Diffusion coefficient of carbon in Fe–Ni alloy during synthesis of diamond under high temperature and high pressure

Abstract

Synthetic diamond particles were prepared under high temperature and high pressure using arrayed seeds. A dense Fe–Ni alloy shell covered each diamond seed during synthesis; the growth of diamond particles was controlled by the diffusion of carbon through the metallic shell. The diffusion coefficient of carbon through Fe–Ni melt at 1600 K and 5.5 GPa is about 5×10−6 cm2/s, with an activation energy for diffusion of 336 kJ/mol.