The 2009 chemistry prize goes to Javier Morales, Miguel Apátiga, and Victor M. Castaño (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) for creating diamonds from liquid — specifically from tequila.

Abstract from "Growth of Diamond Films from Tequila," Javier Morales, Miguel Apatiga and Victor M. Castano, 2008, arXiv:0806.1485. Diamond thin films were growth using Tequila as precursor by Pulsed Liquid Injection Chemical Vapor Deposition (PLI-CVD) onto both silicon (100) and stainless steel 304 at 850 C. The diamond films were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The spherical crystallites (100 to 400 nm) show the characteristic 1332 cm-1 Raman band of diamond.

GypsumThe giant gypsum crystals in Mexico's "Cueva de los Cristales" are a stunning natural wonder featuring crystals up to 11 metres long.

These giant gypsum (hydrated calcium sulphate) crystals in the “Cave of Crystals” in the Naica mine, Chihuahua, Mexico pose an interesting problem: how are they formed. A Spanish-Mexican team led by Prof García-Ruiz et al. propose that these crystals are derived from "a self-feeding mechanism driven by a solution-mediated, anhydrite-gypsum phase transition". The solution from which the crystals grew were maintained in a very narrow, stable temperature range. It seems likely that related features will be discovered in the future.1

See Geology: April, 2007, v. 35, no. 4, where the crystals are featured on the cover.

• 1. Formation of natural gypsum megacrystals in Naica, Mexico,
  García-Ruiz, Juan Manuel, Villasuso Roberto, Ayora Carlos, Canals Angels, and Otálora Fermín
  , Geology, 2007, Volume 35, Issue 4, p.327, (2007)
  

Gypsum, cover from Geology; April 2007; v. 35; no. 4; p. 327-330; DOI: 10.1130/G23393A.11

• 1. Formation of natural gypsum megacrystals in Naica, Mexico,
  García-Ruiz, Juan Manuel, Villasuso Roberto, Ayora Carlos, Canals Angels, and Otálora Fermín
  , Geology, 2007, Volume 35, Issue 4, p.327, (2007)
  

Formation of natural gypsum megacrystals in Naica, Mexico, García-Ruiz, Juan Manuel, Villasuso Roberto, Ayora Carlos, Canals Angels, and Otálora Fermín , Geology, 2007, Volume 35, Issue 4, p.327, (2007)