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Science 7 December 2007:
Vol. 318. no. 5856, p. 1550
DOI: 10.1126/science.1147704
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Technical Comments

Response to Comment on "Synthesis of Ultra-Incompressible Superhard Rhenium Diboride at Ambient Pressure"

Hsiu-Ying Chung,1,2 Michelle B. Weinberger,1 Jonathan B. Levine,1 Robert W. Cumberland,1 Abby Kavner,3 Jenn-Ming Yang,2 Sarah H. Tolbert,1* Richard B. Kaner1,2*

Dubrovinskaia et al. question our demonstration that rhenium diboride (ReB2) is hard enough to scratch diamond. Here, we provide conclusive evidence of a scratch through atomic force microscopy depth profiling and elemental mapping. With high hardness, high-bulk modulus, and the ability to withstand extreme differential stress, ReB2 and related materials should be investigated regardless of their cost, which is not prohibitive.

1 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095–1569, USA.
2 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095–1567, USA.
3 Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095–1567, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: tolbert{at}chem.ucla.edu (S.H.T.); kaner{at}chem.ucla.edu (R.B.K.)

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)