Response to comment on "synthesis of ultra-incompressible superhard rhenium diboride at ambient pressure"

Abstract

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.