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Synthetic diamonds nanoparticles can be produced either by detonation or by
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques. Trinitrotoluene (TNT) detonation yields,
among other carbon structures, diamonds nanoparticles with diameters in the range from 2
to 10 nm. Purification of nanoparticle diamond (NPD) is important because small amounts
of graphitic impurities and other carbon structures in diamond can alter its most
important properties. We carried out chemical purification of commercially available NPD
by refluxing in aqueous HNO3 and characterized the samples by spectroscopic and surface
techniques before and after purification.
As a first step in the preparation of electrodes for electrochemistry, we have electrophoretically deposited thin, highly uniform layers of controlled thickness (1-8 µm) on silicon substrates using the purified NPD and have characterized them by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Such structures could also be used in many other applications. |
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