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**2** 

**Synthesis of Diamond** 

Faming Zhang and Eberhard Burkel

*Physics of New Materials, University of Rostock, Rostock* 

*Germany* 

**Using Spark Plasma Sintering** 

Carbon is a complex system rich in polymorphs due to its ability to form *sp1*-, *sp*2-, and *sp*3 hybridized C-C bonds. One of the most outstanding achievements in carbon science was the synthesis of diamond from graphite under high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) conditions (Giardini et al., 1960). Since diamond particles and films have now been obtained by many other methods including detonation (Vereschagin et al., 1994), combustion flames (Hirose et al., 1990) and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) with RF plasma (Watanabe et al., 1992) or microwave plasma (Kobashi et al., 1988) etc., the HPHT method is still the most popular commercial method for the diamond synthesis. Nowadays, man-made diamond plays an indispensable role in modern industry for abrasives, tool coatings,

Spark plasma sintering (SPS), commonly also defined as field assisted sintering (FAST) or pulsed electric current sintering (PECS) is a novel pressure assisted pulsed electric current sintering process utilizing ON-OFF DC pulse energizing. Due to the repeated application of an ON-OFF DC pulse voltage and current in powder materials, the spark discharge point and the Joule heating point (local high temperature-state) are transferred and dispersed to the overall specimen (Zhang & Burkel, 2010). The SPS process is based on the electrical spark discharge phenomenon: a high energetic, low voltage spark pulse current momentarily generates high localized temperatures, from several to ten thousand degrees between the particles resulting in high thermal and electrolytic diffusion. During SPS treatment, powders contained in a die can be processed for diverse novel bulk material applications, for example nanostructured materials, functional gradated materials, hard alloys, biomaterials, porous ceramics and alloys etc (Zhang & Burkel, 2010). The SPS has been used to prepare diverse advanced materials; nevertheless, it is still a new technique for

In the year 2004, during the study of the thermal stability of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) under various SPS conditions, Zhang et al first found that under SPS conditions of 1500 oC at very low pressure (80 MPa) carbon nanotubes were unstable and transformed into diamonds without any catalysts being involved (Zhang, Shen et al., 2005). The transformation mechanism involves the breakage of some C–C bonds, the formation of carbon nano-onions (multilayer fullerenes), and the nucleation and growth of the diamond

**1. Introduction** 

the diamond synthesis.

microelectronics, optics and other applications.

