ABU DHABI, UAE, April 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — What began with a simple molecular model kit to test a theory, today holds the potential of becoming a multi-billion dollar industry.  A new classification of carbon allotropes called “Novamene” is the first release in a series which fall into an entirely new class of carbon, by a group of scientists and business leaders at Heidron, Inc., a US company that holds the intellectual property and is managed by principals based in Abu Dhabi.

“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,” explained lead scientist, Dr. Larry Burchfield, UAE-based American nuclear chemist and founder of the Radiochemistry Society in the US.

News of Novamene was first published in the February edition of the UK’s scientific journal, Heliyon.  The concept of combining hexagonal diamond and ring carbon (graphene), provides the basis for the new carbon allotrope classification. As diamonds act as an insulators, and graphene as a conductor, this breakthrough is expected to transform industry and marks the first new carbon allotrope classification since that of Fullerenes by Nobel Laureates Robert F. Curl Jr., Sir Harold W. Kroto, and Richard E. Smalley in 1996. It may also mark the field’s most significant advancement since Graphene by Nobel Laureates Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, 2010.

“Put into perspective, semi-conductor electronics could have significant increased capacity without the need for cooling required to maintain silicon chips in computers.  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,” Dr. Burchfield added.

Proof of concept was achieved in collaboration with Dr. Nicola Manini, University of Milan.  Additional testing was performed by Pacific Northwest National Labs.  The main challenge ahead is the synthesis and manufacturing.

LONDON — An Abu Dhabi based company claims to have identified an allotrope of carbon that may be more suitable than gallium nitride (GaN) for opto-electronic components and applicable to more semiconductor device applications than carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene.

A paper on the topic, published in the scientific journal Carbon, shows the structure of a new carbon allotrope, protomene, which researchers say offers promise of tremendous advancements in the electronics industry as a single material.

A team of international experts working on this advancement is led by Emirati brothers, Mohamed and Rashed Al Fahim at Alfields LLC. It is part of the United Arab Emirates government strategy to address innovation and future technologies needs for the “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” launched in September 2017.

“Protomene and its tremendous properties have been on the wish lists of forward thinking innovators and manufacturers for decades, and we will deliver it,” said Larry Burchfield, an American nuclear chemist who serves as chief science officer at Alfields.

“We’ve graduated from the ‘pipe dream’ stage to eventually making a certain and beneficial impact upon the world of semiconductors, opto-electronics, coatings, and energy conservation,” Burchfield said.

Alfields says this probably marks the first new carbon allotrope classification since that of fullerenes by Nobel Laureates Robert F. Curl Jr., Sir Harold W. Krotoand Richard E. Smalley in 1996, and the most significant advancement since graphene by Nobel Laureates Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov in 2010.

Work toward the actual manufacturing of protomene will move forward in collaboration with the Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi.

Protomene qualifies as a new potentially useful direct gap semiconductor. The energy band gap is very close to that of GaN, which is approximately 3.4 eV at room temperature. As a result, protomene possesses similar semiconducting properties to GaN, which may enable it to have applications for high-power and/or high-frequency electronic devices with large breakdown voltages.