Nanotechnology

Application Of Nanotechnology

Food Processing Food packaging

 What is Nanoscale
Our Planet
Football

Fullerenes C60

22 cm 0.7 nm

12756 Km

1.27 × 107 m 0.22 m 0.7 × 10-9 m

10 millions times smaller 1 billion times smaller

 How Small Is Nanoscale?
A nanometer is…………………..one billionth of a meter

Human Hair: Approx. 1x105 nm

DNA Sample: Approx. 2 nm

 Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
• Study at the level of small cluster of Atoms and Molecules
• Structures sized between 1 to 100 nanometer in at least one dimension

• Developing or modifying materials or devices within that size

• Novel properties
• Components should remain at nanometer scale
• Involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at NANO
scale level
“ I can hardly doubt that when we have some control of the arrangement of things ON A SMALL SCALE, we will get
an enormously greater range of possible properties that substances can have.”
….. R. FEYNMAN

maneuvering
atom by atom.

California Institute of Technology, December 26, 1959

 1974, Nario Taniguchi uses the term
“Nanotechnology”

1985, Buckyball discovered. (Harry Kroto won 1996

Nobel prize in chemistry along with Richard Smalley and
Robert Curl)

1986, K. Eric Drexler developed and popularized the concept of

Nanotechnology and founded the field Molecular
Nanotechnology.
Why going to Nano? 1 nm = 10-9 m
• Chemistry – higher reactivity
High surface area – Good for chemical and biochemical sensors; Higher sensitivity and faster response
time
Good for heterogeneous catalysis: The larger the surface area, the higher the reactivity; High level of
reaction control
• Material – better mechanical strength
UNCD Ultra-nano-crystalline diamond (ANL/CNM); Ultra-thin and tough coating - prolong equipment
life time
Carbon-nanotubes – Ultra-high mechanical strength
• Physics – quantum confined phenomena and designed physical properties
Quantum dots, Near field optics, plasmonics
High density magnetic storage – nanoclusters
Ideal spring nanomagnet - High magnetization and coercivity
 What happens to the electrons in a small particle

Continuous to discrete energy levels

(electron wavefunctions confined)
 Quantum Confinement

Quantum confinement is responsible for the increase of energy

difference between energy states and band gap. A phenomenon
tightly related with the optical and electronic properties of the
materials.
NANO MATERIAL - OPTICAL PROPERTIES

Gold (Bulk) Nano Gold colloids

Gold building blocks from the atomic to the mesoscopic and their changing colors.

Atoms: 1A Gold cluster: <1 nm, Gold nanoparticles: 3-30 nm, Crimson to blue Bulk gold film
Colourless orange red gold particles
What happens as particle size becomes very small Nanocrystalline materials

Evolution of the disordered

state
Magnetic Properties
No change properties changes changes
nm
µm

mm Nanoparticles offer HUGE amounts of surface area!

As the object size gets smaller, the surface area to
volume ratio becomes larger.

chemically very active

UNIQUE PROPERTIES AT NANOMETRE SCALE

• Electrons are confined (Electrical and Electronic

Property)

• Large surface to volume ratio (Catalytic Property)

• More disordered Dipoles (Magnetic property)

• Lower melting point (Physical Property)

Interfaces and surfaces become very important

Correlation of particle size with physical and Chemical properties

Melting point of gold nanoparticles (2 nm)

decreased by 1000o
Bulk 1340K, nano (2 nm) 340K
Buffat et. al. Phys. Rev. A (1976) 13, 2287
Gold

BaTiO3

The ferroelectric transition becomes ε

weak as the particle size decreases
 Advantages of Nanoparticles

• Large specific surface area: Abundant reactive sites

• Controlled morphology: Nanoshperes, nanotubes, nanorods,

nanoplates, nanosheets, and nanowires

•Quantum Confinement: Change of electronic properties

•High mechanical strength

19
Nanotechnology in Fabrics
• The properties of familiar materials are being changed by
manufacturers who are adding nano-sized components to
conventional materials to improve performance.

• For example, some clothing manufacturers are making

water and stain repellent clothing using nano-sized
whiskers in the fabric that cause water to bead up on the
surface.

• In manufacturing bullet proof jackets.

• Making spill & dirt resistant, antimicrobial, antibacterial

fabrics.
Nanotechnology in Electronics
• Electrodes made from nanowires enable flat panel
displays to be flexible as well as thinner than current
flat panel displays.

• Nanolithography is used for fabrication of chips.

• The transistors are made of nanowires, that are

assembled on glass or thin films of flexible plastic.

• E-paper, displays on sunglasses and

map on car windshields.
• Chips
produced by Intel before “i” series processors were between 65nm -
45nm.
• Later with the help of nanotechnolgy 22nm chips were made which itself
is a milestone.
• Advantages of using carbon nanotubes:
• Fasterand smaller- carbon nanotubes can be used to produce smaller
and faster components.

• This will also result in computers that consume less energy.

• High speed and high capacity memory.

• Allows circuits to be more accurate on the atomic level.

There are a number of products available that are already benefiting from
nanotechnology.
Using sunscreen as an example, many of them contain nanoparticles of zinc
oxide or titanium oxide. Older sunscreen formulas use larger particles, which is
what gives most sunscreens their whitish color.
Smaller particles are less visible, so when the sunscreen is rubbed into the skin,
it doesn't leave a whitish tinge.
Others include:
• mobile phone touch screens; computer technology
• cosmetics;
• tennis rackets;
• bicycles;
• fabric;
• Food processing and packaging
 Other uses
• Cutting tools made of nanocrystalline materials, such as tungsten carbide,
tantalum carbide and titanium carbide, are more wear and erosion-
resistant, and last longer than their conventional counterparts.

• Silver
nanocrystals have been embedded in bandages to kill bacteria and
prevent infection.

• Nanoparticulate-based synthetic bone

• Formed by manipulating calcium and phosphate at the molecular level.

• Aerogels lightest known solid due to good insulating properties is used in

space suits and are proposed to use in space craft.
Materials used
• Zinc oxide:
• Dirt repellent, hydrophobic , cosmetics & stain resistant.

• Silver ion:
• Healing property

• Aluminum silicate:
• Scratch resistance

• Gold ion:
• Chip fabrication, drug delivery.
Classification of nanomaterials:

Nanomaterials can be categorized as different methods of classification including origin, dimensions and their
structural configuration

A. According to their origin nanomaterials are classified as:

1. Natural nanomaterials: Nanomaterials which are belonging to resource of nature are defined as natural
nanometer. As per examples virus, protein molecules including antibody originated from nature are some natural
nano structured materials. In addition following are few examples, mineral such as clays,natural colloids, such as
milk and blood (liquid colloids), fog (aerosol type), gelatine (gel type),mineralised natural materials, such as
shells, corals and bones,Insect wings and opals,Spider silk,Lotus leaf and similar(Nasturtium,). Gecko
feet,volcanic ash, ocean spray etc

2. Artificial nanomaterial: Artificial nanoparticles are those which are prepared deliberately through a well-defined
mechanical and fabrication process. The examples of such materials are carbon nanotubes, semiconductor
nanoparticles like quantum dots etc.
B.On the basis of dimensions nanomaterials can be divided as:

1. Zero dimensional(0-D): These nanomaterials have Nano-dimensions in all the three directions. Metallic
nanoparticles including gold and silver nanoparticles and semiconductor such as quantam dots are the perfect
example of this kind of nanoparticles. Most of these nanoparticles are spherical in size and the diameter of these
particles will be in the 1-50 nm range. Cubes and polygons shapes are also found for this kind of nanomaterials.
2. One dimensional(1-D): In these nanostructures, one dimension of the nanostructure will be outside the nanometer
range. These include nanowires, nanorods, and nanotubes. These materials are long (several micrometer in length),
but with diameter of only a few nanometer. Nanowire and nanotubes of metals, oxides and other materials are few
examples of this kind of materials.
3. Two dimensional(2-D): In this type of nanomaterials, two dimensions are outside the nanometer range. These
include different kind of Nano films such as coatings and thin-film-multilayers, nano sheets or nano-walls. The area of
the nano films can be large (several square micrometer),but the thickness is always in nano scale range.
4. Three Dimensional(3-D): All dimensions of these are outside the nano meter range. These include bulk materials
composed of the individual blocks which are in the nanometer scale (1-100 nm).
C. On the basis of structural configuration nanomaterials can be classified into four types:

Carbon Based Nano materials: The nature of this kind of nanomaterials is hollow spheres,
ellipsoids, or tubes. Spherical and ellipsoidal configured carbon nanomaterials are defined as
fullerenes, while cylindrical ones are described as nanotubes.

Metal Based Materials: The main component of these particles is metal. These nanomaterials
include nanogold, nanosilver and metal oxides, such as titanium dioxide and closely packed
semiconductor like quantum dots.

Dendrimers: Dendrimers are highly branched macromolecules with the dimensions nanometer-
scale. The surface of a dendrimer posses numerous chain which can be modified to perform
specific chemical functions. PAMAM dendrimer is the best illustration of this kind of materials.

Composites: Nanocomposite can be described as a multiphase solid material where at least one of
the phases has one, two or three dimensions in nanoscale. The most common examples of these
materials are colloids, gels and copolymers.
Dimension Variation 