The gem anvil cell: high-pressure behaviour of diamond and related materials

The moissanite anvil cell has been used to study the high-pressure behaviour of diamond. The first-order Raman shift of diamond shows a strong dependence on hydrostaticity, with very different pressure dependences observed under hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic conditions. The shift of the second-order Raman band under hydrostatic pressures was determined for the first time. Sapphire has almost no peaks above 1000 cm(-1) in the Raman spectrum and no absorption in the ultraviolet range; it is therefore especially useful for studies in those spectral regions. A sapphire anvil cell was used in a study of graphite up to 24 GPa. A phase transition was found near 18 GPa, consistent with previous reports, and no peaks characteristic of diamond in the 1330 cm(-1) range were found, indicating that the phase is not diamond.