F. M. Shakhov

Filler-matrix thermal boundary resistance of diamond-copper composite with high thermal conductivity

A composite material with a high thermal conductivity is obtained by capillary infiltration of copper into a bed of diamond particles of 400 μm size, the particles having been pre-coated with tungsten. The measured thermal conductivity of the composite decreases from 910 to 480 W m−1 K−1 when the coating thickness is increased from 110 to 470 nm. Calculations of the filler/matrix thermal boundary resistance R and the thermal conductivity of the coating layer λi using differential effective medium, Lichtenecker’s and Hashin’s models give similar numerical values of R and λi ≈ 1.5 W m−1 K−1. The minimal thickness of the coating h ∼ 100 nm necessary for ensuring production of a composite while maximizing its thermal conductivity, is of the same order as the free path of the heat carriers in diamond (phonons) and in copper (electrons). The heat conductance of the diamond/tungsten carbide coating/copper interface when h is of this thickness is estimated as (0.8–1) × 108 W m−2 K−1 and is at the upper level of values characteristic for perfect dielectric/metal boundaries.

Thermal conductivity of the diamond-paraffin wax composite

The thermal conductivity of diamond-paraffin wax composites prepared by infiltration of a hydrocarbon binder with the thermal conductivity λm = 0.2 W m−1 K−1 into a dense bed of diamond particles (λf ∼ 1500 W m−1 K−1) with sizes of 400 and 180 μm has been investigated. The calculations using universally accepted models considering isolated inclusions in a matrix have demonstrated that the best agreement with the measured values of the thermal conductivity of the composite λ = 10–12 W m−1 K−1 is achieved with the use of the differential effective medium model, the Maxwell mean field scheme gives a very underestimated calculated value of λ, and the effective medium theory leads to a very overestimated value. An agreement between the calculation and the experiment can be provided by constructing thermal conductivity functions. The calculation of the thermal conductivity at the percolation threshold has shown that the experimental thermal conductivity of the composites is higher than this critical value. It has been established that, for the composites with closely packed diamond particles (the volume fraction is ∼0.63 for a monodisperse binder), the use of the isolated particle model (Hasselman-Johnson and differential effective medium models) for calculating the thermal conductivity is not quite correct, because the model does not take into account the percolation component of the thermal conductivity. In particular, this holds true for the calculation of the heat conductance of diamond-matrix interfaces in diamond-metal composites with a high thermal conductivity.

Effect of fullerenes on the activation energy of the graphite-diamond phase transition

The modification of graphite used in diamond synthesis with low concentrations of the fullerene C60-C70 extract (from 0.045 to 0.225 wt % of graphite mass) in the presence of a Ni-Mn metal catalyst at a pressure of 5 GPa in the temperature range 1600–1800 K is found to decrease the activation energy of the graphite-diamond phase transition from 160 ± 40 to 100 ± 40 kJ/mol.

Detection and Identification of Nitrogen Centers in Nanodiamond: EPR Studies

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and electron spin echo (ESE) at X-band and at high-frequency W-band (95 GHz) have been used to study natural diamond nanocrystals, detonation nanodiamond (ND) with a size of ∼ 4.5 nm and detonation ND after high-temperature, high-pressure sintering with a size of ∼ 8.5 nm. Isolated nitrogen centers N0 and nitrogen pairs N2 + have been detected and identified, and their structure has been unambiguously determined by means of the high frequency EPR and ESE in natural diamond nanocrystals. In detonation ND and detonation ND after sintering, isolated nitrogen centers N0 have been discovered in nanodiamond core. In addition EPR signals of multivacancy centers with spin 3/2 seem to be observed in nanodiamond core of detonation ND.

Evolution of Triplet Paramagnetic Centers in Diamonds Obtained by Sintering of Detonation Nanodiamonds at High Pressure and Temperature

The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of triplet centers in detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) and diamond single crystals of submicrometer size, synthesized from those DNDs at high pressures and temperatures, are studied. In the EPR spectra of DNDs, signals from negatively charged nitrogen- vacancy centers (NV)/sup(-) with a g factor of g1 = 4.24 and multivacancies with g2 = 4.00 are observed. The signals from (NV)/sup(-) centers disappear in the spectra of diamond single crystals, and a quintet signal with g = 4.00 is detected at the position of the signal from multivacancies. Analysis of the shape and position of the quintet’ lines showed that this ESR signal is due to the pairs of nitrogen substitution centers in diamond, separated from each other by distances not exceeding 0.7 nm, between which a strong exchange interaction takes place. A comparison of the experimental data and the simulation results allows determining the spin-Hamiltonian parameters of the exchange-coupled pairs of paramagnetic impurity nitrogen atoms.