The graphite-to-diamond phase transition under high pressure and high temperature remains incompletely understood at the atomic scale, particularly the path-dependent mechanisms of interface formation and growth. Using large-scale deep potential molecular dynamics simulations, we systematically investigate the phase transition dynamics along three distinct compression pathways: hydrostatic, interlayer uniaxial, and intralayer uniaxial compression. While all pathways yield cubic diamond as the primary product through a nucleation and growth mechanism, the transformation pathways exhibit remarkable path dependence. We reveal that hydrostatic and interlayer uniaxial compressions favor anisotropic diamond growth via coherent interfaces, whereas intralayer compression induces quasi-isotropic growth mediated by defects. The coherent interface promotes preferential growth along the ${\left[210\right]}_{\text{HG}}$ direction due to elevated atomic stress, strain energy minimization, and lower interface formation energy. In contrast, intralayer uniaxial compression induces nucleation through a wavelike buckling and slipping process, resulting in quasi-isotropic growth mediated by defect-suppressed interface propagation. Our findings reveal how compression pathways control both nucleation mechanisms and growth dynamics, advancing the understanding of coherent-interface-governed transformations in carbon materials.

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• Solid-solid transformations
• Structural phase transition
• Diamond
• Deep potential molecular dynamics