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Super-tough material mimics metal and crystal - tech - 19 April 2007 - New Scientist Tech
A super-hard material that is tough enough to scratch diamond could be made cheaply and easily, a new study suggests. The material is made from the metal rhenium and the element boron and resembles both a metal and a crystal in structure.

Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring material known, although researchers have synthesised other substances to rival its hardness. These are generally crystals made from combinations of light elements, including carbon, nitrogen and boron, and are structurally similar to diamond.

These materials are better than diamond at some tasks, such as cutting steel, since the carbon in diamond reacts with steel to form iron carbide, dulling the cutting surface.

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