FABRICATION OF BLUE-FLUORESCENT AND NON-TOXIC NANODIAMONDS 9NDs) FROM ATMOSPHERIC PARTICULATE MATTERS

A method for preparing nanodiamonds from atmospheric pollutants comprising the steps of:

• a) collecting atmospheric pollutants;
• b) mixing the atmospheric pollutants obtained in step (a) with hydrogen peroxide to obtain an oxidized particulate matter;
• c) ultrasonicating the oxidized particulate matter obtained in step (b) to obtain a first mixture;
• d) filtering the first mixture obtained in step (c) using a polytetrafluoroethylene membrane filter (0.22 μm) to obtain a filtrate;
• e) centrifuging the filtrate obtained in step (d) to obtain a supernant;
• f) treating the supernatant obtained in step (e) with HNO3/H2SO4 acid and heating to obtain an extract;
• g) neutralizing the extract obtained in step (f) by adding ammonia solution drop wise to obtain a second mixture;
• h) filtering the second mixture obtained in step (g) using an ultrafiltration (1 KDa) to obtain a filtrate solution;
• and
• i) concentrating the filtrate solution obtained in step (h) to obtain the nanodiamonds.