Thermodynamic Analysis of the Formation of a Nanostructural Polycrystalline Material Based on Nanodiamonds Modified with Non-Diamond Carbon (Part 1)

Abstract

The influence of the size of carbon particles on the parameters of the graphite–diamond phase transformation is considered. It is shown that the surface energy of carbon nanoparticles of various shapes (spherical, columnar) makes a significant contribution to their total thermodynamic potential, which leads to a shift in the diamond–graphite equilibrium curve to the low pressure region and an expansion of the diamond phase stability region. At the same time, the change in the chemical potential (Gibbs free energy) during the direct (not catalytic) transition of thin-film graphite-like nanostructures into diamond will be higher than for “massive” graphite, which leads to an increase in the pressure of phase transformation into diamond. To reduce the parameters of diamond formation and obtain nanostructured diamond polycrystals, it is proposed to use nanodiamond particles with a nanometer surface layer of non-diamond (graphitelike) carbon as the starting material. In this case, the nanodiamond surface will influence the transition of a nanometer layer of graphite (graphite-like carbon) into diamond under more favorable thermodynamic parameters.

Keywords

• nanodiamond
• non-diamond forms of carbon
• state diagram
• phase transformations
• chemical potential
• gibbs energy