The size of interstellar nanodiamonds revealed by infrared spectra of CH on synthetic diamond nanocrystal surfaces

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Abstract
Infrared spectra of CH stretches have been investigated on the surfaces of synthetic diamond crystallites (5, 100, and 700 nm in diameter) to provide insights into the mid-infrared emission bands of stardusts in interstellar media. While the spectrum of 5-nm diamonds fails to display the distinct 2835 cm−1 (or 3.53 μm) band, a remarkably good match of the absorption bands of larger diamondgrains with the emission observed for the stars Elias 1 and HD 97048 is obtained. Suggested by this study, the nanodiamonds that can display such characteristic emission bands at 3.53 μm in these two interstellar systems have a size significantly larger than 5 nm.