Diamond-like carbon sintered compacts formed by spark plasma sintering

摘要

A spark plasma sintering (SPS) method was utilized for the novel production of diamond-like carbon (DLC) compacts. Two amorphous carbon powders with different particle sizes (45 mu m and 24 nm diameter) were employed as starting materials for the sintering experiments. The carbon powders were sintered using a SPS system at various sintering temperatures and holding times. The structural properties of the sintered compacts were evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Disk-shaped compacts were obtained by sintering the powder with a particle diameter of 45 mu m, although the compacts were very brittle and easily broken. However, sintering of the 24 nm diameter powder particles at temperatures of 1473 to 1573 K with a holding time of 300 s led to the successful production of sintered compacts without breakage. Reflection peaks related to graphite structure were observed in XRD patterns of the compacts sintered from the 24 nm diameter particles. HRTEM analysis revealed that the compacts sintered at 1473 K with a holding time of 300 s had an amorphous structure and consisted of 34% sp(3) carbon bonding. Evaluation of the structural properties indicated that sintered compacts with DLC structure could be created by the SPS method with 24 nm diameter amorphous carbon particles. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.