T-carbon is a new type of three-dimensional carbon structure predicted by theoretical calculations by Professor Gang Su Gang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences 6 years ago. The team's theoretical predictions make T-carbon another new three-dimensional structure of carbon that can compete with graphite and diamond, adding new members to the carbon family.
In 2011, Su Gang guided the doctoral candidates to sacrifice Lei, cooperating with Dr. Yan Qingbo, Professor Fei and Professor Zheng Qingrong. After a large number of comparative studies, it was proposed that if each carbon atom in the cubic diamond is composed of four carbon atoms Of tetrahedron structural units will form a new type of three-dimensional carbon crystal structure, they based on the first principles of density functional theory study and found that this structure in terms of geometry, energy and dynamics are extremely stable , And named this new carbon allotrope T-carbon.
Su Gang and others have shown that T-carbon has the same space group as diamond and is a semiconductor with a direct bandgap. T-carbon also has a distinctive feature, its density is very small, about 2/3 of graphite, T-carbon also has a high hardness. T-carbon is a fluffy carbon material, which has a large space available inside, if used for energy storage materials, its hydrogen storage capacity of not less than 7.7 Due to the above unique properties, T-carbon will have a wide range of potential applications in the fields of photocatalysis, adsorption, energy storage, aerospace materials and etc. Experts in the industry believe that this work opens up a new era of carbon structure research.
After careful calculations, Su et al found that T-carbon may be easily formed under negative pressure, and further studies have shown that T-carbon may be observed in cosmic interstellar dust or extrasolar planets.
Su Gang told reporters in the "China Science News" that after completing his theoretical predictions, he has long devoted himself to promoting the experimental synthesis of T-carbon. "Edison said that 99% of the experiments will fail, but there will surely be some gains. It is gratifying to note that a joint research team of Xi'an Jiaotong University and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has finally become 1% of the lucky ones in 2017. By means of picosecond laser irradiation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes suspended in methanol solution, , They successfully achieved the transition from sp2 to sp3. The detailed structural study shows that the new carbon material formed is completely consistent with the theoretical predicted T-carbon, which proves the synthesis of T-carbon.
In addition, T-carbon experimental synthesis not only has attractive prospect in the application, but also has important scientific significance.In recent years, theorists have proposed a variety of carbon structural models, only T-carbon has been successfully synthesized experimentally, This is by no means a mere coincidence. "Astronomers have long observed that cosmic dust contains only 60% of the carbon in the solar system and has long been devoted to studying the mystery of the carbon crisis, and the density of T-carbon is exactly This seems to offer the inspiration that if the majority of the carbon in interstellar dust is in the form of T-carbon, is this the ultimate answer to an important scientific question such as the carbon crisis? "Su Gang told "China Science News" reporter.
Experiments on light absorption of T-carbon by a joint research team of Xi'an Jiaotong University and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore also showed that the position of the main light absorption peak is close to that of the extinction curve drum in the interstellar dust. The final answer to this question also Astronomers are required to confirm further through astronomical observations that Su-Gang believes FAST, the largest mirror-diameter radio telescope in our country's newly built world, may play an important role in this regard.