Production of nanocrystalline diamond by laser ablation at the solid/liquid interface

Diamond nanocrystals have been produced by the pulsed laser ablation of graphite at room temperature and pressure in two liquids (water and cyclohexane). This suggests that the mechanism for diamond formation maybe a result of the high-pressure, high-temperature conditions found within the cavitation bubbles in the ablation plume, rather than a chemical route such as etching of non-diamond species by OH. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.