Characterization of the condensed carbon in detonation soot Original Research Article

A number of pure and composite explosives with a negative oxygen balance were detonated in a hermetic steel chamber under different environmental conditions. After detonation, solid carbonaceous products (detonation soot) and ultrafine diamond separated from the soot were collected for examination. Elemental analysis, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-IR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and small angle X-ray scattering were used to characterize the structure, composition and surface properties of the condensed carbon in the soot. Crystallite size and microstrain of ultrafine diamond and the graphitization index of the graphite phase were calculated according to XRD patterns. The yields of the soot and ultrafine diamond from the explosives were obtained. The influences of charge conditions and environmental conditions on the formation mechanisms and properties of condensed carbon were analyzed. Detonation soot contains ultrafine diamond, graphite and amorphous carbon. Two types of graphite structures were present in the detonation soot.