New prospects and frontiers of nanodiamond clusters

The review is devoted to nanodiamond as a member of new nanocarbon allotropes. The past results related to the main features of detonation technology for producing nanodiamond are highlighted. Effects of technology on the structure of nanodiamond particles as well as functionalization of nanodiamond surface to chemical properties are discussed. The real structure of single nanodiamond particles has been critically reviewed and its aggregation problem emphasized. Several applications of nanodiamonds mainly as precursors for CVD diamond film growth, for forming new magnetic nanomaterials and field electron emitters are reviewed. As a result, the availability of nanodiamonds as attractive building blocks for nanotechnology is concluded. (review article)