Detonations of Carbon Dioxide and Aluminum
Aluminum-based CDP powders are very dense, dark, fine and free-flowing combinations of aluminum oxide, carbon and diamond. Aluminum oxide is a commonly used abrasive and relatively inexpensive.
However, EnviroDiamond’s aluminum oxide is polycrystalline and fortified by diamond and other hard structures, which renders it a boutique version of what is typically a common commodity. Blasting tests and analytical results have uncovered that the preferred method to produce CDP Aluminum Oxide products is through the annular detonation method.
Powders produced in this manner may hold value in customizing media for emerging applications with carbon and/or magnesium doped aluminum oxide, which has been shown to hold value as a medium for optical storage.
Here is a HR-TEM microscope picture of some Al-30 detonation byproduct. Note the complex graphitic graphene layers that fortify this material in a unique way that has not been previously achieved with traditional formats of aluminum oxide.
Here is another HR-TEM picture with lower magnification, showing the complex polycrystalline structures within this unique material: