Water-Soluble Nanodiamond (Postprint)

Nanodiamond particles possess extraordinary mechanical, electronic, thermal, and tribological properties and exhibit significant potential as components of novel multifunctional materials. However, processing of diamond nanoparticles for many applications is hampered by agglomeration and inhomogeneous dispersions in organic or aqueous solvents that are often used for these applications. The search for novel methods to process nanodiamonds is thus an important goal in materials science. In this study, we report a versatile, scalable synthesis of water-soluble nanodiamonds using a route similar to that demonstrated earlier for carbon nanotubes and graphene.