Engineers have discovered a new method to almost instantly turn carbon into diamond or graphene

A new method for producing graphene and diamond

The method used to produce graphene and even diamond is known as "Instantaneous Joule Heating" (FJH), and it was first described by a team of scientists in January 2020.

 

So according to the method described, an electric current is passed through carbon-containing materials while heating them to a temperature of 2,727 degrees Celsius (4,940 degrees Fahrenheit). This intense heating transforms the carbon into intact, tubular graphene flakes.

 

In the latest experiment, the research team went further and improved this process, and the output was different materials.

 

So initially the length of the "flash" was 10 milliseconds, but experiments with changing the length of this flash in the range from 10 to 500 milliseconds showed that eventually from carbon you can get different forms, including nanodiamond, as well as "concentric" carbon, in which the carbon atom creates a shell around a core of nanodiamond.

 

Electron microscope image of concentric carbon, where carbon atoms form a shell around the nanodiamond core.

Scientists have also been able to significantly accelerate this process by adding components such as various fluorine compounds and precursor to the initial mixture.

 

So previous studies have shown that through the addition of fluorine is a stronger adhesion of carbon atoms, which allows you to obtain nanodiamonds without creating a huge pressure.

 

According to the authors of the study, their technology FJH will make it possible to create new forms of carbon on a near-industrial scale, which was previously very difficult to achieve.

 

For example, nanodiamonds, which are quite in demand in various electronics components, have a rather complicated algorithm for obtaining, since a separate doping process is required. The FJH method makes it much easier to produce them.

 

In addition, the industry consumes quite a large number of small diamonds in the components of cutting tools, as well as in the role of electrical insulators.

 

And the production of a fluorinated version of nanodiamonds allows the modification of these structures to be performed and will provide an inexpensive and, most importantly, efficient technology.