Solid-state reaction of niobium with diamond carbon at high pressure and high temperature to form superconducting composite

Niobium carbide composites were obtained by sintering niobium powder and detonation nanodiamond at high pressure (7 GPa) and high temperature (∼1990 °C) for several tens of seconds. The resulting composites demonstrate a set of distinct reflections from the NbC phase in the X-ray diffraction pattern and exhibit superconducting properties at temperatures below 11.4 K.