Creating Diamonds from Tequila

From the "too good to be true" files: A team of Mexican scientists have found a way to turn everyone's favorite liquor into everyone's favorite precious stone

By Jaya Jiwatram Posted 11.10.2008 at 3:49 pm 9 Comments

One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Diamond! Bethany L King (CC Licensed)

Tequila may be just another drink to those out in the town, but to a team of scientists in Mexico their country's native alcohol turned out to be a gem; a diamond, to be precise. Javier Morales, Luis Apátiga and Victor Castaño at the National Autonomous University of Mexico made the alchemist-worthy discovery while experimenting turning various organic solutions, such as acetone and ethanol, into diamonds. The scientists noted that 80-proof tequila (40 percent alcohol) had the ideal proportion of ethanol to water to create diamond films. In order to make the diamonds, they evaporated the tequila into a vapor, and then heated the vapor above 1400 degrees Fahrenheit before depositing it on silicon or stainless steel trays. The resulting diamond films were between 100 to 400 nm in diameter and free of impurities.

Hard and heat resistant, the diamond films could have several commercial applications, such as for cutting tools and optical electronic devices. At the moment, the team is looking into creating diamonds with impurities for potential use as a new kind of semiconductor. The scientists have bigger plans in sight, too: They intend to turn their work into an industrial-scale venture by 2011 and hope to find a tequila distiller to provide them with the supplies.

[via PhysOrg]

Like scientific innovation? Check out PopSci's 2008 Best of What's New awards. See all 100 top innovations at popsci.com/bown2008.

Previous Article: Decline of the Axolotl

Next Article: How I Met Your Bacterium

Want to learn more about breakthroughs in electronics, medicine, nanotech, and more?
Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!

9 Comments

Link to this comment

animemaster

11/10/08 at 7:33 pm

New title should read scientists discover a use for Tequila.

Link to this comment

lugger11

11/11/08 at 9:53 am

Could this be used for carbon sequestering? Make the entire process electric using renewable sources.

Link to this comment

mjfr226

11/11/08 at 1:58 pm

that's awesome. I could use a diamond-film protected screen on my iphone... i could also use a shot of tequila right about now. cheers!

Link to this comment

NotImpressed

11/11/08 at 2:21 pm

I just feel sorry for the Worm.. 1400 degrees, man that gotta hurt

Link to this comment

randymaas

11/12/08 at 10:21 pm

I'm not sure why this article fails to mention this stunt was done years ago by American scientists using whiskey. But my real question is this:what happened to all those promises of sharper tools and longer lasting cutting edges? Did the DOD see a good thing and gobble it up before it could be exploited in the civilian market? Just a thought.

Link to this comment

lexitoons13

11/29/08 at 8:33 pm

I think this article is really an insight for what we can do in the future. I mean creating diamonds from an alcoholic beverage...that idea probably seemed insane ten years ago, but it actually happened! But I'm still curious as to if they'll use the diamonds they create for making jewelry and if they do, will it be more expensive than the "normal" diamonds? By the way, I think the title of this article should have been "Jose Cuervo Is A Girl's New Best Friend".

Link to this comment

earthday78

08/16/09 at 6:48 pm

read something about using diamond sheeting for solar panel efficiency increase, some 8 year old kid uses prisms to increase solar?...there are so many possibilities for these emerging technologies

Link to this comment

meamoose

08/17/09 at 12:55 pm

another question can diamonds be made into alcohol

Link to this comment

marcopolo1613

10/02/09 at 6:55 am

diamonds into alcohol seems like a waste of diamonds. It's not like it's that difficult to produce alcohol.