Screening of elemental impurities in commercial detonation nanodiamond using sector field inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

The quantitation of 55 elemental impurities in 15 commercial samples of detonation nanodiamond (DND), micron-sized diamond of high pressure/high temperature synthesis and detonation synthesis soot (DS) was achieved using a direct sector field ICP-MS analytical method. A set of 23 elements contributing more than 99.8 mass % of all impurities was selected and used as markers for the evaluation of DND purity. Obtained data were evaluated to identify important information on possible sources of nanodiamond contamination during purification, disaggregation, solubilisation or stabilisation of suspensions. Distinctive groups of elements (including Cr, Mn and S; Mo, W, V and Ti; Na, B and Si; Ca and Mg) occurring at elevated levels in DND can be readily visualised using radar plots, and can be related to the detonation synthesis (construction materials of explosion chamber, admixture in coolant, detonator type) and/or purification processes (type of oxidation process and reagents). The contaminant profile for each respective DND can be also considered as a fingerprint, characteristic for every producer and technology used. Results obtained also highlight how DND can be considered as effective collectors of various inorganic impurities from chemical reagents, glassware, sonotrode and other materials used during processing, including disaggregation and stabilisation of suspensions.