AussieChemist
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can a diamond dissolve in acid ?
Ok recently i was doing some testing about the chemical resistance of diamond with various acids, something interesting happened when the diamond was
placed in piranha solution. some black particles are "coming out" from the diamond, and fates away as the particles were dispersed into the solution
and some bubbles were formed (CO2 MOST LIKELY) this was taken place near room temp. I actually did not think it was possible for diamonds to react at
room temp. Does anyone have a theory why it happens?
this is a video of the reaction : https://youtu.be/dgQf8trgDGY
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walruslover69
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Carbon and diamonds can be oxidized at room temperature. They just need a really strong oxidant. I reacted carbon with potassium peroxymonosulfate
before at around 70C.
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Keras
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Diamonds can burn, too. It’s the only gemstone that cannot withstand a fire. The fact that carbon forms a tetrahedral crystal does not passivate it.
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Herr Haber
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Ahh, nice. I would have conducted this experiment in a few weeks.
Oh, I still might 
My original idea was to burn a diamond in an oxygen rich flame from a propane torch.
Then I thought it'd be equally interesting to make one disappear in a liquid (Piranha was the first that came to mind).
And then I though about molten salts such as NH4NO3 or other oxydizers that'd only leave gas products.
With the miniature size of my (synthetic) diamonds I'll be able to perform a number of experiments so if you have ideas along the above lines, please
do suggest !
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Ubya
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maybe try pulverizing a diamond, mix it with potassium nitrate and sulphur and make diamond gun powder 
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unionised
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I'm not trusting you with my amber, pearls or opals.
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Keras
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Aren't amber and pearls classified as "semi-precious" stones?
As for opals, aren't opals basically "stained" quartz, like amethyst? That would made them pretty fireproof. As far as I remember, amethyst loses its
purple tint around 450 °C as the iron inside changes state.
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walruslover69
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opal is hydrated amorphous silica. It will give off its water and just turn to regular glass or silica when heated under a flame.
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elementcollector1
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Heated amethyst turns anywhere from yellow to a rich brown, depending on the starting saturation. This is often sold as 'citrine'. Turning this back
to amethyst requires radiation to get the iron back into the 4+ state. Amber and pearls are semi-precious, organic materials - not gemstones.
Elements Collected:52/87
Latest Acquired: Cl
Next in Line: Nd
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Keras
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Quote: Originally posted by elementcollector1  | | Heated amethyst turns anywhere from yellow to a rich brown, depending on the starting saturation. This is often sold as 'citrine'. Turning this back
to amethyst requires radiation to get the iron back into the 4+ state. Amber and pearls are semi-precious, organic materials - not gemstones.
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Citrine, or fools' topaz.
Well, pearls are organic in origin but mineral in nature (aren't they made of carbonate?). It’s like limestone: it’s made up of bazillions of
exoskeletons or shells, but no one would call it an organic material.
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fusso
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Why not use cheaper uncut diamonds?
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elementcollector1
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| Quote: Originally posted by Keras |
Well, pearls are organic in origin but mineral in nature (aren't they made of carbonate?). It’s like limestone: it’s made up of bazillions of
exoskeletons or shells, but no one would call it an organic material. |
So they are. I had thought they were technically an organic composite, in much the same way seashells are calcium carbonate platelets joined by
flexible protein layers, but no - pearl is just microcrystalline calcite and aragonite. The more you know, I suppose.
Perhaps I should get around to testing my diamond element sample to see if it's real...
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unionised
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Being semi-precious doesn't stop them being gems.
gem
dʒɛm/Submit
noun
1.
a precious or semi-precious stone, especially when cut and polished or engraved.
"a pagoda embellished with precious gems"
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MrHomeScientist
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Heating amethyst can also produce green prasiolite! Natural prasiolite almost entirely comes from one small mine in Brazil.
I've burned diamond before in one of my videos, although the setup was a little tricky. It's an awesome experiment if you have the chance to do it,
not only because of the spectacle but because you're recreating the experiment that was the first to figure out what diamond is made of!
So how did your diamond fare in piranha? Did it measurably dissolve?
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AussieChemist
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| Quote: Originally posted by MrHomeScientist | Heating amethyst can also produce green prasiolite! Natural prasiolite almost entirely comes from one small mine in Brazil.
I've burned diamond before in one of my videos, although the setup was a little tricky. It's an awesome experiment if you have the chance to do it,
not only because of the spectacle but because you're recreating the experiment that was the first to figure out what diamond is made of!
So how did your diamond fare in piranha? Did it measurably dissolve? |
@MrHomescienist
tbh I didn't realise that the diamond was reacting with the acid until I was editing the video. thus didn't get to measure the change in mass, well
even if I did I doubt my scale is capable pick up such a small change, it would require a scale accurate to the 5th decimal. I posted a video of the
reaction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgQf8trgDGY&t=66s
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Keras
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It’s a mix between concentrated sulfuric acid and concentrated hydrogen peroxide. It can oxidize about anything organic, so it is used as a last
resort cleaner, especially for sintered glass funnels.
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Dan Vizine
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| Quote: Originally posted by Keras |
It’s a mix between concentrated sulfuric acid and concentrated hydrogen peroxide. It can oxidize about anything organic, so it is used as a last
resort cleaner, especially for sintered glass funnels. |
That's interesting. It sounds safer than my usual "go to" methods for cleaning dirty sintered glass (esp. with C) which were hot fuming HNO3 or Mn2O7.
"All Your Children Are Poor Unfortunate Victims of Lies You Believe, a Plague Upon Your Ignorance that Keeps the Youth from the Truth They
Deserve"...F. Zappa
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MrHomeScientist
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Manganese heptoxide? Yikes! Does it clean the frit by exploding it into pieces too small for dirt to stick to?
[Edited on 8-24-2018 by MrHomeScientist]
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AussieChemist
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well uncut diamonds don't have the vibe.
it is not as expensive as you may think, this is not a high quality diamond anyway it is near the lower end of gem quality diamond.
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AJKOER
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Here is a seemingly crazy electrochemical experiment!
If you believe that a diamond electrode could be damage in electrolysis setting, then possibly, in an electrochemical battery cell, the diamond may be
at risk also.
I am unsure of the anodic index of pure carbon, which is very noble, but if you placed it in say a sea salt/H2O2 bath with say a more noble
constructed carbon-based electrode (see http://www.chem.ualberta.ca/~mccreery/RLM%20publication%20PD... and heterogeneous vs. homogeneous carbon electrodes briefly discussed at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0003271070124212... and https://www.permelec.co.jp/en/products/pdf/Diamond.pdf and finally https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_paste_electrode), it may corrode.
Diamond destroyed by galvanic corrosion, let me check my insurance policy. 
On the bright side, you do now have Diamond Seltzer Water with a touch of Natural Sea Salt, which may be worth something.
------------------------------------------------
By the way I would avoid boiling your diamond in ferric citrate, ferric chloride or even Fe2O3. I believe a redox reaction is still unlikely on the
surface of the diamond, but if yes, possible pitting,staining, discoloration,...
If you were experimenting with a more activated carbon, much more likely something would occur, but I am not totally sure if a diamond would always be
completely unscaved. Source: 'Enhanced production of reactive oxidants by Fenton-like reactions in the presence of carbon materials'. Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276120744_Enhanced_...
Now, that source basically says it does not know the mechanism by which the reduction of Fe3+ by carbon occurs. It may, in my speculation, be due to
local surface defects on carbon producing an excess of electrons with the Fe3+ acting as a ready receptor. On the particular surface of a diamond,
harder to envision such a process, but it may be worthy of a test.
[Edited on 8-10-2018 by AJKOER]
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Fleaker
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Usually standard for cleaning (gem) diamonds in bulk is nitrosulfuric acid followed by HF to frost out CZs.
Neither flask nor beaker.
"Kid, you don't even know just what you don't know. "
--The Dark Lord Sauron
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fusso
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| Quote: Originally posted by Fleaker | | Usually standard for cleaning (gem) diamonds in bulk is nitrosulfuric acid followed by HF to frost out CZs. |
CZ=cubic zirconia?
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