Preface: Special Issue "27th International Conference on Diamond and Carbon Materials - DCM 2016"

Abstract

The 27th edition of the International Conference on Diamond and Carbon Materials (DCM 2016) was held in lively and warm Montpellier, in France, from September 4 to 8, 2016. This Special Issue of Diamond and Related Materials provides a cross-section of the exciting research that was presented during the meeting, and hopes to provide insight in the diverse new trends in our research community. DCM 2017 was a well-attended and highly successful meeting, showcasing diamond and carbon materials as international research topics of significant current interest. The meeting attracted almost 300 participants coming from 34 different countries. During four days, 2 keynote and 18 invited lectures were given, in addition to the 83 contributed oral, and 151 poster presentations. Special topics were highlighted in two Focused Sessions which call attention to rapidly moving fields, like Carbon Nitride Films and Characterization of Carbon Nanostructures. DCM also restarted the tradition of offering a tutorial on Sunday afternoon. In a well-attended It's all in the surface ‐ The chemistry of diamond lecture, Prof. Anke Krüger updated the community of the importance of the surface of diamond particles and films. Finally, after a though competition, 3 Gold and 2 Silver Young Scholar Awards were handed out for presentations on a very wide range of topics, stimulating the next generation of scientists to take up a future leading role in our community. We hope that this selection of papers highlights the diversity of research that was presented at the meeting, and hope that it can serve as a stimulus for your own future research.