TODAY ARE DIAMOND AND CUBIC BORON NITRIDE. BOTH OF THESE MATERIALS EXIST AS METASTABLE PHASES THAT CAN BE SYNTHETICALLY PRODUCED FROM MUCH SOFTER AND CHEAPER STARTING MATERIALS SUCH AS GRAPHITE. ONE OF THETECHNIQUES FOR PRODUCING SYNTHETIC DIAMOND OR CUBIC BORON NITRIDE IS SHOCK-WAVE PROCESSING AT PRESSURES IN THE 10-200 GPA RANGE. THEORETICAL ARGUMENTS SUGGEST THAT OTHER,AS YET UNSYNTHESIZED, ULTRAHARD MATERIALS MAY ALSO BE RECOVERABLE IN METASTABLE PHASES. THIS PROJECT WILL USE SHOCK PROCESSING OF SEVERAL NEW STARTING MATERIALS IN AN ATTEMPT TO RECOVER NEW ULTRAHARD COMPOUNDS.