Hexagonal Silicon Oxide

After giving them a warning, Huang Xiuyuan began to discuss the new material. First, he used an oil-based marker to write a molecular formula on a small blackboard nearby and roughly sketched out its structure.

He Wen, Lu Xuedong, and the others standing nearby were completely bewildered, struggling to understand the formula.

The molecular formula was: Si6O12.

"Six silicon dioxides?" Lu Xuedong said, scratching his head.

"Does such a compound even exist?" He Wen was also racking his brain.

In the rough sketch of the molecular structure Huang Xiuyuan had drawn, the six silicon dioxides were distributed in a planar ring, forming a regular hexagon.

Inside the regular hexagon were six silicon atoms, with twelve oxygen atoms connected to the exterior.

Huang Xiuyuan pointed to the structural diagram and explained, "This is a two-dimensional material, but unlike Dirac materials (graphene, silicene, black phosphorus, etc.), it is an entirely new nanomaterial."

He did not explain its specific function, instead beginning to assign tasks. He broke down the specific synthesis steps, started the laboratory equipment, and commenced the first official experiment.

Thanks to the specific synthesis steps he provided, they managed to synthesize the first batch of "product" using the lab equipment in less than two hours.

He Wen, wearing a full-body protective suit, carefully used a piece of tape to gently touch the black powdery substance, then sealed the tape.

Taking it to the transmission electron microscope, he began a meticulous search. After five or six minutes, He Wen and his assistant discovered the first "Hexagonal Silicon Oxide."

However, he did not report it immediately but continued searching. Soon, they found over a dozen more "Hexagonal Silicon Oxide" molecules, proving that this compound was not a coincidence but had been successfully synthesized.

He Wen walked out of the transmission electron microscope room and reported to Huang Xiuyuan, "Mr. Huang, the Hexagonal Silicon Oxide you described is real. We found over a dozen molecules under the lens."

"Good." Huang Xiuyuan looked somewhat excited, then immediately ordered, "Prepare for vapor deposition."

The synthesized black powder was taken to another area of the lab, where Lu Xuedong and his team had prepared the vapor deposition work.

Huang Xiuyuan extracted a tiny amount of the black powder and gently sprinkled it into the vapor deposition chamber.

He gave Lu Xuedong an "OK" gesture.

Seeing his signal, Lu Xuedong operated the experimental equipment to begin the vapor deposition process.

Time slipped by until lunch. After a hurried meal in the cafeteria, they returned to the laboratory.

By then, the vapor deposition was complete. They removed the deposited graphene film from the chamber, and a semi-transparent film with a radius of 50 centimeters appeared before everyone.

However, this was not the finished product, but a semi-finished item requiring further processing.

After cutting, multiple rounds of mechanical polishing, and cleaning, they obtained several dozen single-layer graphene films with a radius of 5 centimeters.

Back in the transmission electron microscope room, He Wen carefully inspected each film. The work was slow; after three consecutive days of busy work, they finally identified only 7 films.

"Mr. Huang, these seven films are the ones embedded with Hexagonal Silicon Oxide. One of them contains six Hexagonal Silicon Oxide molecules..."

Looking at the detailed test reports page by page, Huang Xiuyuan revealed a faint smile. "My hypothesis was correct. Soon, everyone will know the purpose of this thing."

"Then I shall wait and see." Lu Xuedong was also very curious about its use, but Huang Xiuyuan had yet to explain.

In truth, it wasn't that Huang Xiuyuan didn't want to say, but without a physical prototype, anything he said would lack credibility.

Next to the laboratory, the third factory building that the clothing factory had left unfinished had been converted into a steel-structured facility and had been renovated just days prior.

The group brought the seven films into the steel-structured building, where six or seven engineers from the engineering team had already calibrated several pieces of equipment.

These were among the custom-designed devices Huang Xiuyuan had previously ordered.

The head of the engineering team, Du Jinhua, came forward. "Mr. Huang, you're here. The equipment has all been calibrated."

"Where is the sealed workshop I asked you to prepare?"

"Mr. Huang, please follow me."

They arrived at a class 100,000 cleanroom where a piece of equipment was already on display. He handed a film to Du Jinhua. "Install this in the filter layer of the device."

Du Jinhua took the film, opened the device's slot, and firmly installed the film in the designated position. He turned on the vacuum pump; there were no leaks, and after testing the power, everything seemed to be in order.

"Mr. Huang, it meets the design requirements."

Huang Xiuyuan couldn't wait any longer. "Start the test."

"Understood."

Everyone observed through the window outside the workshop.

Under Du Jinhua's command, the equipment slowly started.

The upper part of the device was a conical container, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with a gas pipeline connected to the top.

The middle of the device was where the film was installed.

The lower part was a conical container, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, connected to a vacuum system.

The upper container was injected with a large amount of nitrogen, while the lower container was rapidly evacuated, creating a pressure differential between the two sides.

However, due to the barrier of the graphene film, the nitrogen could not enter the lower section.

Soon, Du Jinhua pressed a power button, and a current with a set voltage passed through the graphene film.

The graphene itself did not change much, but the Hexagonal Silicon Oxide embedded within the film underwent a transformation upon being electrified.

Nitrogen molecules passed through the central hexagon of the Hexagonal Silicon Oxide. The reaction was not over yet; the nitrogen molecules that had passed through the center began to undergo a brand-new change.

In another tank of the vacuum system, a large amount of white powder began to deposit at the bottom. After about an hour, the gravity sensing system of the tank indicated that the mass of the reactant inside had exceeded one kilogram.

Huang Xiuyuan looked at the product; it was already sufficient for their use, so he spoke up: "Stop the test!"

The equipment ceased operation, and the approximately one kilogram of white powder was carefully removed, leaving everyone present exceptionally nervous.

Those on the scene were all experts in materials chemistry; nitrogen had turned into a solid powder without the addition of any other reactants, and judging by the situation, this did not appear to be nitrogen fixation via cryogenic distillation.

One had to realize that all-nitrogen compounds were, to a certain extent, equivalent to explosives—and high-energy explosives at that.

Swallowing hard, He Wen asked in a low voice: "Mr. Huang, this thing won't explode, will it?"

"Rest assured, it's not a big problem, as long as it isn't exposed to ultraviolet light," Huang Xiuyuan replied with complete composure.

The white powder, stored in a sealed, light-proof container, was cautiously transferred to the materials laboratory. Inside the lens room, a nervous He Wen finally saw the molecular structure of the white powder clearly.

This was an allotrope of nitrogen composed of 16 nitrogen atoms, featuring a three-dimensional spatial structure formed by four layers of rhombic planes, each consisting of four nitrogen atoms at the base, stacked upon one another.

Outside the lens room, Lu Xuedong asked curiously: "Xiuyuan, what is the use of this all-nitrogen compound? By the way, no one else was involved in the synthesis process back at Harvard, right?"

"Of course no one else was involved; this wasn't my advisor's project, and all the data and traces involved were destroyed by me," Huang Xiuyuan replied with a smile. In truth, this was merely an excuse; he had never researched this material at Harvard at all.