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Diamondoid mechanosynthesis (DMS) is the hypothetical mechanical synthesis of stable chemical structures using covalently bonded carbon. If developed, it could create atom-by-atom macroscale products, a type of bottom-up assembly, and be a foundation for superior manufacturing technology. The technology is still in the early stages of research, but a comprehensive set of molecular tools required for diamond mechanosynthesis was designed in 2007. The proposed technology has been mentioned in government reports on nanotechnology, but reactions are mixed.
Diamondoid mechanosynthesis (DMS) refers to the hypothetical mechanical synthesis of stable chemical structures using covalently bonded carbon, otherwise known as diamond. Mechanical synthesis (mechanosynthesis) contrasts with chemical synthesis is that synthesis (creation of a new chemical substance or structure from two smaller precursors) is performed using mechanical forces alone rather than combining chemicals randomly in a test tube. Mechanosynthesis is a technology in the early stages of research. Although mechanosynthesis has been demonstrated several times, demonstrating its physical feasibility, it has been performed primarily with silicon, not carbon, and only on a very limited scale.
The rationale for developing a reliable method of diamond mechanosynthesis is that, if it could be massively parallelized, it would be a solid foundation for superior manufacturing technology. Such a manufacturing technology would create atom-by-atom macroscale products, a type of bottom-up assembly, as opposed to the top-down assembly that accounts for nearly all of manufacturing today. This idea, pioneered by engineer Eric Drexler in the 1980s, has been called molecular nanotechnology or molecular manufacturing and has been the basis of much speculation and controversy in the scientific press.
Although a general outline for diamond mechanosynthesis was presented in Drexler’s 1992 book Nanosystems, it was not until 2007 that nanotechnologists Rob Freitas and Ralph Merkle designed a comprehensive set of molecular tools required for diamond mechanosynthesis and they tested in computational chemistry simulations. This 2007 work helped inspire applications for a US$3.1 million research grant in 2008 to actually fabricate and test the proposed tool tips for diamondoid mechanosynthesis in a physical environment. The principal investigator is Phillip Moriarty of the University of Nottingham, a specialist in the manipulation of single molecules and in the development of new scanning probe microscopes.
Diamond mechanosynthesis and molecular nanotechnology have been mentioned in UK and US government reports on nanotechnology, but reactions to the proposed technologies are mixed. Most reports are either dismissive of the idea, rejecting it with concerns over “grey goo” self-replication, or simply acknowledge ignorance and say that any future funding into the area will be conditional on proof of the concept.
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