Germanium Catalyst for Plasma-Chemical Synthesis of Diamonds

Abstract

A method for the synthesis of microdiamonds from graphite in an argon arc using germanium as a catalyst is presented. Simple microdiamonds and diamonds of complex configuration are obtained. It has been revealed that forms of synthesized nanomaterials are significantly affected by the buffer gas, the electrical and thermal parameters of the arc discharge, and the presence of germanium at the nucleation stage. Microdiamonds are formed within a few tens of seconds, which is much different from time required for their traditional production.