Material Properties of Diamond - Thermal Stability

Thermal Stability

Being a form of carbon, diamond oxidizes in air if heated over 700 °C. In absence of oxygen, e.g. in a flow of high-purity argon gas, diamond can be heated up to about 1700 °C. Its surface blackens, but can be recovered by re-polishing. At high pressure (~20 GPa) diamond can be heated up to 2500 °C, and a report published in 2009 suggests that diamond can withstand temperatures of 3000 °C and above.

Diamonds are carbon crystals that form deep within the Earth under high temperatures and extreme pressures. At surface air pressure (one atmosphere), diamonds are not as stable as graphite, and so the decay of diamond is thermodynamically favorable (δH = −2 kJ / mol). So, contrary to De Beers' ad campaign extending from 1948 to at least 2006 under the slogan "A diamond is forever", diamonds are definitely not forever. However, owing to a very large kinetic energy barrier, diamonds are metastable; they will not decay into graphite under normal conditions.