Nanodiamonds: Synthesis and Application in Sensing, Catalysis, and the Possible Connection with Some Processes Occurring in Space

Abstract

The relationship between the unique characteristics of nanodiamonds (NDs) and the fluorescence properties of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers has lead to a tool with quantum sensing capabilities and nanometric spatial resolution; this tool is able to operate in a wide range of temperatures and pressures and in harsh chemical conditions. For the development of devices based on NDs, a great effort has been invested in researching cheap and easily scalable synthesis techniques for NDs and NV-NDs. In this review, we discuss the common fluorescent NDs synthesis techniques as well as the laser-assisted production methods. Then, we report recent results regarding the applications of fluorescent NDs, focusing in particular on sensing of the environmental parameters as well as in catalysis. Finally, we underline that the highly non-equilibrium processes occurring in the interactions of laser-materials in controlled laboratory conditions for NDs synthesis present unique opportunities for investigation of the phenomena occurring under extreme thermodynamic conditions in planetary cores or under warm dense matter conditions.

Fluorescent Nanodiamonds Synthesized in One-Step by Pulsed Laser Ablation of Graphite in Liquid-Nitrogen

“…This represents an important step forward with respect to previous existing literature [8,9], allowing to chemically clean out almost all the graphitic byproducts, preserving their optical and magneto-optical features, and letting us estimate the PLA-yield around values competitive with other production techniques. PLA fluorescent NDs are therefore closer to sensing applications [19].…”

Smart Hydrogels Meet Carbon Nanomaterials for New Frontiers in Medicine

“…More recently, carbon dots have attracted great attention for their ultrasmall size (<10 nm) that confers them with peculiar luminescent properties [ 39 ]. Nanodiamonds (NDs) differ for they contain a large portion of sp 3 carbon atoms [ 40 ].…”

Self-Assembling Peptides and Carbon Nanomaterials Join Forces for Innovative Biomedical Applications

“…One-dimensional carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [ 56 ] feature a tubular morphology, while graphene-based materials [ 57 ] can be considered 2D. Other examples include clusters of nanocones termed nanohorns (CNHs) [ 58 ] and nanodiamonds (NDs), which feature a large amount of sp 3 -hybridized carbon atoms [ 59 ] and are promising for various biomedical uses [ 60 ].…”