scientists working for alfields, inc., a u.s. company that holds the intellectual property and is managed by principals based in abu dhabi, uae, have released information about a new classification of carbon allotropes, referred to as novamene, which could transform the electronics industry, according to a press release from the company.

researchers have created novamene, a new carbon allotrope. (alfields, inc.)

dr. larry burchfield, the lead scientist on the study, said, "eventual use of novamene paves way to faster switching transistors, better batteries, vastly more efficient electronics and more, including energy conservation.  this development represents a key to the next stage of evolution in manufacturing and lifestyles.”

novamene was created by combining hexagonal diamond and ring carbon (graphene). the announcement explained, “as diamonds act as insulators, and graphene as a conductor, this breakthrough is expected to transform industry.”

it would also be the first new carbon allotrope classification since the discovery of fullerenes by robert f. curl, jr., sir harold w. kroto, and richard e. smalley in 1996. alfields also believes this could be the most important advancement since andrew geim and konstantin novoselov discovered graphene in 2010.

"put into perspective, semi-conductor electronics could have significant increased capacity without the need for cooling required to maintain silicon chips in computers,” said burchfield. “as diamonds have tremendous capacity for heat, we believe this material would also function as a transistor at very high temperatures.  a single-ringed novamene can function as a molecular switch that can lead to much faster computers.”

according to alfields, the next step is developing the synthesis and manufacturing of novamene.

the research was published in heliyon in february. the abstract stated:

“we announce a new class of carbon allotropes. the basis of this new classification resides on the concept of combining hexagonal diamond (sp³ bonded carbon − lonsdaleite) and ring carbon (sp² bonded carbon − graphene).

“since hexagonal diamond acts as an insulator and sp² bonded rings act as conductors, these predicted materials have potential applications for transistors and other electronic components.

“we describe the structure of a proposed series of carbon allotropes, novamene, and carry out a detailed computational analysis of the structural and electronic properties of the simplest compound in this class: the single-ring novamene. in addition, we suggest how hundreds of different allotropes of carbon could be constructed within this class.”