Kinetics of C, N, and Xe release during the quasi-isothermal pyrolysis and subsequent oxidation of nanodiamond from the Orgueil CI meteorite

Analysis of the C, N, and Xe release kinetics of intermediate-sized nanodiamond fraction from the Orgueil CI meteorite during isothermal pyrolysis conducted for the first time and subsequent oxidation indicates that (a) the rate of C, N, and Xe release at pyrolysis at a constant temperature decreases with time; (b) the relative amount of released Xe, which mostly has a normal isotopic composition (Xe-P3) at various pyrolysis time up to 800°C, is controlled, first of all, by the heating temperature, whereas the amount of N is controlled by both the temperature and heating time; and (c) prolonged pyrolysis notably modifies the distribution of nitrogen of normal (δ¹⁵N = 0) and anomalous (δ¹⁵N= ?350‰) isotopic composition in diamond grains. The identified features of the C and N release kinetics are explained by differences in the binding energy of chemically adsorbed O with C atoms and the accommodation of the main amounts of N in extended defects of the crystal structure of nanodiamond. The major factors of the decrease in the Xe-P3 release rate during the isothermal pyrolysis of nanodiamond are either the differences between the Xe desorption parameters of the traps in graphite-like phases containing Xe-P3 or the differences between the radiation-induced defectiveness of grains of the population containing implanted Xe-P3. Our results led us to conclude that (1) meteoritic nanodiamond contains relatively low amounts of a phases carrying the P3 component of noble gases, regardless of the nature of this component, and (2) the population of nanodiamond grains containing most of isotopically anomalous nitrogen was produced at a high rate to preserve this nitrogen, first of all, at extended defects in the diamond crystal structure.