Nanographene and nanodiamond; new members in the nanocarbon family

Nanographene and nanodiamond are new members of nanocarbons, which consist of nano-sized hexagonal and tetrahedral networks, respectively. The presence of edges and surfaces distinguishes nanographene and nanodiamond, respectively, from other nanocarbons owing to their structure dependent electronic features. Nanographene has an unconventional nonbonding pi-state (edge state) localized around its edge that is dependent on the edge geometry. The edge states, having localized spins, impart a nanographene-based molecular magnetic character. The structure and electronic/magnetic properties of nanodiamond vary depending on how the surface carbon atoms are terminated. Nanodiamond, with a naked surface, is subjected to structural reconstruction at the expense of sigma-dangling bonds. The hydrogenation of the surface is expected to give an electron reservoir function. The incompletely hydrogenated surface is magnetic with surface-induced spins.