India Boosts Lab-Grown Diamond Sector, Koreans Innovate Production

In order to encourage more people to make diamonds in India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman’s 2023-24 Budget included big benefits like lowering the taxes on diamond seeds used to make lab-grown diamonds. Furthermore, IIT Madras was given a grant of ₹242 crore to create the India Centre for Lab Grown Diamonds (InCent-LGD), which will help study in the area of lab-grown diamonds (LGDs).

Traditional Methods of Diamond Production

The ‘high pressure, high temperature’ (HPHT) process, which was founded by General Electric in 1955, has been the standard way to make diamonds. This process recreates the natural conditions in which diamonds form in the Earth: temperatures between 1,300 and 1,600 degrees Celsius and very high pressures of about 5 giga Pascals are used to turn carbon into a liquid metal. The carbon then slowly settles on top of a diamond seed, turning into a solid over 12 days. This method can only make jewels up to a certain size, though.

New Innovations in Diamond Manufacturing

An international group of scientists from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in Korea, led by an Indian scientist, has announced a big step forward in the process of making diamonds. Their study, which was published in the journal Nature, shows a new way to grow diamonds at just 1,025 degrees Celsius and, more importantly, at normal atmospheric pressure. This is very different from the high-pressure environments that are usually needed.

Methodology of the Korean Research Team

Gallium, iron, nickel, and silicon were mixed specially by the team and put in a graphite furnace. They made it easier for diamonds to form at the bottom of the crucible, where the mixture had hardened, by adding methane at a controlled temperature of 1,175 degrees Celsius. The diamonds that were made looked like they were made of rainbow colors. The team was able to make the diamonds even more pure by using a different type of methane (13CH4).

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2024

Category: India Nation & States Current Affairs