Biocompatible Sintered Diamond Jewelry
An article of jewelry for wearing on the body may comprise a sintered polycrystalline diamond compact with substantially no metal catalyst. As many of the metal catalysts commonly used in the art are known to cause skin irritation, such a sintered compact with substantially no metal catalyst may be more biocompatible than previously known. A method for forming such a biocompatible sintered polycrystalline diamond compact comprises mixing diamond powder and metal catalyst powder into a mixture and sintering the mixture under elevated temperature and pressure conditions to form a sintered compact. The sintered compact may then be leached in an acid or other solution to substantially remove the metal catalyst from the sintered compact.
1 . An article of jewelry for wearing on the body, comprising:
a biocompatible sintered polycrystalline diamond compact with substantially no metal catalyst.
2 . The article of jewelry of claim 1 , shaped as a ring, pendant, cuff link, bead, bracelet, bangle, chain, necklace, earring, watch, watch case, or watch strap.
3 . The article of jewelry of claim 1 , further comprising a different material disposed adjacent the sintered compact.
4 . The article of jewelry of claim 3 , shaped as a ring and comprising a first hollow cylindrical body formed of the sintered compact and a second hollow cylindrical body disposed therein formed of the different material.
5 . The article of jewelry of claim 4 , wherein the first hollow cylindrical body comprises at least one slit such that the second hollow cylindrical body is resizable.
6 . The article of jewelry of claim 5 , wherein a gemstone or carving is disposed on the second hollow cylindrical body within the at least one slit.
7 . The article of jewelry of claim 3 , further comprising a compact mass formed of the sintered compact disposed on a ring, pendant, cuff link, bracelet, bangle, earring, or watch formed of the different material.
8 . The article of jewelry of claim 1 , wherein the sintered compact comprises a biocompatible filler material disposed on its surface.
9 . A method for forming a biocompatible sintered polycrystalline diamond compact comprising:
mixing diamond powder and metal catalyst powder into a mixture;
sintering the mixture under elevated temperature and pressure conditions to form a sintered compact; and
leaching the sintered compact in a solution to substantially remove the metal catalyst from the sintered compact.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the solution comprises an acid.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the acid is selected from the group consisting of solutions of HF, HCl, HBr, HI, H 2 SO 4 , HNO 3 , HClO 3 , HClO 4 , and combinations thereof
12 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising neutralizing the acid in the sintered compact by applying a basic solution.
13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the solution is selected from the group consisting of solutions of ferric chloride, sodium persulfate, sodium tetrafluoroborate, sodium citrate, sodium pyrophosphate, boric acid, and combinations thereof.
14 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising sealing the mixture in a canister before sintering.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising forming a first hollow cylindrical body of sintered compact by disposing a cylinder within the canister surrounded by the diamond powder and metal catalyst powder.
16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising removing the cylinder after sintering by thermally contracting the cylinder.
17 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising removing the cylinder after sintering by dissolving the cylinder.
18 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising disposing a second hollow cylindrical body of a different material within the first hollow cylindrical body of sintered compact.
19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising replacing the second hollow cylindrical body with a third hollow cylindrical body comprising a different internal geometry.
20 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising filling voids in the sintered compact left from the substantial removal of metal catalyst with a biocompatible filler material.