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Explosive Fragmentation of Luminescent Diamond Particles
Ibrahim Munkaila Abdullahi1, Martin Langenderfer2, Olga Shenderova3
1Department of Chemistry, Missouri University of Science & Technology, MO 65409, USA.
Carbon
|September 1, 2020
Summary
A novel explosive fragmentation method efficiently produces submicron fluorescent nanodiamonds (fNDs) from larger microcrystals. This cost-effective technique is ideal for mass-producing fNDs for biomedical imaging and labeling applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Diamond Synthesis
Background:
- Fluorescent nanodiamonds (fNDs) are valuable for biomedical imaging and labeling due to their brightness, photostability, and biocompatibility.
- Efficient, cost-effective mass-production of fNDs from microdiamonds is crucial for commercialization.
- Current size reduction methods like milling have limitations for large-scale fND production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate a novel explosive fragmentation method for producing submicron and nanoscale fluorescent diamond particles.
- To assess the quality and photoluminescence properties of fNDs produced by detonation fragmentation.
- To determine the potential of this method as an industrially scalable alternative to existing techniques.
Main Methods:
- Synthetic high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) microcrystalline diamonds (20 μm and 150 μm) with color centers were subjected to high explosive detonation.
- X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to analyze the crystal quality and size of the fragmented diamond particles.
- Fluorescence spectroscopy was employed to evaluate the photoluminescence properties of the resulting submicron diamonds.
Main Results:
- Detonation fragmentation successfully produced submicron diamond particles in the size range of approximately 420-800 nm.
- Diamonds originating from larger (150 μm) microcrystals showed noticeable changes in their photoluminescence spectra.
- Smaller (20 μm) starting microcrystals retained similar photoluminescence properties after fragmentation.
- The method demonstrated potential for efficient, cost-effective, and scalable production of fNDs.
Conclusions:
- Explosive fragmentation is a viable and potentially scalable method for producing submicron fluorescent diamond particles.
- The technique offers an efficient alternative to milling for fND fabrication.
- Further optimization may be needed to preserve photoluminescence in fNDs derived from different sized starting materials.
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