NANOMATERIALS

Nanostructured materials are characterized by at least one

dimension in the nanometer range.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology primarily deal with the

synthesis, characterization, exploration and exploitation of
nanostructured materials.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES

Individual nanostructures include clusters, quantum dots,

nanocrystals, nanowires, and nanotubes.

Collections of nanostructures involve arrays, assemblies,

and super lattices of the individual nanostructures.
SEMICONDUCTORS ON THE NANOSCALE

1.  Quantum dots – semicondictor particles with diameters in

the size of 1 to 10nm

2.  Quantum wells – semiconductors that are laid down in a

relatively-large two-dimensional areas on a substrate but
with thickness in the range of few nanometers

3.  Quantum wires – semicondutors whose wire diameter is

only few nanometers but its length is very long
IMAGE: Brown, 2012
PHOTOLUMINESCENCE – the process of making
semiconductors emit light by illuminating them with light whose
photons have energies larger than the energy of the band gap
of the semicondictor.

IMAGE: Brown, 2012

METALS ON THE NANOSCALE

IMAGE: Brown, 2012

FULLERENES – large molecules composed of only carbon
atoms

IMAGE: Brown, 2012

CARBON NANOTUBES – sheets of graphite that are rolled up;
can behave either as a metal or semiconductor depending on
ho wthe sheet was rolled up.

IMAGE: Brown, 2012

GRAPHENE – a two-dimensional carbon from an isolated layer
of graphite

IMAGE: Brown, 2012

REFERENCES

Brown, T.L., Lemay Jr., H.E., Bursten, B.E., Murphy, C.J., and
Woodward, P.M. (2012) Chemistry: The Central Science, 12th
Ed., USA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Gogotsi, Y. (ed) (2006) Nanomaterials Handbook. New YorK:

Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.