From nanodiamond to diamond nanowires: structural properties affected by dimension

Although production of nanowires from various materials is proving very successful, the development of diamond nanowires has been slow. However, a significant amount of successful research has been conducted regarding zero-dimensional nanodiamond crystals, which may offer a basis for the development of one-dimensional diamond nanostructures. Observations of the structural transitions between nanodiamonds into carbon onions inevitably lead to questions as to whether a similar transformation occurs in one dimension and, if so, how it may be avoided. Presented here are ab initio investigations of dehydrogenated nanodiamond crystals and analogous diamond nanowires, to examine how the additional dimension effects structural properties.