The growth of agglomerates in the conditions of detonation synthesis of diamond

Abstract

The conditions of detonation synthesis of nanodiamonds do not affect the size of diamond microcrystallites too much, as was shown in numerous experimental studies. This is because microcrystallites are formed almost instantly at the moment of explosive detonation, when conditions are created for crystallization of the diamond carbon phase. Further expansion of detonation products only leads to the creation and enlargement of particle agglomerates. The product of detonation synthesis is always a powder consisting of agglomerates of carbon particles of diamond and non-diamond phases with impurities. The size, density and specific surface area of the agglomerates can be different depending on the synthesis conditions. These product characteristics are of great importance for further technological applications. Meanwhile, the processes of agglomerate formation under conditions of expansion of detonation products have not yet been considered. In this paper, we theoretically consider this process. The dependences of the size and specific surface of carbon agglomerates on the conditions of detonation synthesis were obtained, and comparison with experimental data was made.