Probing the 13C nuclear spin relaxation of diamond nanoparticles with solid-state NMR

Diamond nanoparticles represent an elegant class of nanoscale materials with many promising applications in nanotechnology. Solid-state NMR is a powerful technique to investigate the atomic-level structure and dynamics of nanomaterials in their natural state. The present study illustrates the application of high-resolution 13C NMR to nanomaterials characterization, and the fundamental 13C spin-lattice relaxation times highlight the spatial arrangement of surface-associated paramagnetic centers around the core sp3 carbon assembly of diamond nanoparticles, delineating the unique size-dependent physicochemical characteristics of diamond nanoparticles.