Laser ablation of diamond nanoparticles suspended in ethanol has been performed by using the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser (532 nm). UV-Vis absorption spectra revealed the formation of polyynes (CnH2: n = 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16). The same experiment was performed for graphitic nanoparticles suspended in ethanol. It was found that ablation of diamond nanoparticles results in larger amounts of long polyynes. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.