Preparation of films of nanodiamonds by step-by-step deposition approach through hydrogen bonding

The films of nanodiamond (ND) have been prepared at room temperature by Step-by-Step (SbS) assembly of ND particles on glass substrates mainly through hydrogen bonding. The ND SbS films have regularly organized nanostructures, which could be tuned by the number of steps deposited. The ND SbS film growth shows a two-step mode with the first step having higher growth rate than that of the second one, which is probably attributed to the difference in the film surface coverage as well as the size of ND aggregates. This SbS assembly process for the preparation of films of ND is simple and economic with controllable film morphology. Since high surface curvature of nanostructure is able to help retain the structural features of biomolecules, the ND SbS film could be a desirable platform for biological applications such as biomolecule immobilization.

► Films of nanodiamonds prepared by Step-by-Step assembly.
► Regularly organized structures with controllable morphology by changing the number of steps deposited.
► Two-step growth mode with the first step growing faster than the second one.
► The film is promising for biomolecule immobilization.