Nanofabrication

Rashna Mirza
PHD 1st semester
PHM-818
Contents
• Introduction
• Classifications
• Approaches
• Characterizations
 Nanofabrication
• Nanofabrication refers to the design process of
nanomaterial and devices that are measured in
nanometers (0.1-100nm).
• Nanomaterials include nanostructured surfaces,
nanoparticles, and nanoporous materials.
Nanoparticles

Example.
• Lisinopril-Coated Gold Nanoparticles as
Highly Stable Targeted CT Contrast Agents in
Cardiovascular Diseases.

• Magnetic Nanoparticles for Antibiotics

Detection
Classification of nanomaterials

• 1. Origin
• 2. Material
• 3. Dimension
Basis of Origin
• 1. Natural nanomaterials: coming from resource of
nature, these are virus, protiens and antibodies. Some
minerals like clay, gelatin, natural collides, shells and
coral etc are natural nanomerials.
• 2. Artificial nanomaterials: those which are prepared
deliberately through a well defined mechanical and
fabrication processes, like carbon nano tubes, quantum
dots and semiconductor nanparticles.
Basis of Materials

• 1. Carbon based materials: mostly carbon composed,

hollow spheres (fullerenes) or tubes (nanotubes), these
have wide potential applications.
• 2. Metal based materials: Quantum dosts, nanogold,
nanosilver and metal oxides like TiO2 are examples of
it.
• 3. Dendrimers: nanosized polymers built from
branched units are dendrimers. Surfaces of dendrimers
has branch ends performing special function. They are
used in drug delivery.
• 4. Composites: these are bulk type materials
Bases Dimension
3. Three dimensions in nanoscale
1.One-dimensional (1-D):
• 3D nanostructures have three dimensions
Systems confined to one-dimensional nanomaterials outside/above the nanometric size range (100nm).
are 100nm films, coatings, and multilayer materials.
• Possess a nanocrystalline structure.
One-dimensional have been extensively studied
because both of their functional properties and highly • Can contain dispersions of nanoparticles, bundles
controllable morphology. of nanowires and nanotubes as well as multi nano
layers.
• Due to the large surface area, these have attracted
2.Two dimensions in nanoscale considerable research interest. Quantum dots (tiny
2D exhibits plate like shapes including nanofilms, particles of semiconductor material)
nanolayers and nanocoatings • Very important materials due to their wide range of
Made up of various compositions like multi and single applications in the area of catalysis, magnetic
layered and matrix. material, and electrode material for batteries.
Interesting for investigation and developing novel
applications in sensors, photocatalysts,
nanocontainers, nanoreactors and templates for 2D
structures of materials.
Nanofabrication Approaches
Nanofabrication Approaches

Fabricating nanomaterials can be classified in to two approaches:

1.Top-down approaches
In this method nanomaterials are derived from a bulk substrate and obtained by progressive removal of material,
until desired nanomaterial is obtained.
2.Bottom-up approaches
Atoms and molecules are manipulated and combined to form larger nanoscale structures.
Approaches
1. Bottom-Up Methods

• Method of nanofabrication involves the utilization of chemical or physical forces acting at the nanoscale to
combine building blocks into functional structures.
• In bottom-up synthesis, materials are synthesized from the atomic to the cluster to the nanoparticle level.

• Synthesis of nanoparticles by colloid dispersions.

SOL-GEL

• The sol–gel technique is a highly adaptable soft chemical process that is extensively utilized in the synthesis
of metal oxides, ceramics, and glasses.
• This process involves a chain reaction of hydrolysis and polycondensation that results in a colloidal
suspension or a sol from the precursor.
• The molecules in a system go from a homogenous liquid (or “sol”) to a solid (or “gel”) state during the sol–
gel process, which occurs at room temperature and pressure.
• After preparing the gel, the nano powder of metal oxide is obtained by drying and calcining the gel at various
temperatures. The shape, morphology, and textural qualities of the resulting materials can be adjusted with the
sol–gel process.
• Conventional precursors for the generation of nanomaterials using the sol–gel method are metal alkoxides.
Example
• Synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are formed through iron alkoxides and iron salts (such as
chlorides, nitrates and acetates), which undergo various forms of hydrolysis and polycondensation reaction
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD)

• Chemical vapor deposition methods have great significance in the generation of carbon-based nanomaterials.
In CVD, a thin film is formed on the substrate surface via the chemical reaction of vapor-phase precursors.
• A precursor is considered suitable for CVD if it has adequate volatility, high chemical purity, good stability
during evaporation, low cost, a non-hazardous nature, and a long shelf-life. Moreover, its decomposition
should not result in residual impurities.
• in the generation of carbon nanotubes via CVD, a substrate is placed in an oven and heated to high
temperatures. Subsequently, a carbon-containing (such as hydrocarbons) gas is slowly introduced to the
system as a precursor. At high temperatures, the decomposition of the gas releases carbon atoms, which
recombine to form carbon nanotubes on the substrate
• However, the choice of catalyst plays a significant role in the morphology and type of nanomaterial obtained
• Overall, CVD is an excellent method for producing high-quality nanomaterials, and it is well-known for the
production of two-dimensional nanomaterials.
Molecular Self Assembly
• Self‐assembly is the “fabrication tool” of Nature: All natural materials, organic and
inorganic, are produced through a self‐assembly route. In natural biological processes,
molecules self‐assemble to create complex structures with nanoscale precision.
• Examples are the formation of the DNA duple helix or the formation of the membrane cell
from phospholipids. In self‐assembly, sub-units spontaneously organize and aggregate into
stable, well defined structures through non covalent interaction. This process is guided by
information that is coded into the characteristics of the sub units and the final structure is
reached by equilibrating to the form of the lowest free energy.
Soft templating method

• In the soft templating method, nanoporous materials are produced using plenty of soft templates, such as
block copolymers, flexible organic molecules, and anionic, cationic, and non-ionic surfactants.
• Most prominent interactions between the soft templates and the precursors occur through hydrogen bonding,
van der Waals forces, and electrostatic forces.
• Soft templates of 3D specifically arranged liquid crystalline micelles are used to synthesize 3D ordered
mesoporous structures
• Single crystal nanorods, porous aluminas, and mesoporous N-doped graphene, can be produced via the soft
template method.
Hard template method

• The hard template method is also called nano-casting.

• Well-designed solid materials are used as templates, and the solid template pores are filled with precursor
molecules to achieve nanostructures for the required application.
• Three main steps are involved in the synthetic pathway for obtaining nanostructures via templating methods.
In the first step, the appropriate original template is developed or selected. Then, a targeted precursor is filled
into the template mesopores to convert them into an inorganic solid. In the final step, the original template is
removed to achieve the mesoporous replica.
2.In top-down approaches

In top-down approaches, bulk materials are divided to produce nanostructured materials. Top-down methods
include mechanical milling, laser ablation, etching, sputtering, and electro-explosion
• Externally-controlled tools are used to cut, mill and shape materials into the desired shape and order.
• Attrition and milling for making nanoparticles are typical top-down processes.

Types of top-down Approaches

1. Mechanical milling is an effective method for producing blends of different phases, and it is helpful in the
production of nanocomposites.
• Mechanical milling is used to produce oxide- and carbide-strengthened aluminum alloys, wear-resistant spray
coatings, aluminum/nickel/magnesium/copper-based nanoalloys, and many other nanocomposite materials.
 2.Lithography

• Lithography is a useful tool for developing nanoarchitectures using a focused beam of light or
electrons.
• Lithography can be divided into two main types: masked lithography and maskless lithography.
• In masked nanolithography, nanopatterns are transferred over a large surface area using a specific mask
or template. Masked lithography includes photolithography, nanoimprint lithography, and soft
lithography.
• Maskless lithography includes scanning probe lithography, focused ion beam lithography, and electron
beam lithography. In maskless lithography, arbitrary nanopattern writing is carried out without the
involvement of a mask.
3.Sputtering

• Sputtering is a process used to produce

nanomaterials via bombarding solid
surfaces with high-energy particles such as
plasma or gas.
• Sputtering is considered to be an effective
method for producing thin films of
nanomaterials
• In the sputtering deposition process,
energetic gaseous ions bombard the target
surface, causing the physical ejection of
small atom clusters depending upon the
incident gaseous-ion energy
 4.Laser ablation
• Laser ablation synthesis involves nanoparticle generation using a
powerful laser beam that hits the target material. During the laser
ablation process, the source material or precursor vaporizes due to
the high energy of the laser irradiation, resulting in nanoparticle
formation.
• A wide range of nanomaterials can be produced through this
technique, such as metal nanoparticles,carbon
nanomaterials, oxide composites, and ceramics.
• Pulsed laser ablation in liquids is an exciting approach for
producing monodisperse colloidal nanoparticle solutions without
using surfactants or ligands. The nanoparticle properties, such as
average size and distribution, can be tuned by adjusting the
wavelength, and laser salt addition.
Advantage
• Feasibility and environmental-friendly process as compared to chemical synthesis which requires harmful
chemical reagents.
• In addition, the advantages of using PLA technique are that the size, shape and morphology of the as-
synthesized NPs are found to be dependent on laser parameters (laser pulse energy, pulse duration, repetition
rate, laser wavelength, laser ablation time, focusing distance, target-to-liquid-surface distance), on target
material and on the physical properties of liquid environment (such as polarity, thermal conductivity, density
and viscosity)
 Characterization of nanoparticles

• Characterization refers to study of materials features such as its composition, structure, and various properties
like physical, electrical, magnetic, etc.
• Important characterization of nanoparticles –
• Nanoparticle properties vary significantly with size and shape.
• Accurate measurement of nanoparticles size and shape is, therefore, critical to its applications.
Characterization
of Nanoparticles
 SEM
XRD TEM
References
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2021/ma/d0ma00807a
ww.researchgate.net/publication/31579762
Catalysts | Free Full-Text | Classification, Synthetic, and
Characterization Approaches to Nanoparticles, and Their Applications
in Various Fields of Nanotechnology: A Review (mdpi.com)
https://www.slideshare.net/ShreyaBhatt23/introduction-to-
nanoparticles-and-bi
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/12/11/1386