Scientists have recently created a crucial molecular structure, called cyclocarbon. It had recently helped chemists synthesize for more than 50 years, and it is actually the key to creating molecular-scale semiconductors.
Scientists to create the first-ever cyclocarbon
It’s been decades since chemist has tried – and failed – to create a proposed structure for carbon molecules. They knew it was possible, but it turned out to be hard to develop. The closest they came to find out something on this matter was with reactive gases, but this prevented them from being isolated and then confirmed.
Researchers with IBM Research and scientists from the University of Oxford have published a paper in the journal Science, in which they announced the successful creation of this structure for the first time ever. They also talked about 18 carbon atoms which were linked together, which formed a complete ring. This is known as cyclocarbon.
Yoshito Tobe, who’s a chemist at Osaka University in Japan, stated that the synthesis of the cyclocarbon was an incredible achievement for the teams at Oxford and IBM.
“Many scientists, including myself, have tried to capture cyclocarbons and determine their molecular structures, but in vain,” as Yoshito Tobe said.
How important is carbon?
As you probably know, carbon is one of the most common elements in the universe. Depending on how the carbon actually structures itself, the carbon atoms can produce different carbon molecules, which are called allotropes. These forms of carbon have different properties. By taking into account these different properties, we can see how the diamonds with a high level of hardness and the kind of dark diamonds are used by scientists to do their work in order to create pure carbon.
As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.