Evidence of sp³-rich nano-diamond-like characteristics in amorphous carbon foam continuously filled with α-Fe

We report the novel observation of sp³-rich carbon characteristics in iron filled carbon foam by means of Raman spectroscopy (RS), temperature dependent (T-) X-ray diffraction from 300 K to 670 K, Ultraviolet spectroscopy, X-ray-Photoelectron-Spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. Additional evidence of such sp³-rich carbon-arrangement is also given by T-RS measurements where a transition from a sp³-rich carbon configuration into a sp²-rich-one is found after laser-irradiation at the temperature of 670 K. This interpretation is further confirmed by T-RS performed in Fe₃C-filled carbon nanotubes where no such transitions were found in similar measurement-conditions from 300 K up to 870 K.