NANOTECHNOLOGY

Unit-I:
Introduction to nanotechnology:
Importance of nanoscale, Nanostructure types, electronic,
magnetic, optical Properties of Nanomaterials,
top-down and bottom- up approach to nanostructures.
Unit-II:
Quantum Mechanical phenomenon in nanostructures:
Quantum confinement of electrons in semiconductor Nano
structures, one dimensional confinement
(Quantum wires), two dimensional confinements (Quantum
Wells), three dimensional confinements
(Quantum dots).

Unit-III
Carbon Nano Structures:
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), Fullerenes, C60, C80 and C240
Nanostructures, Properties (mechanical, optical
and electrical) and applications.
Unit-IV
Fabrication of Nanomaterials:
Physical Methods: Inert gas condensation, Arc discharge,
RFplasma, Plasma arc technique, Ion sputtering,
Laser ablation, Laser pyrolysis, Molecular beam epitaxy,
Chemical vapour deposition method.

Unit-V
Nano scale characterization techniques:
Scanning probe techniques (AFM, MFM, STM, SEM, TEM),
XRD
Unit-VI
Nanodevices and Nanomedicine:
Lab on chip for bioanalysis, Core/shell Nanoparticles in drug
delivery systems (site specific and targeted
drug delivery), cancer treatment, and bone tissue treatment.

Unit-VII
Nano and molecular electronics:
Resonant-Tunneling structures, single electron tunneling,
Single Electron transistors, coulomb blockade,
giant magneto resistance, tunneling magneto resistance.
Unit-VIII
nanolithography and nanomanipulation:
e-beam lithography and SEM based nanolithography and
nanomanipulation, Ion beam lithography, oxidation
and metallization. Mask and its application. Deep UV
lithograp

Unit-I
Introduction to
nanotechnology

 Importance of nanoscale

Nanostructure types

Electronic, magnetic, optical Properties of Nan

materials

Top-down and Bottom- up approach to

nanostructures.

What Is
Nanotechnology

What is Nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology is the art and science

of
manipulating matter at the nanoscale

MANIPULATING
To move, arrange, operate, or control
by the hands or by mechanical
means, especially in a skillful manner

Nano technology
Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional
systems at the molecular scale.
Nanotechnology, shortened to "Nanotech", is the study
of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular
scale.
Generally nanotechnology deals with structures of the
size 100 nanometers or smaller, and involves
developing materials or devices within that size.

Nanotechnology has the potential to create many new

materials and devices with wide-ranging applications,

 It is usually measured in nanometer(nm).

It

as

revolutionary

new

technology,

nanotechnology has the potential to impact

almost every area of society.
At the nano scale, objects are so small that we
can't see them - even with a light microscope.
Nano scientists have to use tools like scanning
tunneling
microscopes
nanoscale

microscopes
to

observe

or

atomic

anything

force
at

the

What is need of
nanotechnology
Nanotechnology can be used to deal with almost all the
kinds of basic problems in a very smaller size.
There is a principle that smaller sized objects can be
held at every place , but bigger objects cannot be used
at the fields that are smaller in size than the object.
Thus, the benefits of smaller sizes are huge, and
nanotechnology
sizes..

deals

with

technology

of

smaller

..?Who
.
I
d
l
u
o
h
S

Cares
About
Nanotechnolo
gy

Who Cares About

Nanotechnology ?
We All Should Care!
Because it can bring revolution in the
current industrialization and
manufacturing processes.

 The american govt is investing a

wholesome of around 1 trillion
USD/year.in different sectors, Some
of which are mentioned in this
chart.a big proportion of the r&d is
being invested on materials and
electronics field.

Who Cares About

Nanotechnology ?
350
300
250
200
300

150
180

100
50
0

22

70

100

340

Amount Of
Investment In Billion
US$/Year

Origins
The term "nanotechnology" was defined by Tokyo
Science University Professor Norio Taniguchi in a 1974
paper.
Dr. K. Eric Drexler, who promoted the technological
significance of nano-scale phenomena.
Nanotechnology and nanoscience got started in the
early 1980s with two major developments; the birth of
cluster science and the invention of the scanning
tunneling microscope (STM).

cluster
In physics, the
termclustersdenotes small, multi
atom particles.
As a rule of thumb, any particle of
somewhere between 3 and 3107
atomsis considered a cluster.

 Discovery of fullerenes in 1986 and carbon

nanotubes a few years later.
In another development, the synthesis and
properties of semiconductor nanocrystals was
studied;
This led to a fast increasing number of metal
oxide nanoparticles of quantum dots.
The atomic force microscope was invented six
years after the STM was invented.
In 2000, the United States National
Nanotechnology Initiative was founded to
coordinate Federal nanotechnology research and

fullerene
Afullereneis anymolecule
composed entirely ofcarbon, in the
form of a hollowsphere,ellipsoidor
tube.
Metal-oxide nanoparticles can be
used to optimize UV absorption and
to enhance the stiffness, toughness,
and probably the service life of
polymeric materials.

Scanning tunneling microscope

Ascanning tunneling
microscope(STM) is an instrument for
imaging surfaces at the atomic level.
Its development in 1981 earned its
inventors, Gerd BinnigandHeinrich Rohrer
theNobel Prize in Physicsin 1986.
For an STM, good resolution is considered
to be 0.1nm lateral resolution and
0.01nm depth resolution.

 The STM can be used not only in

ultra-high vacuum but also in air,
water, and various other liquid or gas
ambients, and at temperatures
ranging from near zero kelvinto a
few hundred degrees Celsius

An STM image of a single-walled

carbon nanotube

 Atomic force microscopy(AFM) or

scanning force microscopy (SFM) is a
very high-resolution type of
scanning probe microscopy, with
demonstrated resolution on the order
of fractions of ananometer, more
than 1000 times better than the
optical diffraction limit.

AFM SETUP

Fields using Nano

Technology
1.Medicine i)Diagonistics ii)Drug Delivery iii)Tissue
Engineering
2.Energy

i)Reduction

of

energy

consumption

ii)Increasing the efficiency of energy production

iii)The use of more user friendly energy systems
3.Information and Communication
4.Heavy

Industries

i)Aerospace

iii)Vehicle manufactures

ii)Refineries

 Terms

such

as

biomedical

nanotechnology,

nanobiotechnology, and nanomedicine are used

to describe this hybrid field.

 II.Drugdelivery
i)Nanotechnology has been a boom in medical
field by delivering drugs to specific cells using
nanoparticles.
ii)The overall drug consumption and side-effects
can be lowered significantly by depositing the
active agent in the morbid region only and in no
higher dose than needed..

MORBID
the relative incidence of a particular
disease in a specific locality

 III)TISSUE ENGINEERING
i)Nanotechnology can help to reproduce or to
repair damaged tissue.
ii)Tissue engineering makes use of artificially
stimulated cell proliferation(GROWTH) by using
suitable nanomaterial-based scaffolds and growth
factors.
iii)Tissue

engineering

might

replace

todays

conventional treatments like organ transplants or

artificial implants. Advanced forms of tissue
engineering may lead to life extension.

 2.Energy:The
projects

most

related

conversion,

advanced
to

energy

manufacturing

nanotechnology
are:

storage,

improvements

by

reducing materials and process rates, energy

saving (by better thermal insulation for example),
and

enhanced

(improved)

renewable

energy

sources.

Reduction of energy consumption: Currently used

light bulbs only convert approximately 5% of the
electrical energy into light. Nanotechnological
approaches like light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or
quantum caged atoms (QCAs) could lead to a

 II)Increasing the efficiency of energy production:

i)Today's best solar cells have layers of several
different semiconductors stacked together to
absorb light at different energies but they still
only manage to use 40 percent of the Sun's
energy.
ii)Commercially available solar cells have much
lower efficiencies (15-20%).
Nanotechnology
efficiency

of

could
light

help

increase

conversion

by

the
using

nanostructures with a continuum of bandgaps.

 III) Recycling of batteries

i)Because of the relatively low energy density of
batteries the operating time is limited and a
replacement or recharging is needed.
ii)The huge number of spent batteries and
accumulators represent a disposal problem.

 iii)The use of batteries with higher energy content or

the use of rechargeable batteries or supercapacitors
with higher rate of recharging using nanomaterials
could be helpful for the battery disposal problem.
3.Information and communication
i)Current high-technology production processes are
based

on

traditional

top

down

strategies,

where

nanotechnology has already been introduced silently.

ii)The critical length scale of integrated circuits is
already at the nanoscale (50 nm and below) regarding
the gate length of transistors in CPUs or DRAM devices.

Quantum computers.
The Quantum computer has quantum bit memory
space termed "Qubit" for several computations at
the same time.
This facility may improve the performance of the
older systems.This is made possible with nano
technology.
3.Heavy

Industry:An

inevitable

use

nanotechnology will be in heavy industry.

of

 I) Aerospace
i)Lighter

and

stronger

materials

will

be

of

immense use to aircraft manufacturers, leading to

increased performance.
ii)Spacecraft will also benefit, where weight is a
major factor. Nanotechnology would help to
reduce

the

size

of

equipment

and

thereby

decrease fuel-consumption required to get it

airborne.

iii)Hang gliders may be able to halve their weight

while increasing their strength and toughness
through the use of nanotech materials.

Comparison
One nanometer (nm) is one billionth, or 10-9, of a
meter.
Typical carbon-carbon bond lengths are in the
range 0.12-0.15 nm
DNA double-helix has a diameter around 2 nm.
The bacteria of the genus Mycoplasma are around
200 nm in length.

Applications Of
Nanotechnology
lets have a look how NT is leading us
in different areas of expertise..

Applications Of Nanotechnology
Electronics:
Nano Transistors

Nano Diodes

OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode)

Applications Of Nanotechnology
Electronics(contd.)
Plasma Displays

Quantum Computers

 The apliances made with the help of

nanoelectronics are getting its
market share increasing and are
becoming popular day by day due to
the productivity and quality they
have.
Such as plasma Displays nd
Quantum computing..

Applications Of Nanotechnology
Energy:
Batteries

Fuel Cells

Solar Cells

 1-This is a nano-engineered battery,

light in weight and flexible just like a
paper.
It can be rolled, twisted, folded or cut
into a number of shapes with
absolutely no loss of mechanical
efficiency.
Other energy suppliment examples
with some change in their properties
are fuel cells and solar cells

Applications Of Nanotechnology
Materials:
Nano Tubes

Aerogel

Nano Particles

 1-this rotating picture is actually a model of

carbon nanotube, the strongest and stiffest
materials discovered till to date. These tubes are
the building block of almost all the NT objects.
2- Aerogel. The worlds lightest crystalline solid
3-and nano particles

Applications Of Nanotechnology
Life Sciences:
Targeted Drug Delivery

Artificial Retina

Tissue Regeneration

 Apart from the engineering and science discussed

so far, NT also has its applications in medical
sciences
1- this picture shows the process of Targeted drug
delivery.. Which will enable mankind to diagnose
and treat all the major diseases such as cancer, HIV
etc.
2-. Artificial Retina and Tissue regeneration are the
other examples of NT applications in life sciences..

Advantages

Advantages
Material
With NT, we can create unique materials and products which are:
Stronger
Lighter
Cheaper
Durable
Precise

Advantages
Industrial
Computers can become a billion times faster and
a million times smaller

Automatic Pollution Cleanup

Manufacturing at almost no cost

Advantages
Medical
End of Illnesses (i.e. cancer, heart disease)

Universal Immunity (i.e. aids, flu)

Body Sculpting
(i.e. change your appearance)

 With the ongoing advancement of

NT, diseases like cancer, aids, flu etc
would become an illusion
And further more If any of you is
interested to change the outlook of
your body appearance
Here is a good news for you..

Disadvantages

Disadvantages

Loss of jobs (in manufacturing, farming, etc)

Carbon Nanotubes could cause infection of lungs

Oil & Diamonds could become worthless

Atomic weapons could be more accessible and

destructive

Future of
Nanotechnology

Future Of Nanotechnology

 In this slide, you can see how

Nanotechnology could help
redesigning the future of several
technologies, products and markets.
Scientists and engineers can now
work with materials at the atomic
level to create stain-proof fabrics,
more efficient fuel cells and
batteries

Future Of Nanotechnology
Examples of Future Use
of NT
Electronic
Paper

Nokia Morph

Contact Lens

 1- In future, you might be reading

news on foldable electronic paper..
2- This is the proto type of Nokia
Morph concept phone based purely
on NT..
3- Contact lens that will let you check
your blood sugar level by looking into
a mirror. (It is expected to be coming
in 5 years or so.

Future Of Nanotechnology
National Science and Technology
Council (USA) claims that:
Nanotechnology is an enabling
technology that will change the
nature of almost every human-made
object in the next century.

This statement has obvious meaning

that Nanotechnology is capable of
changing the way almost everything is
designed and made: from computers
to clothing; from sports equipments to
space ships and satellites; from cars to
cancer therapies; from bridges to
paint; and even objects and devices
not yet imagined.

COMMON TERMS
Nanoparticles: The size of the particles which
ranges from 1-50 nm
Nanomaterials: materials having size less than
100 nm atleast in one dimension
Nanotube: Nanometer scale tube like structure
Nano manufacturing: methods for producing
nanostructures in reliable and commercially
viable ways

"Nano" comes from the Greek "dwarf". It is used in the metric system to refer to "billionth"
- a nanometre (nm) is a billionth of a metre, Put another way, this is about 1/50,000th the
width of a human hair. Normal office paper is about 100,000nm thick.
Nanotechnologists will typically work in the range 1-100nm.

Some facts to visualize Nano

A nm is about the width of six bonded carbon atoms
your fingernails grow approximately one nanometer per
second.
Another way to visualize a nanometer:
1 inch = 25,400,000 nanometers
A red blood cell is ~7,000 nm in diameter, and ~2000 nm in
height
A virus is ~100 nm

Small Things
Centimete
r
(10-2 m)
Millimeter
(10-3 m)
Micromet
er
(10-6 m)
Nanomete
r
(10-9 m)
Picomete
r
(10-12 m)

Big Things
Meter

3.280 ft

A fish egg is 2 mm

Killomete
r

1,000 meters

Most human
cells are 7 - 30
m
Size of a average
molecule, cluster of
atoms

Astronomical
Unit

150x106 km
(Earth to
Sun
Distance)

Light-year

9.46x1012
km

atom nucleus 0.1 pm

Parsec

Femtometer
(10-15 m)

Size of a proton

Attometer
(10-18 m)

Size of a quark

Megaparsec

3.26
light
years
A million
parsecs

CONSTRUCTION
Two approaches can be
taken when making
something at the
nanoscale: these are
known as the 'top-down'
approach and the 'bottomup' approach.

The Difference

Top-down semiconductor
nanoscale technology
From big (bulk wafer
material) to small (nanochip)
Expensive
Less scalable
Less flexible in material
selection, design, etc.

 Bottom-up molecular
nanotechnology
From small (selfassembled
nanostructure) to big
(nano-chip)
Synthesis
Cheap
More scalable

 More flexible in material

selection, design, etc.
Open doors to molecular level
engineering

 A nanostructure is an object of intermediate size between

microscopic and molecular structures.
In describing nanostructures it is necessary to differentiate
between the number of dimensions on the nanoscale.
Nanotextured surfaces have one dimension on the nanoscale,
i.e., only the thickness of the surface of an object is between 0.1
and 100nm. Nanotubes have two dimensions on the nanoscale,
i.e., the diameter of the tube is between 0.1 and 100nm; its
length could be much greater. Finally, spherical nanoparticles
have three dimensions on the nanoscale, i.e., the particle is
between 0.1 and 100nm in each spatial dimension. The terms
nanoparticles and ultrafine particles (UFP) often are used
synonymously although UFP can reach into the micrometre range.
The term 'nanostructure' is often used when referring to magnetic
technology.

The DNA structure at left (schematic

shown) will self-assemble into the
structure visualized by
atomic force microscopy at right.
Image from Strong.[1]

List of nanostructures
GML nanofilm
Nanocages
Nanocomposite
Nanofabrics
Nanofiber
Nanoflake
Nanoflower
Nanofoam
Nanomesh
Nanoparticle
Nanopillar
Nanopin film
Nanoplatelet
Nanoring
Nanorod
Nanoshell
Quantum dot
Quantum heterostructure
Sculptured thin film
Nanotip

NANOSTRUCTURES

DEFNITION
A nanostructure is an object of intermediate size between
microscopic and molecular structures.

 In describing nanostructures it is necessary to differentiate

between the number of dimensions on the nanoscale
Nano textured surfaces have one dimension on the nanoscale,
i.e., only the thickness of the surface of an object is between
0.1 and 100 nm.
Nanotubes have two dimensions on the nanoscale, i.e., the
diameter of the tube is between 0.1 and 100 nm; its length
could be much greater.

 spherical nano particles have three dimensions on the

nanoscale, i.e., the particle is between 0.1 and 100 nm in each
spatial dimensio
A measure of spatial extent, especially width,
height, or length.

List of nanostructures
GMLnanofilm
Nanocages
Nanocomposite
Nanofabrics
Nanofiber
Nanoflake
Nanoflower
Nanofoam
Nanomesh

Nanoparticle
Nanopillar
Nanopin film
Nanoplatelet
Nanoring
Nanorod
Nanoshell
Quantum dot
Quantum heterostructure
Sculptured thin film
Nanotip

Gradient multilayer nanofilm

Gradient multilayer (GML) nanofilm is an assembly of
quantum dot layers with a built-in gradient(aslope) of
nanoparticle size, composition or density.
Properties of such nanostructure are finding its applications in
design of solar cells and energy storage devices.

Schema of GML nanofilm

Nanoshell
A nanoshell, or rather a nanoshell plasmon, is a type of
spherical nanoparticle consisting of a dielectric core which is
covered by a thin metallic shell (usually gold).
(Plasmon) In physics, a plasmon is a quantum of
plasma oscillation

These nanoshells involve a quasiparticle called plasmon

which is a collective excitation or quantum plasma oscillation
where the electrons simultaneously oscillate with respect to all
the ions.

 In physics, a quantum (plural:

quanta) is the minimum amount of
any physical entity involved in an
interaction.
Plasma oscillations, also known as
"Langmuir waves are rapid
oscillations of the electron density in
conducting media such as plasmas or
metals.

 quasiparticle - a quantum of energy

(in a crystal lattice or other system)
that has position and momentum and
can in some respects be regarded as
a particle

Nanorod
In nanotechnology, nanorods are one morphology of
nanoscale objects.

Each of their dimensions range from 1100 nm. They may be

synthesized from metals or semiconducting materials.

Nanorods are produced by direct chemical synthesis.

A combination of ligands act as shape control agents and bond
to different facets of the nanorod with different strengths.

morphology
The study of the forms of things, in
particular.

 In chemistry, chemical synthesis is

a purposeful execution of chemical
reactions to get a product, or several
products.

ligand
In coordination chemistry, a ligand
is an ion or molecule (functional
group) that binds to a central metal
atom to form a coordination complex
Facet: One of the flat polished
surfaces cut on a gemstone or
occurring naturally on a crystal.

Cobalt complex [HCo(CO)4] with five

ligands

 This allows different faces of the nanorod to grow at different

rates, producing an elongated object.
One potential application of nanorods is in display
technologies, because the reflectivity of the rods can be
changed by changing their orientation with an applied electric
field.
Another application is for microelectromechanical
systems(MEMS).

 Nanorods, along with other noble metal nanoparticles, also

function as theragnostic agents.
Nanorods absorb in the near IR, and generate heat when
excited with IR light.
This property has led to the use of nanorods as cancer
therapeutics.

Nanorods can be conjugated with tumor targeting motifs and

ingested.

 When a patient is exposed to IR light (which passes through

body tissue), nanorods selectivly taken-up by tumor cells are
locally heated, destroying only the cancerous tissue while
leaving healthy cells intact.

 Theranostics is a proposed process

of diagnostic therapy for individual
patients - to test them for possible
reaction to taking a new medication
and to tailor a treatment for them
based on the test results.

An TEM image of CdS

nanorods

Nanoring
A nanoring is a small ringformed
crystal.
The first nanoring made was a zinc
oxide nanoring discovered by
researchers at Georgia Institute of
Technology.
They are made by a spontaneous
self-coiling process of nanobelts.
Many layers of nanobelts are rolled
together as coils, layer-by-layer.

Nano ring

Nano belts

Nanotip

Nanopin film
Nanopin film is an experimental material in nanotechnology
developed in 2005 with unusual superhydrophobic properties .

A droplet of water makes contact with the surface of this film

and forms an almost perfect sphere with a contact angle of
178.

The film is able to do this because it is covered with nanoscale

topped off pins or cones perpendicular to the surface.
The surface is regarded as a composite material with mostly
air and a small fraction made up by the tops of the cones.

 Superhydrophobic surfaces are

highly hydrophobic, i.e., extremely
difficult to wet.

A drop on a Lotus surface.

Nanopillar
Nanopillars are a metamaterial.

Metamaterial
Metamaterials are artificial materials
engineered to have properties that
may not be found in nature.
They are assemblies of multiple
individual elements fashioned from
conventional microscopic materials
such as metals or plastics, but the
materials are usually arranged in
periodic patterns.

Negative index metamaterial array configuration, which was

constructed of copper split-ring resonators and wires mounted on
interlocking sheets of fiberglass circuit board. The total array consists
of 3 by 2020 unit cells with overall dimensions of 10100100 mm.

IMPORTANCE OF
NANOSCALE
There are many reasons why specifically
nanoscale became more important.
The quantum mechanical properties of
electrons inside matter are influenced by the
variations in the nanoscale
By nanoscale design of materials it is possible
to vary their micro and macroscopic properties
,such as charge capacity,magnetization,and
melting temperature , with out changing their
chemical composition

 Charge:
The process of replenishing or
replacing the electrical charge in a
rechargeable cell or battery.
Capacity:
The electrical energy content of a
battery as expressed in amperehours.

 A key feature of biological entities(A thing with

distinct and independent existence.) is the
systematic organization of matter on the nanoscale .
Developments in nano science and nanotechnology
would allow us to place man made nanoscale things
inside living cells
It would also make it possible to make new
materials using the self assembly features of nature
This certainly will be a powerful combination of
biology with materials science

 Nanoscale components have very

high surface to volume ratio, making
them ideal for use in composite
materials, reacting systems, drug
delivery, and chemical energy
storage (such as hydrogen and
natural gas)

Surface area to volume ratio

Surface area to volume ratio describes the
efficiency of the object being described.
In Nanotechnology, and molecular
electronics, it is important for the
machines to be constructed in the most
efficient way possible.
This is so that once deployed, the job of
the component will be able to be carried
out quickly and effectively.

 Macroscopic systems made up of

nanostructures can have much higher density
than those made up of microstructures.
They can also be better conductors of
electricity.
This can result in new electronic device
concepts, smaller and faster circuits, more
sophisticated functions, and greatly reduced
power consumption simultaneously by
controlling nanostructure interactions and
complexity.

CLASSIFICATION OF
NANOSTRUCTURES
A reduction in the spatial dimension , or confinement
of particles or quasiparticles in a particular
crystallographic direction with in a structure
generally leads to changes in physical properties of
the system in that direction .
Hence one classification of nano structured materials
and systems essentially depends on the number of
dimensions which lie with in the nanometer range,
A. systems confined in three dimensions
B. systems confined in two dimensions
C. systems confined in one dimensions.

 This "electron" with a different mass

is called an "electron quasiparticle
Crystallography is the science that
examines the arrangement of atoms
in solids

 Nanoparticles and nanopores exhibit threedimensional confinement.

In semiconductor terminology such systems are often
called quasi-zero dimensional, as the structure does
not permit free particle motion in any dimension.
Systems confined in two dimensions, or quasi -1D
systems ,include nanowires,nanorods,nanofilaments
and nanotubes: again these could be either
amorphous(Without a clearly defined shape or
form.),singlecrystalline or polycrystalline .
The term nanoropes is often used to describe
bundles of nanowires and nanotubes.

 Systems confined in one

dimension ,or quasi-2D systems,
include discs or platelets, ultrathin
films on a surface and multilayered
materials; the films themselves could
be amorphous, single-crystalline or
nanocrystalline.

Mechanical properties
Many mechanical
properties such as
toughness are
dependent on the ease
of formation or the
presence of defects
with in a material.

 As the system size

decreases, the ability to
support such defects
becomes increasingly
more difficult and
mechanical properties
will be altered
accordingly.

 Novel(different)
nanostructures, which
are very different from
bulk structures in terms
of the atomic structural
arrangement ,will show
very different
mechanical properties.

 For example single and

multi walled carbon
nanotubes show high
mechanical strengths
and high elastic limits
that lead to
considerable
mechanical flexibility
and reversible

 As the structural scale

reduces to the
nanometer range ,the
high interface to
volume ratio of
consolidated(strength)
nano structured
materials appears to
enhance interface-

 Many nano structured

metals and ceramics
are observed to be
super plastic(Capable
of extreme plastic
extension under load.)
in that they are able to
undergo extensive
deformation without

 Overall these effects

extend the current
strength-ductility limit
of conventional
materials.

MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
Magnetic nanoparticles
are used in arrange of
applications, including
ferrofluids, colour
imaging, bioprocessing,
refrigeration as well as
high storage density
magnetic memory
media.

 Aferrofluidis a liquid
which becomes strongly
magnetized in the
presence of a magnetic
field.

 The large surface area

to volume ratio results
in a substantial
proportion of atoms
(those at the surface
which have a different
local environment)
having a different
magnetic coupling with

 Bulk ferromagnetic
materials usually form
multiple magnetic
domains ,small
magnetic nano particles
often consist of only
one domain and exhibit

SUPER PARAMAGNETISM
Super Para
magnetismis a form
ofmagnetism, which
appears in
smallferromagneticorf
errimagneticnanopartic
les.

 In this case the overall

magnetic coercivity is
lowered: the
magnetizations of the
various particles are
randomly distributed
due to thermal
fluctuations and only
become aligned in the

 Giant magneto
resistance is a
phenomenon observed
in nanoscale multilayers
consisting of a strong
ferromagnetic (eg:
Fe,Co) ad a weaker
magnetic or nonmagnetic buffer (e.g:

 In the absence of a
magnetic field the spins
in alternating layers are
oppositely aligned
through anti
ferromagnetic coupling,
which gives maximum
scattering from the
interlayer interface and

Scattering,alligne
A small, dispersed
amount of something.
Put (things) into correct
relative positions.

 In an oriented external
magnetic field the spins
align with each other
and this decreases
scattering at the
interface and hence
resistance of the

Optical properties
In small nanoclusters
the effect of reduced
dimensionality on
electronic structure has
the most profound
effect on the energies
of the highest occupied
molecular orbital
,essentially the valence

 Optical emission and

absorption depend on
transitions between
these states;

 Semi conductors and

metals .in particular
,show large changes in
optical properties ,such
as colour,as a function
of particle size.

 Colloidal solutions of
gold nanoparticles have
a deep red colour which
becomes progressively
more yellow as the
particle size increases;
indeed gold colloids
have been used as a
pigment for stained
th

 Semiconductor
nanocrystals In the
form of quantum dots
show similar sizedependent behavior in
the frequency and
intensity of light
emission as well as
modified non-linear

 Other properties which

may be affected by
reduced dimensionality
include
photocatalysis,photoco
nductivity,photoemissio
n and

 Inchemistry,photocatalysisis the
acceleration of aphotoreactionin the
presence of acatalyst.
photoreaction
Photochemistry, a sub-discipline
ofchemistry, is the study ofchemical
reactionsthat proceed with the
absorption of light
byatomsormolecules.Everyday
examples includephotosynthesis,

 Photoconductivityis
anopticalandelectrical
phenomenonin which a material
becomes moreelectrically
conductivedue to the absorption
ofelectromagnetic radiationsuch
asvisible
light,ultravioletlight,infraredlight,
orgamma radiation.

 Photoemission spectroscopy
(PES), also known
asphotoelectron
spectroscopy,refers to energy
measurement of electrons emitted
from solids, gases or liquids by
thephotoelectric effect, in order to
determine the binding energies of
electrons in a substance.

ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES
The changes which
occur in electronic
properties as the
system length scale is
reduced are related
mainly to the increasing
influence of the wavelike property of the

 As the size of the

system becomes
comparable with the de
broglie wavelength of
the electrons, the
discrete nature of the
energy spectrum is only

 In certain cases,
conducting materials
become insulators
below a critical length
scale , as the energy
bands cease to overlap.

cease
Come to an end

 Owing to their intrinsic

wave-like nature,
electrons can tunnel
quantum mechanically
between two
nanostructures which
aligns the discrete
energy levels in the

Tunnelling,dos
(of a particle) Pass through a
potential barrier.

 In macroscopic systems
,electronic transport is
determined primarily by
scattering with
phonons, impurities or
other carriers or by
scattering at rough
interfaces.
The path of each
electron resembles a

phonons
Inphysics, aphononis acollective
excitationin a periodic, elastic
arrangement
ofatomsormoleculesin condensed
matter, such assolids and
someliquids. Often referred to as
aquasiparticle,it represents an
excited state in thequantum
mechanicalquantization of
themodes of vibrationsof elastic

 When the system

dimensions are smaller
than the electron mean
free path for inelastic
scattering, electrons
can travel through the
system without

 This gives rise to phase

centers can be
eliminated completely
and if the sample
boundaries are smooth
so that boundary
reflections are purely
specular, then electron
transport becomes
purely ballistic with the

Phase
centres,specular,ballistic
specular
Of, relating to, or having the
properties of a mirror.
Ballistic
Moving under the force of gravity
only.

 Conduction in highly
confined structures ,
such as quantum dots,
is very sensitive to the
presence of other
charge carries and
hence the charge state
of the dot.

 These coulomb
blockade effects results
in conduction processes
involving single
electrons and as a
result they require only
a small amount of

 All these phenomena

can be utilizes to
produce radically
different types of
components for
electronic,
optoelectronic and
information processing
applications, such as