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Subsurface Driven Size-Dependent Elasticity in Nanodiamond

Jiaqi Zhang1,2,3, Chunmeng Liu1, Xing Li1, Dongyang Wang1, Keke Zhao1, Houlin Ji1, Yoshifumi Oshima3, Shaobo Cheng1,2,*, and Chongxin Shan1,†

  • *Contact author: chengshaobo@zzu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: cxshan@zzu.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. X 16, 021010 – Published 10 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/b3h5-34wt

Abstract

Diamond, an archetype of hardness and brittleness, can nonetheless display striking elastic compliance at the nanoscale, in sharp contrast to its ultrastiff, fracture prone bulk behavior. Despite recent experimental progress, the atomic scale origin of this anomalous elasticity remains unresolved. Here, we uncover a pronounced size- dependent softening in nanodiamond, with the effective axial Young’s modulus decreasing from about 1000 to about 700 GPa as the particle diameter shrinks from 13 to 4 nm. By integrating in situ transmission electron microscopy nanomechanical testing with first principles calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, we show that this stiffness reduction does not arise from the surface atomic layers, which remain comparatively stiff, but instead from weakened bonding in a distinct interfacial region between the surface and the crystalline core. These under-coordinated regions localize strain and accommodate large elastic deformation. The results uncover a previously overlooked interfacial mechanism that governs elasticity in brittle nanomaterials and offer design principles for nanomechanical resonators, quantum devices, and thermal transport applications with tunable stiffness.

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Diamond is known as the hardest, yet brittle material as it will shatter under strain. Using a custom-built electron microscope holder that can measure piconewton-scale force while imaging atoms in real time, we discovered that nanodiamonds become unexpectedly softer, even displaying elastic behavior. The softening has been attributed to the weakened bonds at the interface between the surface and the crystal core while not from the nanodiamond surface. The subsurface region allows strain to concentrate and energy to dissipate, delaying fracture and enabling elasticity that is almost impossible in bulk diamond. This hidden mechanism may play a role in the elasticity of brittle materials, and suggest the archetype of rigidity diamond can have its mechanical properties tuned at nanoscale. It further opens opportunities to design nanomechanical resonators, phononic devices, and quantum systems that exploit this elastic flexibility of diamond.

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Phys. Rev. X 16, 021010– Published 10 April, 2026
  • Received 4 September 2025
  • Revised 30 January 2026
  • Accepted 16 March 2026
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