Nanocrystalline Diamond Particles Prepared by High-Energy Ball Milling Method

In this present work, nanodiamond (ND) particles were successfully prepared from commercial micron diamond powder at room temperature by high energy ball milling process using an oscillatory mill (SPEX8000). The size reduction and structural evolutions of the milled samples were investigated as a function of the milling time by means of X-ray diffraction, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The line broadening technique was used to determine the crystallite size and lattice strain. After 40 h of milling, obtained ND particles possessed uniform shape and 25 nm of average particle size. Also, energy dispersive X-ray results revealed the high purity of ND and demonstrated that the purification process using harsh acid mixture were effective to remove metal and non-diamond carbon impurities produced in milling stage. All results propose a scalable method to preparation ND particles as well as nanocrystalline materials.