Transformation of polymer composite nanofibers to diamond fibers and films by microwave plasma-enhanced CVD process

•Composite PVA polymer nanofibers with UDD powder by needle-less electrospinning.•We examine changes to the NCD growth as a function of UDD concentration.•Formation of diamond fibres is driven by UDD concentration and fibers radii.•Growth of diamond layers is preferred on low porosity areas.•Influence of spundond structure is decreased with lowering of UDD concentration.

In this work, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers were used as a polymer matrix containing ultra-dispersed diamond (UDD) nanoparticles. Growth of diamond fiber-like structures and films by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition was studied as a function of UDD concentration in the PVA matrix. The influence of surface tension (fibers radii) for nucleation/seeding is discussed. Using a high UDD concentration in the polymer matrix lead to the formation of fiber-like structures. The composite PVA polymer nanofibers with the highest concentration of UDD nanoparticles resulted in the growth of nearly continuous diamond film at low thickness of 250 nm.