Atomic hydrogen assisted the conversion of polymer into diamond

Using a conventional hot-filament chemical vapour deposition system a new kind of polymer (C₆H₅C)_n poly(phenylcarbyne), consisting of randomly constructed rigid network of tetrahedral phenylcarbyne units, has been converted to diamond by heat-treatment in an atomic hydrogen environment at low pressure. Raman spectroscopy analysis confirmed the conversion of this polymer to diamond by the presence of a sharp peak at 1336 cm^-1. The morphology of the resulting samples was examined by scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that atomic hydrogen played an important role in the conversion of polymer into diamond and that controlling the amount of atomic hydrogen near the substrate surface is very important during the conversion process.