Diamond Dethroned? “Wonderful” New Material Smashes Heat Conduction Records

Scitech Daily ^ | November 04, 2025 | University of Houston

[Red Badger]

Scientists have upended long-held assumptions about thermal conductivity, revealing that boron arsenide crystals can conduct heat even better than diamond.

Researchers at the University of Houston have uncovered a major breakthrough in thermal conductivity, challenging long-standing assumptions about boron arsenide (BAs) and its ability to conduct heat compared to diamond.

Their experiments revealed that when produced as high-quality crystals, boron arsenide can reach thermal conductivity levels above 2,100 watts per meter per Kelvin (W/mK) at room temperature, possibly outperforming diamond, which has long been regarded as the most effective heat conductor among isotropic materials.

The findings, published Oct. 10 in Materials Today, question existing scientific models and may transform how heat-conducting materials are understood. The discovery also opens the door to advanced semiconductor materials capable of far better heat management in smartphones, high-performance electronics, and large-scale data centers.

“We trust our measurement; our data is correct and that means the theory needs correction,” said Zhifeng Ren, corresponding author and a professor in the Department of Physics in UH’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “I’m not saying the theory is wrong, but an adjustment needs to be made to be consistent with the experimental data.”

Breaking the Barrier

The study was a collaboration between UH’s globally recognized Texas Center for Superconductivity — directed by Ren — and researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Boston College.

In the past decade, boron arsenide, a synthetic material, had been theorized to rival or surpass diamond’s thermal conductivity, or the ability to carry heat away from products efficiently. In 2013, Boston College physicist David Broido, the study’s co-author, and others predicted that BAs crystals could perform at this level.

But according to Ren, by 2017, revised models that added four-phonon scattering — a more complex process than previously used three-phonon models — capped BAs at 1,360 W/mK, causing most researchers to dismiss the potential for higher thermal conductivity in future experiments.

Ren and fellow researchers, however, believed using source materials with higher purity would improve thermal conductivity because many defects existed in the samples, showing thermal conductivity at about 1,300 W/mK. Predictions were based on perfect BAs crystals, and scientists managed to experimentally achieve the predicted heat level using samples with significant defects.

By purifying raw arsenic and improving synthesis techniques, the team produced cleaner crystals that showed thermal conductivity above 2,100 W/mK — and with them, record-breaking thermal conductivity that exceeded theoretical expectations.

Why It Matters

The discovery positions BAs as a potential game-changer in electronics and thermal management. It not only surpasses diamond in heat conduction but also outperforms silicon — the current industry standard — as a semiconductor.

Key advantages of boron arsenide include:

It’s easier and cheaper to manufacture than diamonds, removing the need for extreme temperatures and pressures.

It’s not only an exceptional thermal conductor but also an effective semiconductor. It has the potential for better semiconducting performance than silicon due to its properties, such as high thermal conductivity, wider band gap, much higher carrier mobility in both electrons and holes, and well-matched coefficient of thermal expansion.

“This new material, it’s so wonderful,” Ren said. “It has the best properties of a good semiconductor, and a good thermal conductor — all sorts of good properties in one material. That has never happened in other semiconducting materials.”

Looking Ahead

Despite the breakthrough, the work is far from over. Texas Center for Superconductivity researchers will continue refining their materials, which they hope will push BAs’ thermal conductivity even higher.

The research is part of a $2.8 million National Science Foundation grant led by Bolin Liao at UC Santa Barbara, with participation from UH, Notre Dame and University of California, Irvine. Industrial sponsor Qorvo also partially supports the work at UH.

Ren invites theorists to re-examine thermal conductivity models and push beyond theoretical limits, possibly unlocking even better materials in the future.

“You shouldn’t let a theory prevent you from discovering something even bigger, and this exactly happened in this work,” Ren said.

Reference:

“Thermal conductivity of boron arsenide above 2100 W per meter per Kelvin at room temperature”

by Ange Benise Niyikiza, Zeyu Xiang, Fanghao Zhang, Fengjiao Pan, Chunhua Li, Matthew Delmont, David Broido, Ying Peng, Bolin Liao and Zhifeng Ren, 10 October 2025, Materials Today.

DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2025.09.021

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; History; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS:

[Red Badger]

Ping!..............

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[P.O.E.]

Not sure “boron arsenide” is the message you want to send during a marriage proposal

[crusty old prospector]

Cool. I found some boronic arsenio in my back yard last week.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“You shouldn’t let a theory prevent you from discovering something even bigger, and this exactly happened in this work,” Ren said.

In other words, Professor Ren is saying "The science is never settled."

Good for him!

[ShadowAce]

“I’m not saying the theory is wrong, but an adjustment needs to be made to be consistent with the experimental data.”

??? Doesn't that mean the theory is wrong?

[JZelle]

Shine on you crazy boron arsenide. If this doesn’t get them back together, nothing will.

[Magnum44]

Meh, I solved the heat conduction problem back in the 80's.

[chaosagent]

??? Doesn't that mean the theory is wrong?

It doesn't mean the theory is 'wrong'. It just means that the theory is not 'correct'.

[Callahan]

Interesting. If these results hold up, it could change how we handle heat in electronics. The question is whether this can be produced reliably and integrated into chips at a reasonable cost. If they figure that out, the biggest upside is energy savings for the data centers that the Ai industry relies on.

[crusty old prospector]

I love melting nazis.

[Red Badger]

The electronics industry has been using boron and arsenic for many years, so integrating it should not be a big problem.

The the ‘trick’ is to make flawless crystals at scale.................

[Celtic Conservative]

If the science is settled, then it’s not science. Knowledge is a moving target.

CC

[catnipman]

now they just need to figure out how to make the stuff in commercial quantities:

“the large-scale and high-quality synthesis of cubic boron arsenide remains a significant challenge, though progress is being made through methods like chemical vapor transport.”

[Rockingham]

Yeah, I guess that even Shakespeare would struggle with such a task. “My beloved, thee are hotter than pure boron arsenide, with a wondrous semiconductor band gap” just doesn’t seem likely to stir a woman to say yes.

[Redcitizen]

Nazi them anymore.

[P.O.E.]

Or try this “ice breaker” at the next ladies night:

“Thermal conductivity levels above 2,100 watts per meter per Kelvin around here often?”

Ya never know.

[UnwashedPeasant]

Now you tell me! I just filled my furnace with diamonds.

[Billthedrill]

...an adjustment needs to be made to be consistent with the experimental data.

What blasphemy is this? Consistency with experimental data is racist!