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Chemically the same, graphite and diamonds are as physically distinct as two minerals can be, one opaque and soft, the other translucent and hard. What makes them unique is their differing arrangement of carbon atoms. Polymorphs, or materials with the same composition but different structures, are common in bulk materials.
Now, a new study in Nature Communications confirms they exist in nanomaterials, too. Their discovery gives engineers a new material to explore, along with the possibility of finding other polymorphic nanoparticles.Image credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory
