Deposition of detonation nanodiamonds by Langmuir-Blodgett technique

Langmuir-Blodgett technique, which classically allows preparing monomolecular films, was here used to deposit a film of detonation nanodiamond particles. We proceeded to the functionalization of the nanodiamond (nD) particles so as to obtain hydrophobic nanodiamonds. Cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (C19H42ClN) (CTAC) was used for this purpose in order to form an ionic complex ND-COO-(NH3)(+)-R with the functional groups of the nanodiamonds. Compressions with various strengths (10 to 30 mN/m) were performed on the Langmuir-Blodgett device in order to prepare different types of deposits on mica substrates. Atomic Force Microscopy was used to characterize these deposits. It was shown that compressions with low intensity result in discontinuous distributions of the particles on the surface. Conversely, very dense and continuous deposits were observed for higher compression strengths. By optimizing the nD/CTAC ratio in the suspension, a very regular deposit with a monoparticle height was obtained. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.