Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are the study and application of extremely small things and can be used across all the other science fields, such as chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, and engineering.

Fundamental Concepts in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter at a molecular or atomic level in order to produce novel materials and devices with new extraordinary properties. However, nanotechnology is not a new discipline. It is rather the merging of multiple scientific disciplines (biology, physics, chemistry, medicine and engineering) and the combination of knowledge to tailor materials at the nanoscale; approximately in the range of 1-100 nanometers (10-9 m). 

Nanotechnology is closely related to Nanoscience, the basic theoretical and experimental study of matter at the nanoscale before applying the acquired knowledge for device manufacturing.

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.

Today's scientists and engineers are finding a wide variety of ways to deliberately make materials at the nanoscale to take advantage of their enhanced properties such as higher strength, lighter weight, increased control of light spectrum, and greater chemical reactivity than their larger-scale counterparts. 

Comparing nanoscale with daily examples

Do you know just how small is nano? Lets discuss.

In the International System of Units, the prefix "nano" means one-billionth, or 10^-9; therefore one nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. It’s difficult to imagine just how small that is, so here are some examples: 

• A sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick

• A strand of human DNA  is 2.5 nanometers in diameter

• There are 25,400,000 nanometers in one inch

• A human hair is approximately 80,000- 100,000 nanometers wide 

• On a comparative scale, if the diameter of a marble was one nanometer, then diameter of the Earth would be about one meter

• One nanometer is about as long as your fingernail grows in one second

How it started

The American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate Richard Feynman introduce the concept of nanotechnology in 1959. During the annual meeting of the American Physical Society, Feynman presented a lecture entitled “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). . In his talk, Feynman did not use the term "nanotechnology," but described a process in which scientists would be able to manipulate and control individual atoms and molecules. This new idea demonstrated that Feynman’s hypotheses have been proven correct, and for these reasons, he is considered the father of modern nanotechnology. After fifteen years, Norio Taniguchi, a Japanese scientist was the first to use and define the term “nanotechnology” in 1974 as: “nanotechnology mainly consists of the processing of separation, consolidation, and deformation of materials by one atom or one molecule”. Modern nanotechnology truly began in 1981, when the scanning tunneling microscope allowed scientists and engineers to see and manipulate individual atoms.

Applications

Nanotechnology is helping to considerably improve, even revolutionize, many technology and industry sectors: information technology, homeland security, medicine, transportation, energy, food safety, and environmental science, among many others. Described below is a sampling of the rapidly growing list of benefits and applications of nanotechnology.

Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology is already broadening the medical tools, knowledge, and therapies currently available to clinicians. Nanomedicine, the application of nanotechnology in medicine, draws on the natural scale of biological phenomena to produce precise solutions for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Nanotechnology can help medical tools and procedures be more personalized, portable, cheaper, safer, and easier to administer. Silver nanoparticles incorporated into bandages, which makes it smother and kill harmful microbes. This can be especially useful in healing burns. 

Nanotech is also furthering advances in disease treatments. Researchers are developing ways to use nanoparticles to deliver medications directly to specific cells. This is especially promising for the treatment of cancer, because chemotherapy and radiation treatments can damage healthy as well as diseased tissue. The list goes on. Fullerenes can be manipulated to have anti-inflammatory properties to slow or even stop allergic reactions. Nanomaterials may reduce bleeding and speed coagulation.

Food: The food industry is using nanomaterials in both the packaging and agricultural sectors. Clay nanocomposites provide an impenetrable barrier to gases such as oxygen or carbon dioxide in lightweight bottles, cartons, and packaging films. Silver nanoparticles, embedded in the plastic of storage containers, kill bacteria. 

 Engineers and chemists use nanotechnology to adapt the texture and flavor of foods. Nanomaterials’ greater surface area may improve the "spreadability" of foods such as mayonnaise, for instance. 

Energy: Nanotechnology is finding application in traditional energy sources and is greatly enhancing alternative energy approaches to help meet the world’s increasing energy demands. Nanotechnology is already being used to develop many new kinds of batteries that are quicker-charging, more efficient, lighter weight, have a higher power density, and hold electrical charge longer. An epoxy containing carbon nanotubes is being used to make windmill blades that are longer, stronger, and lighter-weight than other blades to increase the amount of electricity that windmills can generate. Nanotechnology is also used in solar cells in solar panels making them more efficient and adorable.

Day to day uses 

 Sunscreen: Nanoparticles have been added to sunscreens for years to make them more effective. Two particular types of nanoparticles commonly added to sunscreen are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. These tiny particles are not only highly effective at blocking UV radiation, they also feel lighter on the skin, which is why modern sunscreens are nowhere near as thick and gloopy as the sunscreens we were slathered in as kids.

 Clothing: When used in textiles, nanoparticles of silica can help to create fabrics that repel water and other liquids. Silica can be added to fabrics either by being incorporated into the fabric’s weave or sprayed onto the surface of the fabric to create a waterproof or stainproof coating. So if you’ve ever noticed how liquid forms little beads on waterproof clothing – beads that simply roll off the fabric rather than being absorbed – that’s thanks to nanotechnology.

 Sports: Within the niche of sport equipment, nanotechnology offers a number of advantages  and immense potential to improve sporting equipment making athletes safer, comfortable and more agile than ever. Baseball bats, tennis and badminton racquets, hockey sticks, racing bicycles, golf balls/clubs, skis, fly-fishing rods, archery arrows, etc. are some of the sporting equipments, whose performance and durability are being improved with the help of nanotechnology.

Nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), silica nanoparticles (SNPs), Nano clays fullerenes, etc. are being incorporated into various sports equipment to improve the performance of athletes as well as equipments. Each of these nanomaterials is responsible for an added advantage such as high strength and stiffness, durability, reduced weight, abrasion resistance, etc. in sporting equipments. Over the years, with the evolution of materials in sports equipment, there has been reduction in the weight of equipment accompanied by considerable improvement in its strength. CNTs, the most frequently used material in Nano-enhanced sporting equipments have a higher specific strength and specific stiffness than other conventional materials. They are 100 times stronger but 6 times lighter than steel and as stiff as diamond, which make them an ideal component for making sporting equipments where low weight and high strength are of prime importance. Nanotech Advantages include Advances in disease treatments, such as cancer Better imaging and diagnostic equipment Energy-efficient products such as fuel and solar cells Improvements in manufacturing that allow for durable, light-weight, efficient production tools Improved electronic devices, including transistors, LED and plasma displays and quantum computers Nanorobots can be used to rebuild the ozone layer, clean polluted areas and lesser dependence on non-renewable energy sources Disadvantages include Potential dangers to humans and the environment Loss of manufacturing and agricultural jobs Economic market crashes related to a potential lower value of oil due to more efficient energy sources and gold or diamonds, materials that can be reproduced with molecular manipulation Accessibility of weapons of mass destruction Improved atomic weaponry Global Market Survey The global nanomaterials market size was valued at USD 8.5 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.1% from 2020 to 2027. High potential for product adoption for aerospace applications, in order to improve the strength and durability of aircraft parts, is expected to drive the market over the forecast period. Rapid developments in healthcare technology, growth in the medical diagnostics industry, and various advantages of medicinal imaging applications are anticipated to drive the market. Furthermore, increased focus on research concerning nanotechnology and rising government spending on biotechnology and pharmaceutical R&D is expected to augment growth of the nanomaterials market. Future of Nanotechnology Nanotechnology is an emerging science which is expected to have rapid and strong future developments. It is predicted to contribute significantly to economic growth and job creation in the EU in the coming decades. According to scientists, nanotechnology is predicted to have four distinct generations of advancement. We are currently experiencing the first, or maybe second generation of nanomaterials. The first generation is all about material science with enhancement of properties that are achieved by the incorporating "passive nanostructures". This can be in the form of coatings and/or the use of carbon nanotubes to strengthen plastics. The second generation makes use of active nanostructures, for example, by being bioactive to provide a drug at a specific target cell or organ. This could be done by coating the nanoparticle with specific proteins. The complexity advances further in the third and fourth generations. Starting with an advance Nano system for e.g. nanorobotics and moving on to a molecular Nano system to control growth of artificial organs in the fourth generation of nanomaterials. REFERENCES Refer the following sites for more info. Nano.gov understandingnano.com nationalgeographic.org microscopemaster euon.echa.europa.eu Nanotech.info video link