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Nanodiamond films and particles

Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) is a form of polycrystalline diamond with a crystal size less than 500nm. Many properties of nanocrystalline diamond films are the same as for macroscopic size diamond. It has extreme mechanical and chemical stability, has a high Young's modulus, is transparent from ultraviolet to infrared radiation and has high biocompatibility. Layers of NCD are non-conducting in pure form, however by doping, typically with boron atoms, conducting layers (semiconductor up to metallic conductor) can be obtained.  Boron doped diamond has a wide range of applications and it is widely used in electrochemistry.

There are many applications of NCD layers. In passive applications it utilizes its mechanical stability (protective layers), optical transparency (optical windows) or extreme thermal conductivity (heat sinks) properties. NCD enables fabrication of micro and nano electromechanical systems (MEMS & NEMS).  Due to its biocompatibility and excellent electromechanical properties it is a suitable material for in vitro and in vivo neural electrodes. NCD films are also of interest in the photovoltaics field.

Within the Materials for Nanosystems and Biointerfaces group in the Department of Functional Materials we are carrying out the preparation of NCD films using microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition and characterization of their properties. Two systems are used for the growth of NCD films, a classical cavity based system and a system with linear antennas which allows deposition on large areas at low temperatures.

Nanodiamond particles (NDP) have a crystal size of 5 to 100 nm. NDP can be prepared using various techniques (detonation synthesis, HPHT, laser ablation). They are typically used as particles in polishing pastes, but they have a much larger and interesting application sphere. It is possible to use NDP as drug carriers to cells, act as functional luminescent markers (where the luminescent signal has a dependence of interaction of the NDP with the environment) or as part of composites.

In the department we are working on preparation and characterization of NDP containing optical active nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers and their application for drug carriers and luminescent markers

Below are links to other significant research groups working within similar fields as us:

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