This invention relates to a method for preparing biomimetic diamonds with shell-like structures, aiming to effectively enhance the
toughness of superhard materials. Using
highly oriented pyrolytic graphite as
raw material, a high-temperature, high-pressure method was employed to manipulate the sample's
microstructure and
graphite content, resulting in the successful preparation of biomimetic diamonds with a shell-like nacreous structure. This method bends the highly oriented
graphite under
high pressure to replicate the cross-
interlocking structure found in shells, while simultaneously utilizing the martensitic phase transformation properties of
graphite to control the
diamond grain orientation. Experimental results indicate that the biomimetic diamonds produced exhibit extremely high
hardness (HV > 120 GPa) and excellent
toughness (K IC =15.9 MPa·m 0.5 ), with
toughness approximately four times that of single-
crystal diamond. Compared to traditional nano-
polycrystalline diamond (NPD), its toughness is nearly doubled while maintaining similar
hardness. This invention resolves the contradiction between
hardness and toughness in superhard materials, providing a new technical path for the application of
extremely hard and high-toughness NPD, and has important industrial application prospects.