Carbon transport in diamond anvil cells
Vitali Prakapenka, Guoyin Shen, Leonid Dubrovinsky
High-pressure-induced carbon transport from diamond anvils into the pressure chamber of diamond anvil cells (DACs) was studied by micro-Raman spectroscopy. Depending on experimental conditions (temperature and pressure), various carbon phases (amorphous carbon, diamond, microcrystalline or nanocrystalline graphite) were detected in the originally carbon-free samples. Temperature-induced growth of a graphite phase at the sample/diamond interface was observed in situ at high pressure in an externally heated DAC. In laser-heated samples inside the pressure-transmitting medium, at pressures above 6 GPa there was transport of carbon from the diamond culet surface into the heated part of the sample. These observations suggest that account should be taken of possible carbon diffusion in high-pressure research with DACs, such as high-pressure melting, element partitioning, phase transformations, chemical reactions, and electrical resistivity.