Nanotechnology

A Brief Overview
Art and science of manipulating atoms and molecules to
create new systems, materials, and devices.

By:

Dr. Gourav Mishra

Assistant Professor
Biotechnology
MIET, Meerut, (U.P.)
email: [email protected]

14 July 2020 1
 SI Units of Measurements
Prefix Measurement Scientific Notation

Kilo- 1000 m 1 x 103 m

Hecta- 100 m 1 x 102 m

Deka- 10 m 1 x 101 m

BASE 1m 1 x100 m

Deci- 0.1m 1 x 10-1m

Centi- 0.01 m 1 x 10-2 m

Milli- 0.001m 1 x 10-3 m

Micro- 0.000001 m 1 x 10-6 m

Nano- 0.000000001 m 1 x 10-9 m

Pico- 0.000000000001 m 1 x 10-12 m

Femto- 0.000000000000001 m 1 x 10-15 m

14 July 2020 2
14 July 2020 3
 What is Nanotech?
Before delving into the depths of nanotechnology and nanoscale science, we should be clear what we mean
when we use terms such as ‘nanotechnology,’ ‘nanoscience,’ and ‘nanoscale.’

The prefix ‘nano-’ is derived from the Greek word nannos, meaning “very short man.”

A nanometer (nm) is one thousand millionth of a meter.

A single human hair is about 80,000 nm wide,

A red blood cell is approximately 7,000 nm wide,

A DNA molecule 2 to 2.5 nm, and a water molecule almost 0.3 nm.

14 July 2020 4
On a nanoscale, i.e. from around 100nm down to the size of atoms
(approximately 0.2 nm) the properties of materials can be very different
from those on a larger scale.

 Nanoscience is the study of phenomena and manipulation of

materials at atomic, molecular and macromolecular scales, in order to
understand and exploit properties that differ significantly from those on a
larger scale.

 Nanotechnologies are the design, characterisation, production and

application of structures, devices and systems by controlling shape and
size on a nanometer scale.

14 July 2020 5
14 July 2020 6
 Examples of nanostructures or nonmaterial with their typical ranges of dimension

14 July 2020 7
 History and Origin
The concept of nanotechnology is first presented by
Richard Feynman through his famous lecture, entitled “There’s a
plenty of room at the bottom” at the American Institute of Technology.

Feynman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965.

The word “nanotechnology” is introduced by Prof. Norio Taniguchi

of Tokyo Science University in 1974 to describe the precision
manufacture of materials with nanometer tolerances.

Eric Drexler of MIT expanded Taniguchi’s definition and popularised

nanotechnology in his 1986 book ”Engines of Creation: The Coming Era
of Nanotechnology”

14 July 2020 8
• Nanomaterials can…
occur naturally

be produced by human activity either as a product of another activity

on purpose (engineered)

• Our focus: engineered nanomaterials as these are designed and integrated into products because of
the specific characteristics of the nanomaterial

14 July 2020 9
But the question is why is Nanotechnology so innovative and
revolutionary? The answer lies in quantum mechanics.?

The behavior of matter changes significantly when the surface area to

volume ratio increases so dramatically.

Classical physics no longer control the behavior of the material which

is now under the control of quantum laws.

This fact gives the nano-structured material new abilities and

properties that may be more favorable than the ones of the bulk material
version.

A good example is that some polymers, although being insulators in

the bulk form, they become semiconductors at the nanoscale.

14 July 2020 10
Developing Nano-structured Materials

Nanotechnology's current state enables the manufacturing of nano-structured materials

and the tailoring of their properties.

The development of more complex nanomechanic devices (nanorobots, nanocircuits,

etc.) is still in an infant stage
Nano-powders
These powders consist of particles of a few tens to a few hundreds of nanometers in
size. Due to the large surface area to volume ratio, these materials present new
enhanced properties when compared to their bulk properties.
The use of nanopowders can create novel materials such as plastics with resistance to
UV light, synthetic bone, more effective drugs, and catalysts.

Powder Silver
Nano-particles

14 July 2020 11
Nanotubes
Nanotubes are hollow cylinders whose walls consist of single or multi-layered sheets of
atoms. Their diameter is in the range of a few nanometres.
They are used to build extremely strong and light materials with a variety of
applications such as vehicle manufacturing. Other uses may involve future nanocircuits,
mechanical gears for nanomachines, etc.

Nanowires
Nanowires are cylindrical structures with a diameter of a few nanometers. The
difference between nanotubes and nanowires is that the latter are not hollow. They are
thought to be suitable for the construction of electronic devices and chips.

Nanomembranes
A nano-structured membrane has the ability to filter molecules of liquids or gases. In
nature, the cell membranes allow molecules to penetrate them and contribute to the
formation of chemical compounds. The tailoring of these nanomembranes can result in
the selective filtering of specific sized molecules.

14 July 2020 12
Application Areas of Nanotech
Energy:
Nanotechnology can improve the existing technology of fuel cells in order to increase
their life cycle and reduce the cost of catalysts. Solar cells will also increase their
energy conversion efficiency by reducing cost. The production of fuel could also
become more effective by making extraction and processing more economical.

Medicine:
Nanoparticles can be developed in order to deliver drugs to diseased cells. New bio-
compatible materials are produced that can be used to make medical implants. Stents
are also developed to prevent artery blockage.

Industry:
Vehicle manufacturers can use the new light and extremely strong materials (eg. carbon
nanotubes) to build faster and safer cars.

The same technology applies in aerospace as well. The textile industry can benefit from
the development of nanofibers.
Clothing made of nanofibers is stain-repellent and can be washed at very low
14 July 2020 13
temperature.
Another great application has to do with the embedded wearable electronics.
Nanotechnology could also revolutionize the food industry by improving the
conservation, processing, and packaging procedures.

Other applications include bacteria identification and nanoencapsulation of bioactive

food compounds in order to keep them in a safe anti-microbial environment.

Communication and Electronics:

The advances in nanotechnology will reduce the weight and power consumption of
electronic devices. Data processing speed will increase, and new portable devices will
be available soon. This will revolutionize the world of communication and data transfer.

Consumer Goods:
Other goods of every-day use that could be developed include anti-reflective
sunglasses, new generation cosmetics, easy-to-use ceramics and glasses, etc.

14 July 2020 14
Applied Nanotechnology – Examples of Current Research
and Applications
Powders, Coatings, Carbon Nano-Materials,
Materials Science C-NanoFabrics

Energy Solar Power and PhotoVoltaics, Hydrogen Fuel Cells, LED

White Light

Medicine/Biotech Genomics, Proteomics, Lab on a Chip,

C-Nanotubes,BuckyBalls

Electronics MRAM, NRAM, Q-Dots, Q-Bits

Devices Lithography, Dip Pen Lithography, AFM, MEMS

14 July 2020 15
The Future and Risks of Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology has been in the spotlight of development during the last years. The
enormous potential of this new technology has been recognized immediately by both
academia and industry. The ability to affect so many areas of modern life can actually
be a means to revolutionize the way of doing things.

Many claim that nanotechnology may entail many risks and dangers for the future.

This could originate from an abusive use of the new technology (e.g. development of
new powerful weapon systems, detecting systems that threaten all levels of privacy,
etc.),

A fact that gives rise to social, ethical and safety concerns.

Nanotechnology is very promising, but it would be unwise to ignore the negative

aspects and not deal with them.

14 July 2020 16
 Bottom-up versus Top-down
approaches
Obviously there are two approaches to the synthesis of nanomaterials and the fabrication of nanostructures:
1. Top-down 2. Bottom-up
Attrition or milling is a typical top-down method in making nanoparticles, whereas the colloidal dispersion
is a good example of bottom-up approach in the synthesis of nanoparticles.

the biggest problem with top-down approach is the imperfection of the surface structure. It is well known
that the conventional top-down techniques such as lithography can cause significant crystallographic damage
to the processed patterns and additional defects may be introduced even during the etching steps.

Example: nanowires made by lithography is not smooth and may contain a lot of impurities and structural
defects on surface.

Such imperfections would have a significant impact on physical properties and surface chemistry of
nanostructures and nanomaterials, since the surface over volume ratio in nanostructures and nanomaterials is
very large.

The surface imperfection would result in a reduced conductivity due to inelastic surface scattering, which
in turn would lead to the generation of excessive heat and thus impose extra challenges to the device design
and fabrication. Regardless of the surface imperfections and other defects that top-down approaches may
introduce, they will continue to play an important role in the synthesis and fabrication of nanostructures and
nanomaterials.

14 July 2020 17
Bottom-up approach is often emphasized in nanotechnology literature, though bottom-up is
nothing new in materials synthesis. Typical material synthesis is to build atom by atom on a very
large scale, and has been in industrial use for over a century.

Examples include the production of salt and nitrate in chemical industry, the growth of single
crystals and deposition of films in electronic industry.

Bottom-up approach refers to the build-up of a material from the bottom: atom-by-atom,
molecule-by-molecule, or cluster-by-cluster.
In organic chemistry and/or polymer science, we know polymers are synthesized by connecting
individual monomers together.
In crystal growth, growth species, such as atoms, ions and molecules, after impinging onto the
growth surface, assemble in to crystal structure one after another.

Bottom-up approach also promises a better chance to obtain nanostructures with less defects,
more homogeneous chemical composition, and better short and long range ordering. This is
because the bottom-up approach is driven mainly by the reduction of Gibbs free energy, so that
nanostructures and nanomaterials such produced are in a state closer to a thermodynamic
equilibrium state. On the contrary, top-down approach most likely introduces internal stress, in
addition to surface defects and contaminations.

14 July 2020 18
 Habiba, Khaled, et al. "Fabrication
of nanomaterials by pulsed laser
synthesis." Manufacturing
Bottom-up and the top-down approaches in Nanostructures, One Central
synthesis of carbon-based nanomaterials Press, Manchester, UK (2014).
14 July 2020 19
 Comparison Top vs. Bottom up Approach

14 July 2020 20