Monodisperse single nanodiamond particulates

Detonation nanodiamond (DN) was discovered in 1963, but for several reasons was known only among a small number of scientists until the turn of the century. The most serious cause was the fact that primary nanocarbon particles formed by the "bottom-up method" are in general covalently bound together under high-temperature and -pressure conditions to form large agglutinates, which were difficult to separate by conventional methods. DN was not an exception. A breakthrough led to the isolation of primary particles having the expected size of 4-5 nm by wet-milling with zirconia micro-beads. Thus, long-waited primary particles of DN finally became available in kg quantities in the form of colloidal sol, gel, and readily redispersible flakes. Progress in the development of a new form of the old material is presented.