Influence of Size Effect on the Electronic and Elastic Properties of Diamond Films with Nanometer Thickness

The atomic structure and physical properties of few-layered ⟨111⟩ oriented diamond nanocrystals (diamanes), covered by hydrogen atoms from both sides, are studied using electronic band structure calculations. It was shown that energy stability linearly increases upon increasing of the thickness of proposed structures. All 2D carbon films display direct dielectric band gaps with nonlinear quantum confinement response upon the thickness. Elastic properties of diamanes reveal complex dependence upon increasing of the number of ⟨111⟩ layers. All theoretical results were compared with available experimental data.