The Properties and Applications of Nanodiamonds

Nanodiamonds have excellent mechanical and optical properties, high surface areas and tunable surface structures. Hydrogen-terminated nanodiamonds with sizes under 1.5 nm are stable molecules that occur naturally in oil. Nanodiamonds can be produced from molecules of explosives, which provide both a source of carbon and energy for the conversion. De-aggregation of nanodiamond in suspensions by milling with ceramic microbeads or by microbead-assisted ultrasonic disintegration was developed by Osawa and co-workers, yielding colloidal solutions of individual nanodiamonds 4–5 nm in diameter. Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy provide valuable insights into phase composition and surface terminations of nanodiamonds. Diamond is an outstanding material in many respects, and nanodiamond inherits most of the superior properties of bulk diamond and delivers them at the nanoscale. Nanodiamond additives have been used for electrolytic and electroless metal plating for many years.