Transformation of Carbon Nanotubes to Diamond at High Pressure and High Temperature

The synthesis of diamond at high pressure and high temperature and the discovery of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes are among the most important achievements in carbon science. In the present work, we report the synthesis of diamond from carbon nanotubes at 4.5 GPa and 1300°C. Under these conditions, no diamond crystals were obtained when graphite was used as the starting material. The detailed investigation shows that at high pressure and high temperature carbon nanotubes first transform into quasi-spherical onion-like structures and then into diamond crystals. Our work suggests that carbon nanotubes can be used for the synthesis of high-quality diamond crystals at lower pressure and temperature.