Week 1-2 : Introduction and Importance of Nanomaterials

Chapter #1 Introduction to Nanotechnologies

These two lessons covers following topics:

What is nanotechnology, Types of nanomaterials with respect to dimension (0D, 1D & 2D materials), Importance of Nanomaterials, Moore’s Law, Origin of observed differences between properties of macroscopic and nanoscopic objects

Nanotechnology is the creation of useful/functional materials, devices, systems through control of matter on nanometer length scale and exploitation of useful novel phenomenon and properties (Physical, Chemical & Biological) on that length scale.

At nanoscale both physical and chemical properties of materials change. For example when gold is in the form of nanoparticles with diameters less than about 5 nm, it becomes a powerful catalyst, especially for the oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO), while gold at macroscale (bulk) is an inert material. The full story is quite complicated because the reactivity of gold nanoparticles appears to depend not only on their size but also on the material (substrate) on which they are supported. When we reach the nanoscale, physical properties of gold also changes, e.g, gold's color, melting point etc. The reason for this change has to do with the nature of the interactions among the atoms that make up the gold, interactions that are averaged out of existence at macro size material. Nano gold doesn't act like bulk gold.

Materials scientists and electrical, chemical, and mechanical engineers all deal with the unique properties of nanostructure materials and how those special properties can be utilized in the manufacturing of entirely new materials that could provide new capabilities in different fields of life e.g, medicine, industry, recreation, and the environment etc.

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lesson-1-2-intro-to-nanotechnology.pdf (0.55 MB )