The group's approach uses high pressure and temperature to replicate mantle conditions on diamond powder. Table salt prevents particle fusion during heating by creating a protective phase, and is washed away to yield pure, luminescent nanodiamonds. Quantum centers form rapidly inside the diamond matrix.
Dr. Michal Gulka, the first author, stated, "We've accelerated the creation of quantum centers in nanodiamonds more than a thousandfold compared with the standard procedure. Until now, diamond powder had to be irradiated with a beam of charged particles for two weeks and then annealed at high temperature. The result was less than a gram of usable material. We can now produce it in kilograms."
Nanodiamonds produced with this method function as advanced sensors for measuring magnetic fields, charge, and temperature. Their nitrogen-vacancy centers emit fluorescent light that varies according to the local environment, enabling precision temperature readings inside cells and molecular detection.
The American company MegaDiamond contributed to the project and intends to launch industrial-scale production of these nanosensors.
Dr. Petr Cigler explained, "Thanks to the new method, laboratories and companies around the world can obtain large quantities of high-quality nanodiamonds with NV centers, which opens the door to new technologies - from precision sensors for medical diagnostics to local molecular detectors based on principles such as magnetic resonance."
The study received support from the AMULET project under the Jan Amos Komensky Operational Programme, targeting the development of multiscale nanomaterials.
Research Report:Quantum-Grade Nanodiamonds from a Single-Step, Industrial-Scale Pressure and Temperature Process
Related Links
Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague)
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Nano Technology News From SpaceMart.com
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