Diamond is the hardest material in existence but is useless for cutting steel because it reacts with iron, from which steel is made, at high temperatures. Cubic boron nitride, a synthetic material, is the second hardest substance after diamond but is chemically stable against iron at high temperatures.
A desirable composite of diamond and cubic boron nitride crystals could be a unique machining tool that can be developed for work on hard rock and substances that contain iron.
Also, a better understanding of the bonds formed between these two unique semiconducting materials could lead to the development of new types of semiconductors. The nature of these bonds was previously unknown. A team of Japanese researchers from Tohoku University, the National Institute for Materials Science and the Japan Fine Ceramics Centre, collectively made this innovation. They published their findings in Nature Communications.