Previously unknown carbon allotropes have been predicted by scientists exploring their links with well-known network topologies. The new structures are highly stable and transparent, some with larger optical band gaps than diamond.
Advanced computational techniques are leading the search for new forms of carbon and other group 14 elements. Now, Davide Proserpio from the University of Milan, Italy, and co-workers, have shown that fundamental network descriptors known about and catalogued for many years can help predict as well as classify and compare allotropes.
Interested to know more?
Read the full article in Chemistry World by Jonathan Midgley.
Take a look at the original Open Access research article:
From zeolite nets to sp3 carbon allotropes: a topology-based multiscale theoretical study
Igor A. Baburin, Davide M. Proserpio, Vladimir A. Saleev and Alexandra V. Shipilova
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, DOI: 10.1039/C4CP04569F
