Application of detonation nanodiamonds in new technologies

This review summarizes the results of using detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) over the past 10 years in emerging areas of science and technology. Oriented coalescence of nanodiamond crystallites (~ 4 nm) under high temperature and pressure leads to the formation of single crystals with multi-micron dimensions. New magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents have been proposed and studied in the form of aqueous suspensions containing DNDs doped with manganese and gadolinium ions. The potential use of DND crystallites as reflectors for very slow neutrons (~ 50 m×s^–1) has been demonstrated. The feasibility of producing diamond coatings containing europium ions by the CVD-method has been shown. An electrorheological effect was observed when an electric field is applied to suspensions of nanodiamond crystallites in oils, with DND crystallites acting as nodes in a fractal conductive network. Mixing DNDs with tungsten (W) powder followed by sintering increases the Young’s modulus of sintered tungsten by a factor of four and its hardness by 1.5–2.0 times. Replacing standard DNDs (derived from TNT/RDX mixtures) with boron-doped DNDs produced during detonation synthesis further increases the microhardness of sintered tungsten by up to four times. New types of pseud alloys were obtained for the first time: an aluminum-tungsten alloy containing 10 wt. % tungsten and 90 wt. % aluminum with a hardness of HB 60, and an aluminum-copper-tungsten alloy containing 15 wt. % Al, 50 wt. % Cu, 35 wt. % W, and 1.2 wt. % DNDs. The resulting compositions are readily machinable. The use of aqueous nanodiamond suspensions in photonics has been demonstrated for producing linear optical filters resistant to high-power radiation. Application of an intermediate product from DND synthesis – diamond charge – increased the germination rate of Chinese cabbage seeds by 70 % compared to normal rates. Adding diamond charge to space-grade lubricants reduced component wear by a factor of two. Modification of paste-like fuels with nanodiamonds increased their burning rate by up to 23%.

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