Shear-promoted graphite-to-diamond phase transition at the grain boundary of nanocrystalline graphite

High pressure has traditionally been considered essential for the transformation of graphite into diamond. However, reducing the transition pressure required for this graphite-to-diamond (G2D) conversion holds significant appeal in both scientific research and engineering applications. In this study...

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Main Authors: Dezhou Guo, Kun Luo, Qi An
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Functional Diamond
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/26941112.2024.2366807
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author Dezhou Guo
Kun Luo
Qi An
author_facet Dezhou Guo
Kun Luo
Qi An
author_sort Dezhou Guo
collection DOAJ
description High pressure has traditionally been considered essential for the transformation of graphite into diamond. However, reducing the transition pressure required for this graphite-to-diamond (G2D) conversion holds significant appeal in both scientific research and engineering applications. In this study, we conducted large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using an environment-dependent interaction potential (EDIP) to examine the shear deformation of nanocrystalline graphite (n-graphite) with a grain size of approximately 6.5 nm. We discovered that the G2D transition pressure in n-graphite can be reduced to 2–3 GPa, significantly lower than the ∼90 GPa uniaxial stress required in crystalline graphite. This reduction is primarily due to concentrated local shear stresses at grain boundaries (GBs), which induce substantial rotations of graphite layers. These rotations facilitate the initial formation of diamond bonds at sites of pre-existing imperfections at the GBs, assisted by shear. Once initiated at the GBs, the G2D transition rapidly propagates within grains aligned parallel to the shear components, resulting in the formation of nanocrystalline diamond. Our findings underscore the critical roles of GBs and shear stress in enabling the G2D transition in n-graphite.
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spelling doaj-art-5c31a2c23c5d42e2ae908aa663feef3a2025-08-20T03:28:34ZengTaylor & Francis GroupFunctional Diamond2694-11202024-12-014110.1080/26941112.2024.23668072366807Shear-promoted graphite-to-diamond phase transition at the grain boundary of nanocrystalline graphiteDezhou Guo0Kun Luo1Qi An2State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State UniversityDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State UniversityHigh pressure has traditionally been considered essential for the transformation of graphite into diamond. However, reducing the transition pressure required for this graphite-to-diamond (G2D) conversion holds significant appeal in both scientific research and engineering applications. In this study, we conducted large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using an environment-dependent interaction potential (EDIP) to examine the shear deformation of nanocrystalline graphite (n-graphite) with a grain size of approximately 6.5 nm. We discovered that the G2D transition pressure in n-graphite can be reduced to 2–3 GPa, significantly lower than the ∼90 GPa uniaxial stress required in crystalline graphite. This reduction is primarily due to concentrated local shear stresses at grain boundaries (GBs), which induce substantial rotations of graphite layers. These rotations facilitate the initial formation of diamond bonds at sites of pre-existing imperfections at the GBs, assisted by shear. Once initiated at the GBs, the G2D transition rapidly propagates within grains aligned parallel to the shear components, resulting in the formation of nanocrystalline diamond. Our findings underscore the critical roles of GBs and shear stress in enabling the G2D transition in n-graphite.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/26941112.2024.2366807graphitediamondgrain boundariesphase transitionmolecular dynamics
spellingShingle Dezhou Guo
Kun Luo
Qi An
Shear-promoted graphite-to-diamond phase transition at the grain boundary of nanocrystalline graphite
Functional Diamond
graphite
diamond
grain boundaries
phase transition
molecular dynamics
title Shear-promoted graphite-to-diamond phase transition at the grain boundary of nanocrystalline graphite
title_full Shear-promoted graphite-to-diamond phase transition at the grain boundary of nanocrystalline graphite
title_fullStr Shear-promoted graphite-to-diamond phase transition at the grain boundary of nanocrystalline graphite
title_full_unstemmed Shear-promoted graphite-to-diamond phase transition at the grain boundary of nanocrystalline graphite
title_short Shear-promoted graphite-to-diamond phase transition at the grain boundary of nanocrystalline graphite
title_sort shear promoted graphite to diamond phase transition at the grain boundary of nanocrystalline graphite
topic graphite
diamond
grain boundaries
phase transition
molecular dynamics
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/26941112.2024.2366807
work_keys_str_mv AT dezhouguo shearpromotedgraphitetodiamondphasetransitionatthegrainboundaryofnanocrystallinegraphite
AT kunluo shearpromotedgraphitetodiamondphasetransitionatthegrainboundaryofnanocrystallinegraphite
AT qian shearpromotedgraphitetodiamondphasetransitionatthegrainboundaryofnanocrystallinegraphite