Abstract
The study of diamond surfaces is traditionally undertaken in geology and materials science. As a sample material, two natural diamond crystals of type Ia were selected, and their luminescence and nitrogen state was characterized. In order to etch the surface catalytic hydrogenation was performed using Fe particles as an etchant. Micromorphology of the surface was investigated by scanning electron and laser confocal microscopy. It was demonstrated that etching occurred perpendicular to the crystal surface, with no signs of tangential etching. The average depth of caverns did not exceed 20–25 μm with a maximal depth of 40 μm. It is concluded that catalytic hydrogenation of natural type Ia diamonds is effective to produce a porous surface that can be used in composites or as a substrate material. Additionally, the comparison of results with porous microsculptures observed on natural impact diamond crystals from the Popigai astrobleme revealed a strong resemblance.
Highlights
The study of diamond surfaces is traditionally undertaken in geology and materials science
The use of diamond as a substrate is mainly limited by the fact that most metals slightly wet the diamond surface, and only by the addition of carbide-forming metals to the alloys can the contact angle be significantly decreased [17]
The present paper reports the results of catalytic hydrogenation of natural diamond crystals and their detailed characterization, aiming to obtain a highly porous surface of natural diamond and to compare the surface micromorphology with that of diamond crystals from the Popigai astrobleme
Summary
The study of diamond surfaces is traditionally undertaken in geology and materials science. The main trends of post-growth changes during transportation by kimberlite melts have been demonstrated [1,2,3,4,5] as well as the conditions of diamond preservation in the deeper mantle [6,7,8] In materials science, such studies are mainly aimed at using diamonds as a substrate [9,10,11,12,13] or part of a composite [14,15], and in novel applications such as in the elements of biosensors [16]. Diamond is a very interesting material as a substrate, because it has many unique properties, such as extreme chemical, mechanical, and radiation resistance, as well as high thermal conductivity and optical transparency [18]
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