Selenium and tellurium: Elemental catalysts for conversion of graphite to diamond under high pressure and temperature

The behavior of six systems of graphite with Sn, Pb, Sb, Bi, Se, and Te was investigated under high-pressure of around 9.0–9.6 GPa and high-temperature 1600–1850 °C. The results showed that the selenium and tellurium have obvious catalytic effects on spontaneous nucleation and crystal growth of diamond under pressure at 9.6 GPa, and at temperatures of 1800 and 1850 °C. The outer shell electron configuration analogous to oxygen and sulfur may play an important role in converting graphite to diamond under the high-pressure and high-temperature.