MUKESH PATEL SCHOOL OF

TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AND

ENGINEERING
(Affiliated to NMIMS Deemed to be University, Mumbai)

A PROJECT REPORT
ON
“Nanomaterials”
APPLIED PHYSICS

Submitted by

Nisarg Vora A040

Veer Gandhi A041
Sanjeet Malwiya A053
Riddhit Aunchalia A055

Faculty Dr. Vinita Khatri

B. Tech Integrated Program

Department of Computer Science Engineering
MPSTME, Mumbai
2020-2021
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INDEX

1. Introduction
2. What are Nanomaterials?
3. Types of Nanomaterials
4. Physical and Chemical Properties
5. Methods of Synthesis
6. Applications
7. Future Scope
8. Conclusion
9. References
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Nanomaterials
March 10, 2021

Introduction[1]
The proposal for the concept of Nanotechnology was by the renowned American Physicist -
Richard Feynman in the year 1959. In 1974, during a scientific conference, the term
nanotechnology was introduced by Nario Taniguchi. Invented by Gerd Binning and Heinrich
Rohrer, the scanning tunneling microscope, modern nanotechnology has been developed rapidly
since then. Fields like Material Science, Medical Science, Environmental Science, Magnetics,
and Optics have significantly influenced recent advances in nanomaterial.

Nanomaterials are cornerstones of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Nanostructure science and

technology is a broad and interdisciplinary area of research and development activity that has
been growing explosively worldwide within the past few years. It's the potential for
revolutionizing the ways during which materials and products are created and therefore the range
and nature of functionalities which will be accessed. it's already having a big commercial
impact, which can assuredly increase within the future.
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These materials have created a high interest in recent years by virtue of their unusual mechanical,
electrical, optical and magnetic properties. Some examples are given below:

(i) Nanophase ceramics are of particular interest because they're more ductile at elevated
temperatures as compared to the coarse-grained ceramics.

(ii) Nanostructured semiconductors are known to point out various non-linear optical properties.
Semiconductor Q-particles also show quantum confinement effects which can cause special
properties, just like the luminescence in silicon powders and silicon germanium quantum dots as
infrared optoelectronic devices. Nanostructured semiconductors are used as window layers in
solar cells.

(iii) Nanosized metallic powders are used for the assembly of gas tight materials, dense parts and
porous coatings. Cold welding properties combined with the ductility make them suitable for
metal-metal bonding especially within the electronic industry.

There are more examples related to the properties which you can see in the link from
references.[1.2]
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What are Nanomaterials?[2]

Nanomaterials are often defined as materials possessing, at minimum, one external dimension
measuring 1-100nm. The definition given by the ecu Commission states that the particle size of a
minimum of half the particles within the amount size distribution must measure 100nm or below.

Nanomaterials can occur naturally, be created because of the by-products of combustion

reactions, or be produced purposefully through engineering to perform a specialised function.
These materials can have different physical and chemical properties to their bulk-form
counterparts. This includes both nano-objects, which are discrete pieces of material, and
nanostructured materials, which have internal or surface structure on the nanoscale; a
nanomaterial could also be a member of both these categories.

On 18 October 2011, the ecu Commission adopted the subsequent definition of a nanomaterial:
"A natural, incidental or manufactured material containing particles, in an unbound state or as an
aggregate or as an agglomerate and for 50% or more of the particles within the amount size
distribution, one or more external dimensions is within the dimensions range 1 nm – 100 nm. In
specific cases and where warranted by concerns for the environment, health, safety or
competitiveness the amount size distribution threshold of fifty could also be replaced by a
threshold between 1% to 50%."
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Types of Material[3]
For the aim of this text , most current nanomaterials might be organized into four types:

● Carbon Based Materials

● Metal Based Materials
● Dendrimer
● Composites

Carbon Based Materials-

These nanomaterials are composed mostly of carbon, most ordinarily taking the shape of hollow
spheres, ellipsoids, or tubes. Spherical and ellipsoidal carbon nanomaterials are mentioned as
fullerenes, while cylindrical ones are called nanotubes. These particles have many potential
applications, including improved films and coatings, stronger and lighter materials, and
applications in electronics.

Metal Based Materials-

These nanomaterials include quantum dots, nanogold, nanosilver and metal oxides, such as
titanium dioxide. A quantum dot may be a closely packed semiconductor crystal comprised of
hundreds or thousands of atoms, and whose size is on the order of a couple of nanometers to a
few hundred nanometers. Changing the dimensions of quantum dots changes their optical
properties.

Dendrimers-

These nanomaterials are nanosized polymers built from branched units. The surface of a
dendrimer has numerous chain ends, which may be tailored to perform specific chemical
functions. This property could also be useful for catalysis. Also, because three-dimensional
dendrimers contain interior cavities into which other molecules might be placed, they'll be useful
for drug delivery.
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Composites-

Composites combine nanoparticles with other nanoparticles or with larger, bulk-type materials.
Nanoparticles, like nanosized clays, are already being added to products starting from auto parts
to packaging materials, to reinforce mechanical, thermal, barrier, and flame-retardant properties.
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Properties[4]
The unique properties of these various types of intentionally produced nanomaterials give them
novel electrical, catalytic, magnetic, mechanical, thermal or imaging features that are highly
desirable for applications in commercial, medical, military and environmental sectors. These
materials can also find their way into more complex nanostructures and systems. As new uses for
materials with these special properties are identified, the amount of products containing such
nanomaterials and their possible applications continues to grow.

1. Reduced Melting Point - Nanomaterials have a considerably lower melting point and
reduced lattice constants (spacing between atoms is reduced), due to a huge fraction of
surface atoms in the total amount of atoms. The melting temperature of a nanoparticle is
bound to increase sharply as the particle reaches critical diameter, usually < 50 nm for
common engineering metals. Nanoparticle’s melting temperature depends on their
dimension, due to higher value of surface by volume ratio. The deviation can range
anywhere between ten to hundred Kelvin.

Now you must be thinking of a common question that is, why does the melting point of a
nanomaterial decrease with a decrease in the size of a particle?

Answer: As per chemist, the only answer is that with a discount within the size of a particle
reduces in nanoscale, surface to volume ratio increases and particles are more exposed to energy.

2. Electrical conductivity decreases with a reduced dimension due to increased surface

scattering. The bulk metal features a specific electrical conductivity counting on its
temperature. This behaviour is not valid ,when the size of metal is reduced to the
nanometer scale. Metal nanoparticles have various electrical conductivity counting on the
dimensions . Based on this variation, the metal is often used for various applications by
controlling its size.
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However, the existing theories are irrelevant to explain the behaviour of electrical
conductivity in nanometer scale. So, as to get the connection between electrical conductivity and
size of the metal nanoparticle, a mathematical approach was performed that supported the
behaviour of electrons in metals.The final result is the connection curve between electrical
conductivity and particle size.

Synthesis[5]
Synthesis of nanomaterials refers to methods for creating nanoparticles. Nanoparticles can be
derived from larger molecules or synthesized by various methods.Nanomaterials are synthetized
by different methods based on the types and nature of the nanomaterials. The best methods to
synthesize nanomaterials are “top-down” and “bottom-up”. Other methods which are being used
to synthesize nanomaterials are chemical vapor deposition method, thermal decomposition,
hydrothermal synthesis, solvothermal method, pulsed laser ablation, templating method,
combustion method, microwave irradiation, plasma method and conventional Sol-Gel method.

PHYSICAL METHODS OF SYNTHESIS :

1. Top-down Method – Top-down method involves the breaking down of the bulk material into
nanosized structures or particles.

2. Bottom-up Method – Bottom-up method involves the build up of a material from the
bottom: atom-by-atom, molecule-by-molecule or cluster-by cluster.

CHEMICAL METHODS OF SYNTHESIS :

1. Microemulsion Method – In this method, nanomaterials are synthesized via a precipitation

in water and oil.
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2. Chemical Vapor Deposition– In this method, the precursors, gas or vapor, reacts or
decomposes on the preselected substrate at high temperature and vacuum in a chamber to
make 2D nanomaterials.

Plasma Method Of Synthesis (Physical Method) :

The plasma is generated by radio frequency (RF) heating coils. The initial metal is enclosed in a
pestle and the pestle is enclosed in an evacuated chamber. The metal is then heated above its
evaporation point by high voltage RF coils wrapped around the evacuated chamber. The gas that
is used in the procedure is Helium (He), which forms a high-temperature plasma in the region of
the coils after flowing into the system. The metal vapor nucleates on the helium gas atoms and
diffuses up to a cold collector, this is where nanoparticles are collected and they are passivated
by oxygen gas.
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Microemulsion Method Of Synthesis (Chemical Method) :

Micro-emulsion synthesis method is widely used for the production of inorganic nanoparticles.
When oil and water are mixed, they separate into two phases as they are immiscible. An energy
input is required to mix the two phases to create water-oil. An attempt to combine the two phases
requires energy input that would establish water-oil connection replacing the water-water/oil-oil
contacts. The interfacial tension between bulk oil and water can be as high as 30–50 dynes/cm
and this can be avoided by using surfactants (surface-active molecules). Surfactants contain
hydrophilic (water-loving) and lipophilic (oil-loving) groups. The interface can be aligned and
established between oil and water by reducing the interfacial tension if there are enough
surfactant molecules. Brownian motion is formed after the exchange of reactants (collision)
between the aggregates of the molecules that happens after mixing two microemulsions. Good
collisions result in fusion of the reactants, resulting in the formation of nanoparticles.
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Application[6]
Nanomaterials exhibit very attractive and useful properties, which can be used for a range of
structural and non-structural applications. As nanomaterials have exclusive, advantageous
physical, chemical and mechanical properties, they can be applied in a many of applications such
as :

1. Next-Generation Computer Chips

2. Better Insulation Materials

3. Low-Cost Flat-Panel Displays

4. Phosphors for High-Definition TV

5. Tougher and Harder Cutting Tools

6. High-Power Magnets

7. High-Sensitivity Sensors

8. Aerospace Components with Enhanced Performance Characteristics

9. Automobiles with Great Fuel Efficiency

10. High Energy Density Batteries and many more.

We will discuss a few of applications, they are as follows :

● Next-Generation Computer Chips :

The microelectronics sector has paid special attention to miniaturization, which involves
reducing the size of circuits like transistors, capacitors, and resistors. A considerable reduction in
their size enables microprocessors developed using these parts, to operate much faster, thus
allowing computations at much greater speeds.
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However, there are a number of technical obstacles to achieving these advancements, such as
the lack of ultrafine precursors to make these parts, inadequate dissipation of huge amounts of
heat generated by these microprocessors because of faster speeds, poor mean time to failures
(poor reliability), etc.

Nanomaterials help the industry to overcome these obstacles by offering manufacturers materials
with better thermal conductivity, nanocrystalline starting materials, ultra-high-purity materials,
and longer-lasting, durable interconnections (connections between different parts in the
microprocessors).

● Low-Cost Flat-Panel Displays :

In the laptop (portable) computer industry, the demand for flat-panel displays is high. Japan is
leading in this area, mainly due to its R&D efforts on the materials for these displays.

The resolution of these display devices can be significantly improved by synthesizing

nanocrystalline phosphors, while considerably bringing down the manufacturing costs.
Furthermore, the flat-panel displays manufactured using nanomaterials have far higher contrast
and brightness compared to the traditional ones due to their improved magnetic and electrical
properties.

● Tougher and Harder Cutting Tools :

Cutting tools made of nanocrystalline materials like carbides of tantalum, tungsten and titanium,
are a lot harder, much more erosion-resistant, wear-resistant and last longer than their traditional
equivalents. They also allow the manufacturer to machine several materials much faster, thereby
boosting productivity and largely minimizing manufacturing costs.
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Moreover, miniaturizing microelectronic circuits necessitates micro drills (drill bits having
diameters lesser than the thickness of an average human hair [100 µm]) with improved edge
retention and much better wear resistance.

Future Scope[7]

1. Doctors inside your body-

Wearable fitness technology means we can monitor our health by strapping gadgets to ourselves.
There are even prototype electronic tattoos that can sense our vital signs. But by scaling down
this technology, we could go further by implanting or injecting tiny sensors inside our bodies.
This would capture much more detailed information with less hassle to the patient, enabling
doctors to personalise their treatment.

The possibilities are endless, ranging from monitoring inflammation and post-surgery recovery
to more exotic applications whereby electronic devices actually interfere with our body's signals
for controlling organ function. Although these technologies might sound like a thing of the far
future, multi-billion healthcare firms such as GlaxoSmithKline are already working on ways to
develop so-called "electroceuticals".

2. Sensors, sensors, everywhere-

These sensors rely on newly-invented nanomaterials and manufacturing techniques to make them
smaller, more complex and more energy efficient. For example, sensors with very fine features
can now be printed in large quantities on flexible rolls of plastic at low cost. This opens up the
possibility of placing sensors at lots of points over critical infrastructure to constantly check that
everything is running correctly. Bridges, aircraft and even nuclear power plants could benefit.
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3. Self-healing structures-

If cracks do appear then nanotechnology could play a further role. Changing the structure of
materials at the nanoscale can give them some amazing properties – by giving them a texture that
repels water, for example. In the future, nanotechnology coatings or additives will even have the
potential to allow materials to "heal" when damaged or worn. For example, dispersing
nanoparticles throughout a material means that they can migrate to fill in any cracks that appear.
This could produce self-healing materials for everything from aircraft cockpits to
microelectronics, preventing small fractures from turning into large, more problematic cracks.

4. Making big data possible-

All these sensors will produce more information than we've ever had to deal with before – so
we'll need the technology to process it and spot the patterns that will alert us to problems. The
same will be true if we want to use the "big data" from traffic sensors to help manage congestion
and prevent accidents, or prevent crime by using statistics to more effectively allocate police
resources.

Here, nanotechnology is helping to create ultra-dense memory that will allow us to store this
wealth of data. But it's also providing the inspiration for ultra-efficient algorithms for processing,
encrypting and communicating data without compromising its reliability. Nature has several
examples of big-data processes efficiently being performed in real-time by tiny structures, such
as the parts of the eye and ear that turn external signals into information for the brain.

Computer architectures inspired by the brain could also use energy more efficiently and so would
struggle less with excess heat – one of the key problems with shrinking electronic devices
further.
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5. Tackling climate change-

The fight against climate change means we need new ways to generate and use electricity, and
nanotechnology is already playing a role. It has helped create batteries that can store more energy
for electric cars and has enabled solar panels to convert more sunlight into electricity.

The common trick in both applications is to use nanotexturing or nanomaterials (for example
nanowires or carbon nanotubes) that turn a flat surface into a three-dimensional one with a much
greater surface area. This means that there is more space for the reactions that enable energy
storage or generation to take place, so the devices operate more efficiently.

In the future, nanotechnology could also enable objects to harvest energy from their
environment. New nano-materials and concepts are currently being developed that show
potential for producing energy from movement, light, variations in temperature, glucose and
other sources with high conversion efficiency.

Conclusion
Nanomaterials must not cause any health risks for consumers and to the environment. Using this
kind of material has a lot of advantages and disadvantages. This area isn't well studied yetstill.
But at the moment it is known that nanotechnology can be harmful. So, using harmful materials
must be under strong control.
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References
1. Introduction:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7174716/#B15

https://maken.wikiwijs.nl/userfiles/2/2ee21d1456a928da66dbaee2507257fcb96bbdcf.
pdf

2. What are Nanomaterials

https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/what-is-a-nanomaterial#:~:te
xt=Nanomaterials%20can%20be%20defined%20as,must%20measure%20100nm
%20or%20below

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanomaterials

3. Types of Nanomaterials

https://www-azonano-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.azonano.com/amp/article.as
px?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&ArticleID=1872&usqp=mq331AQHKAFQArABIA
%3D%3D#aoh=16163203619494&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&a
mp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azonano.com%
2Farticle.aspx%3FArticleID%3D1872

4. Physical Properties:

http://www.tu-ilmenau.de/fileadmin/media/mne_nano/Lehre/Vorlesung/Nanotechnol
ogie_Jacobs/L11.ppt#:~:text=Electrical%20conductivity%20increases%20due%20t
o,to%20the%20huge%20surface%20energy.

https://www.academia.edu/12117984/Effect_of_Particle_Size_on_the_Electrical_Con
ductivity_of_Metallic_Particles
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https://www.academia.edu/12117984/Effect_of_Particle_Size_on_the_Electrical_Con
ductivity_of_Metallic_Particles

5. Synthesis

https://www.intechopen.com/books/engineered-nanomaterials-health-and-safety/pre
paration-of-nanoparticles

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-4802-4_2#:~:text=The%20diff
erent%20methods%20which%20are,and%20conventional%20Sol%2DGel%20met
hod.

6. Application:

https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1066

7. Future scope:

https://phys.org/news/2016-03-ways-nanotechnology-future.html#:~:text=In%20the
%20future%2C%20nanotechnology%20coatings,in%20any%20cracks%20that%2
0appear