Neo-polymorph: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 19:10, 29 March 2026

(wiki-TODO: There was a significant mixup with neo-isotypes here. Do some more cleanup & checks if transition succeeded.)

This article defines a novel term (that is hopefully sensibly chosen). The term is introduced to make a concept more concrete and understand its interrelationship with other topics related to atomically precise manufacturing. For details go to the page: Neologism.

A neo-polymorphic compound (or neo-isomorphic compound) is a highly (meta)stable non equilibrium polymorph
of a material with a certain fixed stoichiometry that is exclusively accessible through mechanosynthesis.
If just one element is involved the term neo-allotrope can be applied too/instead.

This includes patterns where specifically ordered states are thermodynamically not more attractive
than disordered (or in other undesired form ordered) states but
where a (sufficiently) high activation energy lies between the ordered and unordered states
making the via conventional means inacessible states highly kinetically metastable.

The patterns can be:

different stacking geometry, specific example:
A crossover between Diamond (cubic stacking) and lonsdaleite (hexagonal stacking).
(When pointing up a tetrapod of carbon bonds there are two ways one can orient the up facing three bonds in a six direction hexagon).
changes between different crystal structures of the same composition (adn stoichometry) so long nigh seamless covalent transitions are possible

Excluded here:

changes of atom types and stoichometry falls under neo-isotypes instead:
specific example: A crossover gemstone between Rutile (polymorph of TiO₂) and stishovite (polymorph of SiO₂).
The pattern making elements are Ti & Si. Oxygen atoms stay at their places.

Stacking order patterns:

ABABBABBBBAABABAABAA – unwanted unordered state – may be the only one that is thermodynamically accessible
ABABABABABABABABABAB – unwanted ordered state – may be the only one that is thermodynamically accessible
ABBAABBAABBAABBAABB – neo-polymorph – wanted peculiarly ordered state – not thermodynamically accessible - but accessible via mechanosynthesis

Note: in the case of SiC (moissanite) there is the constraint of no two same letters following adjacently. Above examples for simplicity.

Also neo-polymorphs and neo-isotypes can intermix here to neo gemstones like compounds or neo-gems for short.
All sorts of II-IV semiconductor compounds have fitting structure stacking order variations in {111} directions.
So structural stacking order can be augmented with material type stacking order.
Material stacking order not being constrained to the by {111} directions but by lattice strain.

Note: Thermodynamic accessibility refers to all the crude processes available today (2025)
that only allow to handle matter in statistical quantities: <br< melting, mixing, cooling, pressurizing, irradiating, (cook mix and stir thermodynamic synthesis) ...
This explicitly excludes advanced mechanosynthesis.

Examples

See: pseudo phase diagrams for more details on this.

Dialondeite cubic to hexagonal series
Moissanite cubic to hexagonal series
genrally: cubic zincblende structure to hexagonal wurzite structure series (for all applicable compounds respectively, mostly III-V semiconductors)

Other patternd back and forth transitions between small chunks of highly compatible crystal structures:

withe sapphire to deltalumide (unclear if transitionable)
silicon nitride trigonal alpha to hexagonal beta & (unclear) to cubic gamma
SiO₂ low pressure modification transitions - see page: Quartz
… (wiki-TODO: Find more examples to put here)

External links

Wikipedia pages:

Isotype: (de) Translated citation: "Minerals of the same structural type are called isotypes. They crystallize in the same class of crystals and form similar crystal forms. "
Isotype: (wikipedia de) Isotyp

www.mineralienatlas.de
lists minerals with equal or similar structures for any given mineral
so thhis can serve as a possible starting point to find potential neo-polymorphs

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{wikitodo|There is a significant mixup with '''neo-isotypes''' here. Move relevant parts to the new page.}}
+{{wikitodo|There was a significant mixup with '''neo-isotypes''' here. Do some more cleanup & checks if transition succeeded.}}
 {{site specific term}}
-A '''neo-polymorphic compound''' (or neo-isomorphic compound) is a highly (meta)stable non equilibrium polymorph of a material with a certain fixed stoichiometry that is exclusively accessible through [[mechanosynthesis]]. If just one element is involved the term '''neo-allotrope''' can be applied instead.
+A '''neo-polymorphic compound''' (or neo-isomorphic compound) is a highly (meta)stable non equilibrium polymorph <br>
+of a material with a certain fixed stoichiometry that is exclusively accessible through [[mechanosynthesis]]. <br>
+If just one element is involved the term '''[[neo-allotrope]]''' can be applied too/instead.
-This includes patterns where specifically ordered states are thermodynamically not more attractive than disordered (or in other undesired form ordered) states but where a (sufficiently) high activation energy lies between the ordered and unordered states.
+This includes patterns where specifically ordered states are thermodynamically not more attractive <br>
+than disordered (or in other undesired form ordered) states but <br>
+where a (sufficiently) high activation energy lies between the ordered and unordered states <br>
+making the via conventional means inacessible states highly kinetically metastable. <br>
 The patterns can be:
-* different atom types (elements) ... specific example: A crossover gemstone between Rutile (polymorph of TiO<sub>2</sub>) and stishovite (polymorph of SiO<sub>2</sub>). The pattern making elements are Ti & Si. Oxygen atoms stay at their places.
+* different stacking geometry, specific example: <br>A crossover between Diamond (cubic stacking) and lonsdaleite (hexagonal stacking). <br>(When pointing up a tetrapod of carbon bonds there are two ways one can orient the up facing three bonds in a six direction hexagon).
-* different stacking geometry or ... specific example: A crossover between Diamond (cubic stacking) and lonsdaleite (hexagonal stacking). (When pointing up a tetrapod of carbon bonds there are two ways one can orient the up facing three bonds in a six direction hexagon).
+* changes between different crystal structures of the same composition (adn stoichometry) so long nigh seamless covalent transitions are possible
-* ...
+Excluded here:
+* changes of atom types and stoichometry falls under [[neo-isotypes]] instead: <br>specific example: A crossover gemstone between Rutile (polymorph of TiO<sub>2</sub>) and stishovite (polymorph of SiO<sub>2</sub>). <br>The pattern making elements are Ti & Si. Oxygen atoms stay at their places.
-Patterns:
+Stacking order patterns:
 * ABABBABBBBAABABAABAA – unwanted unordered state – may be the only one that is thermodynamically accessible
 * ABABABABABABABABABAB – unwanted ordered state – may be the only one that is thermodynamically accessible
 * ABBAABBAABBAABBAABB – '''neo-polymorph''' – wanted peculiarly ordered state – not thermodynamically accessible - but accessible via [[mechanosynthesis]]
+Note: in the case of SiC ([[moissanite]]) there is the constraint of no two same letters following adjacently. Above examples for simplicity.
-Of course arbitrary many elements/layertypes/... are allowed. A,B,C,D,...
+Also '''[[neo-polymorphs]] and [[neo-isotypes]] can intermix here to [[neo gemstones like compounds]]''' or '''neo-gems''' for short. <br>
+All sorts of II-IV semiconductor compounds have fitting structure stacking order variations in {111} directions. <br>
+So structural stacking order can be augmented with material type stacking order. <br>
+Material stacking order not being constrained to the by {111} directions but by lattice strain. <br>
-Note: '''Thermodynamic accessibility''' refers to all the crude processes available today (2020) that only allow to handle matter in statistical quantities: melting, mixing, cooling, pressurizing, irradiating, ... This explicitly excludes advanced [[mechanosynthesis]].
+Note: '''Thermodynamic accessibility''' refers to all the crude processes available today (2025) <br>
+that only allow to handle matter in statistical quantities: <br<
-{{wikitodo| ABABAB ABCABC - no same letters following adjacently in case of SiC structure - fix discussion above accordingly eventually}}
+melting, mixing, cooling, pressurizing, irradiating, ([[cook mix and stir thermodynamic synthesis]]) ... <br>
+This explicitly excludes advanced [[mechanosynthesis]].
 == Examples ==
@@ Line 26: / Line 37: @@
 See: [[pseudo phase diagrams]] for more details on this.
-'''The rutile stishovite (TiO<sub>2</sub> to strong SiO<sub>2</sub>) neopolymorphic transition:''' <br>
+* [[Dialondeite]] cubic to hexagonal series
-The common mineral [[rutile]] and the rare mineral [[stishovite]] (made out of the two most common elements in earth crust) share the same crystal structure. The rutile structure.
+* [[Moissanite]] cubic to hexagonal series
-Albeit rutile not drawing silicon into its structure naturally (meaning it's thermodynamically unfavourable)
+* genrally: cubic zincblende structure to hexagonal wurzite structure series (for all applicable compounds respectively, mostly III-V semiconductors)
-(as can be seen with rutile occuring embedded in quartz https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rutile@quartz.jpg)
+----
-a forced substitution (at least to some degree) may very well be possible via [[mechanosynthesis|mechanosyntheic]] means
+Other patternd back and forth transitions between small chunks of highly compatible crystal structures:
-and the resulting product [[base material]] may very well be highly (meta) stable at room temperature.
+* [[withe sapphire]] to [[deltalumide]] (unclear if transitionable)
+* [[silicon nitride]] trigonal alpha to hexagonal beta & (unclear) to cubic gamma
-'''The quartz to "carbexplosoquartz" (SiO<sub>2</sub> to solid CO<sub>2</sub>) neopolymorphic transition''' <br>
+* SiO<sub>2</sub> low pressure modification transitions - see page: [[Quartz]]
-Obviously CO<sub>2</sub> very much likes to be a gas (small atomic radii => sp orbitals sticking far out => orbitals hybridize and form double bonds)
+* … {{wikitodo|Find more examples to put here}}
-so if pure CO is even mechanosynthsizable it would be a very delicate and thus dangerous high explosive. A little bit of substitution of Si with C may be safely forcable via mechanosynthetic means though, despite that substitution is not naturally happening due to unvafourable thermodynamics. Maybe even as much as 50% of the silicon could be substituted with carbon without getting to something unstable and useless? Who knows.
-'''The SiO<sub>2</sub> to GeO<sub>2</sub> and SnO<sub>2</sub> neopolymorphic transition''' <br>
-Si has a bit more dissimilarity to the element above (C) than the elements below (Ge,Sn) with the exception of (Pb).
-Like less relative difference in diameter, less difference in their dislike to form double bonds, less difference in their metallicity, ... .
-So these elements may be substitutable in higher quantities. Though Ge and Sn are to rare to be of use as large volume structural base material.
-Also Ge and Sn form rutile structure (argutite and cassiereite respectively), so they may instead be able to
-tie into the aforementioned rutile stishovite neopolymorphic transition.
-Lead (Pb) may very well already be way too different to Si to even be force substitutable making the resulting structures unstable at room temperature or even below.
-Lead and tin are (and where) used in the floating glass production process because they don't like to mix too much (on their own volition).
-Still a lot of unwettability and immiscibility may be possible to overcome via mechanosynthetic forcing.
-Also there is lead glass ({{TODO| find out how lead integrates in glass in the case of lead glass}})
-* '''The Si<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> to beta carbon nitride C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> neopolymorphic transition''' <br>
-Both are high performance materials but [[beta carbon nitride]] is highly exotic even in its pure form today (2020).
-[[Beta carbon nitride]] may be of especial interest since when drawing solid building material form thin air alone
-The concentration of CO<sub>2</sub> is the limiting factor and given more than halve of C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> is nitrogen
-and thus material may be drawable more than double the speed.
-* '''The BN to AlN neopolymorphic transition''' <br>
-Pure AlN hydrolyzes with water, so when going far with the forced substitutuion the parts must be perfectly sealed against humidity.
-* '''The tistarite to leukosapphire to diboron trioxide (Ti<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> to Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> to B<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>) neopolymorphic transition''' <br>
-Pure B<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> is slightly water soluble and toxic, so when going far with the forced substitutuion the parts must be perfectly sealed against humidity.
 == Related ==
-* '''[[Neo-isotypes]]'''
+* [[Neo-gems]]
+* '''[[Neo-isotypes]]'''
 ----
 * [[Classifications for gemstone like compounds]]
@@ Line 76: / Line 64: @@
 '''Examples:'''
 * [[Dialondeite]]
-== Examples with likely missing end members ==
-Take gem grade silicon carbide aka [[moissanite]] as starting point. <br>
-Then increasinvgly substitute the silicon Si atoms with titanium Ti atoms in a checkerboard fashion. <br>
-It is known that pure TiC likes to be in simple cubic rock salt structure, so at some degree of substitution. <br>
-the structure might become weakly metastable (worst case explosive) or entirely unstable. <br>
-Revesely, staring with simple cubic rock salt structure TiC and <br>
-substituting Ti with Si (or Ge) in checkerboard fashion seem more limited if possible at all. <br>
-Titanium carbide MXenes Ti<sub>2</sub>C<sub>1</sub>, Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>, Ti<sub>4</sub>C<sub>3</sub>(?) <br>
-Might be checkerboard pattern Si/Ge substitutable by some degree. <br>
-Due to todays experimental syntehsis route via MAX phases and etching out A, <br>
-it is likely unclear in how far titanium carbide MXenescan be extended from <br>
-D materials to a 3D materials that in the limit have Ti<sub>1</sub>C<sub>1</sub> stoichometry. <br>
-That is: In how far they are metastable to transformation to <br>
-the known to be low energy stable simple cubic rock salt structure polymorph of TiC. <br>
-Side-note: MXenes have dense fcc==ccp structure akin to many metals. <br>
-Unlike [[moissanite]] and dioamondoids in general which are sparse, <br>
-half the atomic coordination, and voids due to being two interspersed fcc lattices. <br>
 == External links ==
@@ Line 112: / Line 78: @@
 ----
 * [https://www.mineralienatlas.de/ www.mineralienatlas.de] <br>lists minerals with equal or similar structures for any given mineral <br> so thhis can serve as a possible starting point to find potential neo-polymorphs
+[[Category:Far term target]]

Neo-polymorph: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 19:10, 29 March 2026

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