title: Surface transfer doping can mediate both colloidal stability and self-assembly of nanodiamonds.
abstract: Although undoped diamond is insulating, hydrogenated bulk diamond surfaces exhibit surface conductivity under air and are electrochemically active in aqueous solutions. Due to their large surface/volume ratio, similar surface effects may exhibit a dramatic impact on the properties of nanodiamonds. Here we show that plasma-hydrogenated detonation nanodiamonds (NDs-H) display a positive zeta potential in water due to charge transfer with a redox couple involving oxygen in water. The transfer doping of NDs-H in water can be modulated by pH. Surprisingly, after acid addition, strong Coulomb coupling between NDs-H and adsorbed counterions induces the self-assembly of NDs-H into organized macro-structures reaching millimeter scale.
authors: CEA, LIST, Diamond Sensors Laboratory, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France. jean-charles.arnault@cea.fr.
authors: Tristan
authors: T
authors: Petit
authors: Hugues A
authors: HA
authors: Girard
authors: Adeline
authors: A
authors: Trouvé
authors: Isabelle
authors: I
authors: Batonneau-Gener
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Bergonzo
authors: Jean-Charles
authors: JC
authors: Arnault