CHARACTERISTICS OF NITROGEN AND OTHER IMPURITIES IN DIAMOND, AS REVEALED BY INFRARED ABSORPTION DATA

• Main Authors: Felix V. Kaminsky, Galina K. Khachatryan
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1733
• Subjects: diamond; nitrogen; hydrogen; infrared absorption. SOMMAIRE; Arkhangelsk
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.535.9921; http://rruff.info/doclib/cm/vol39/CM39_1733.pdf

Diamond crystals from Siberian, Arkhangelsk, South African, Canadian and South American deposits were analyzed for structurally bound nitrogen, hydrogen and “platelet ” defects using infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy. Wide variations in total nitrogen and hydrogen contents and in the state of nitrogen aggregation were established in diamond crystals from different areas and deposits. On this basis, three groups were distinguished: (1) low-nitrogen, highly-aggregated-nitrogen diamond, (2) intermediate diamond crystals, and (3) high-nitrogen, poorly-aggregated-nitrogen diamond (occasionally with high concentrations of hydrogen and “platelets”). They represent, in general terms, three major stages of diamond formation: (1) the initial stage at high P–T conditions, which occasionally occurs in super-deep areas (e.g., lower mantle and transition zone), (2) the main stage, and (3) the final stage, which represents the latest episodes of magmatic evolution and is characterized by high oversaturation of the crystallization medium and high internal temperature-gradients. These data may be used for “fingerprinting ” of diamond, in prospecting for new deposits in diamondiferous areas, and in the evaluation of diamond crystals from newly discovered deposits.