Structure and Bonding in Fluorinated Nanodiamond

Abstract

We report on a combined investigation of the structure and chemical bonding in fluorinated detonation nanodiamond by means of nuclear magnetic resonance, electron paramagnetic resonance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman measurements. The results of these methods are found to be consistent with each other and evidence formation of different fluorocarbon groups on the nanodiamond surface, which substitutes for hydrocarbon and hydroxyl groups. The data obtained provide detailed information about the structure and bonding in the fluorinated diamond nanoparticle. The fluorinated sample has a significant number of paramagnetic defects (∼1020 spin/g) located mainly near the surface of the diamond nanoparticle, resulting in fast 19F and 13C nuclear spin−lattice relaxation.