Guided assembly of nanoparticles on electrostatically charged nanocrystalline diamond thin films

We apply atomic force microscope for local electrostatic charging of oxygen-terminated nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) thin films deposited on silicon, to induce electrostatically driven self-assembly of colloidal alumina nanoparticles into micro-patterns. Considering possible capacitive, sp2 phase and spatial uniformity factors to charging, we employ films with sub-100 nm thickness and about 60% relative sp2 phase content, probe the spatial material uniformity by Raman and electron microscopy, and repeat experiments at various positions. We demonstrate that electrostatic potential contrast on the NCD films varies between 0.1 and 1.2 V and that the contrast of more than ±1 V (as detected by Kelvin force microscopy) is able to induce self-assembly of the nanoparticles via coulombic and polarization forces. This opens prospects for applications of diamond and its unique set of properties in self-assembly of nano-devices and nano-systems

Synthesis, structure, and opto-electronic properties of organic-based nanoscale heterojunctions

Enormous research effort has been put into optimizing organic-based opto-electronic systems for efficient generation of free charge carriers. This optimization is mainly due to typically high dissociation energy (0.1-1 eV) and short diffusion length (10 nm) of excitons in organic materials. Inherently, interplay of microscopic structural, chemical, and opto-electronic properties plays crucial role. We show that employing and combining advanced scanning probe techniques can provide us significant insight into the correlation of these properties. By adjusting parameters of contact- and tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM), we perform morphologic and mechanical characterizations (nanoshaving) of organic layers, measure their electrical conductivity by current-sensing AFM, and deduce work functions and surface photovoltage (SPV) effects by Kelvin force microscopy using high spatial resolution. These data are further correlated with local material composition detected using micro-Raman spectroscopy and with other electronic transport data. We demonstrate benefits of this multi-dimensional characterizations on (i) bulk heterojunction of fully organic composite films, indicating differences in blend quality and component segregation leading to local shunts of photovoltaic cell, and (ii) thin-film heterojunction of polypyrrole (PPy) electropolymerized on hydrogen-terminated diamond, indicating covalent bonding and transfer of charge carriers from PPy to diamond

Enhanced Growth and Osteogenic Differentiation of Human Osteoblast-Like Cells on Boron-Doped Nanocrystalline Diamond Thin Films

Intrinsic nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films have been proven to be promising substrates for the adhesion, growth and osteogenic differentiation of bone-derived cells. To understand the role of various degrees of doping (semiconducting to metallic-like), the NCD films were deposited on silicon substrates by a microwave plasma-enhanced CVD process and their boron doping was achieved by adding trimethylboron to the CH4:H2 gas mixture, the B∶C ratio was 133, 1000 and 6700 ppm. The room temperature electrical resistivity of the films decreased from >10 MΩ (undoped films) to 55 kΩ, 0.6 kΩ, and 0.3 kΩ (doped films with 133, 1000 and 6700 ppm of B, respectively). The increase in the number of human osteoblast-like MG 63 cells in 7-day-old cultures on NCD films was most apparent on the NCD films doped with 133 and 1000 ppm of B (153,000±14,000 and 152,000±10,000 cells/cm2, respectively, compared to 113,000±10,000 cells/cm2 on undoped NCD films). As measured by ELISA per mg of total protein, the cells on NCD with 133 and 1000 ppm of B also contained the highest concentrations of collagen I and alkaline phosphatase, respectively. On the NCD films with 6700 ppm of B, the cells contained the highest concentration of focal adhesion protein vinculin, and the highest amount of collagen I was adsorbed. The concentration of osteocalcin also increased with increasing level of B doping. The cell viability on all tested NCD films was almost 100%. Measurements of the concentration of ICAM-1, i.e. an immunoglobuline adhesion molecule binding inflammatory cells, suggested that the cells on the NCD films did not undergo significant immune activation. Thus, the potential of NCD films for bone tissue regeneration can be further enhanced and tailored by B doping and that B doping up to metallic-like levels is not detrimental for cells