engineering

Diamondoids in the Rough

+
technology

The Path to the by Jian Cui and

Nanotechnology Revolution Kellen Schefter
Photos Credit: Nick Melosh

J
anuary 3, 2003 may one day be remembered as a and though it took a long, long time, nature’s chemistry
turning point in the “nanotechnology revolution.” On factory has done that for us.”
this day, researchers at oil giant Chevron published in
Science a novel method for extracting from oil significant The Stanford-Chevron Program for
quantities of a special class of nanoparticles never before Diamondoid Nanoscience
observed in nature—higher diamondoids. Three years later, Having unearthed sizable quantities of a previously
on the campus of Stanford University, the Stanford-Chevron unstudied material, Chevron made diamondoids available
Program for Diamondoid Nanoscience was founded to for scientific scrutiny by contacting various universities,
explore the fundamental properties of these materials. including Stanford, UC-Berkeley, and MIT. According to
Professor Shen, seven Stanford professors in various fields
Diamond Nanoclusters showed interest in pursuing diamondoid research. One of
A diamondoid is a carbon and hydrogen-based these professors is Dr. Nick Melosh in the Department of
nanoparticle that is structured like a diamond crystal Materials Science. Following some preliminary experiments,
lattice. The structure of a diamondoid is reminiscent of Chevron determined that Stanford would be, according to
both diamond—carbon in its most stable form—and known Melosh, the “most fruitful location” to establish a center for
carbon nanoclusters such as carbon nanotubes and the university-based diamondoid research. Hence, the Stanford-
famous 60-carbon Buckminsterfullerene, or “Buckyball.” Chevron Program for Diamondoid Nanoscience emerged.
Both diamonds and nanoclusters possess properties that As part of the first stage in the collaboration with
are unseen in other materials. The existence of a new Stanford, Chevron is providing $1.2 million over the course
carbon-based nanoparticle raises an intriguing question. of four years to support the research of three professors
Will diamondoids behave more like diamonds, other – Drs. Shen, Melosh, and Hari Manoharan in the Physics
nanoclusters, or a superposition of the two? Department – who are investigating diamondoid properties.
The reason higher diamondoids have not been heavily This collaboration could potentially expand in the future.
studied in the past is simple: they are very difficult to obtain.
The simplest diamondoid, adamantane, is structurally Funding Basic Research
analogous to a single cage of diamond’s lattice structure. While Why did Chevron turn to Stanford and other universities,
adamantane has been heavily studied and is commercially rather than conduct the research entirely by itself? “Investing
available today for low prices, diamondoids with more cages in Stanford research is actually very cost effective,” says
are difficult and costly to Melosh, “because you get the
produce. In fact, a single “[This collaboration] is relatively unusual… we’re best people, the best expertise,
isomer of a four-caged and the best equipment right
tetramantane is the most really exploring the fundamental properties of away, for a relatively small
complicated diamondoid these new materials instead of trying to refine a amount of capital funding.”
to ever be synthesized Tapping academic research
by man. Scientists have process or to develop a particular material for an groups harnesses the collective
searched for these higher existing application.” - Melosh expertise of each individual
diamondoids that contain involved and the knowledge
more than three cages in a variety of different arrangements, amassed over years of experience, aided generously by
because they are predicted to have interesting and useful outside funding such as government grants.
properties analogous to diamond—such as high thermal While on the surface this seems to be no different from
stability and structural rigidity—but on the nanoscale level. most collaborations between industry and academia
These higher diamondoids have only recently been today, the name of the program, Program for Diamondoid
extracted from oil through processes that Chevron developed. Nanoscience, is the first sign of something special. Shen
As Professor Zhi-Xun Shen of Stanford’s Departments of explains, “These days, fewer and fewer industries are willing
Physics and Applied Physics notes, “It is much easier to to invest in something which is very basic. We used to have
extract things that already exist than to synthesize them. places like Bell (AT&T Bell Laboratories) that were doing
Basically, nature has spent millions of years with extreme long-term basic research.” This type of collaboration is less
temperatures and extreme conditions to generate this oil, favored today in both business and academia, where high

34 stanford scientific
 engineering
demand for immediate results and Photo Credit: Diamondoids internal structure © 2006 Chevron USA Inc. +
technology
applications dominates. In the face of this
trend, “[The Stanford-Chevron collaboration]
is relatively unusual,” Melosh notes. “We’re
really exploring the fundamental properties of
these new materials instead of trying to refine
a process or to develop a particular material
for an existing application.”
According to Melosh, Stanford will keep
the patent rights to all of the intellectual
property developed on campus, but Chevron
can license these patents “as they see fit.”
This opens the door for Chevron Technology
Ventures, a subsidiary of Chevron Corp. aimed
at commercializing promising technologies,
to potentially launch startup companies for
marketing any processes or applications that
arise from the collaboration. Such companies
could contribute to Chevron’s bottom line,
but ultimately, “There’s no two year path to
making a profit,” says Melosh. “It’s a high risk,
high reward kind of investment.”

Diamondoids and
the Nanotechnology Revolution
The risk with diamondoid research is dual-
layered: not only are the applications of these
materials unknown, but basic research remains
to prove that diamondoids exhibit the predicted unique This figure illustrates the diamond cage structure of diamondoids and the
different ways in which the diamondoid cages can be arranged.
properties. Many of these predictions, even at this point,
are speculative; this is characteristic of the “nanotechnology Though it may not keep pace with hype-driven expectations,
revolution” as a whole. The possibilities are big—such as the best chance nanotechnology has to deliver on its promise
designing nanoparticles as tiny machines that can perform is to take advantage of basic research capabilities of the
particular functions at the molecular level—but so are the modern university. “University research,” explains Shen,
costs. Millions of dollars and incalculable human resources “is the core of our nation’s technological reserve, and even
are being applied to studying these new materials. Critics corporations in this case realize that.” S
have found fault in the exorbitant expenditure in light of the
current minimal payoff associated with the “revolution” so JIAN CUI is a junior majoring in chemistry who in his spare time likes
far. to… who are we kidding, he doesn’t have spare time.
Nevertheless, the researchers are patient. “Revolutions KELLEN SCHEFTER is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering who
take time,” says Melosh. “It’s not going to happen overnight.” is the greatest representative to come from San Luis Obispo since
Chuck Liddell.
Unique Properties of Diamonds and Nanoclusters:
Diamond has a very large bandgap, high hole mobility, very They would like to thank Professor Zhi-Xun Shen and Professor Nick
high thermal conductivity, is the hardest material known, Melosh for their invaluable contributions to the article.
is very chemically inert, and has negative electron affinity.
Photos Credit: Nick Melosh
The advantages of nanoclusters and other nanomaterials
include known processing techniques, electronic
quantization, high surface to volume ratio, doping during
growth, and ease of functionalization. Professors Zhi-Xun
Shen, Nick Melosh, and Hari Manoharan are exploring the
degree to which diamondoids share properties of diamonds
and nanoclusters, because the combination of diamond’s
rare properties and the versatility of nanoclusters can
yield unimaginably interesting and useful results. Possible
applications of diamondoids include using them in a single-
molecule layer in field emitter displays, using them as an
To Learn More:
alternative detector for X-rays, and using them as doped
superconductors. Visit http://www.chevron.com/moleculardiamond/

layout design: Pam Bhattacharya volume v 35