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Updated: Jul 25, 2025

Assessment of Boron Doped Diamond Electrode Quality and Application to In Situ Modification of Local pH by Water Electrolysis
Published on: January 6, 2016
A viable mechanism to form boron-bearing diamonds in deep Earth
Siyu Liu1, Wencheng Lu1, Xiaoran Zhang2
1Key Laboratory of Material Simulation Methods and Software of Ministry of Education, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China; State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
Abstract:
Boron is considered extremely depleted inside Earth's mantle. It is therefore a great challenge to elucidate the prevalence of boron impurity seen in sublithospheric diamonds, especially in identifying the boron source and the mechanism for its incorporation into these enigmatic diamonds. Here, we unveil a pathway for the crystallization of boron-bearing diamonds via redox reactions of carbonates and borides at pressure-temperature conditions relevant to the Earth's lower mantle. We present computational results along with pertinent experimental evidence for a genesis of boron-bearing diamonds via the redox reaction of CaCO3 and FeB at 22.5 GPa and 2100 K, corresponding to the geological conditions at the top of the lower mantle. The present findings offer a viable mechanism for the formation of boron-bearing diamonds deep inside the Earth's mantle.
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