CHAPTER I

Introduction to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Notechnology 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.
Nanotechnology is not just
a new field of science and
engineering, but a new
way of looking at and
studying . The ideas and
concepts behind
nanoscience and
Physicist Richard Feynman nanotechnology started
with a talk entitled
“There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” by physicist Richard Feynman at
an American Physical Society meeting at the California Institute of
Technology (CalTech) on December 29, 1959, long before the term
nanotechnology was used. In his talk, Feynman described a process in
which scientists would be able to manipulate and control individual
atoms and molecules. Over a decade later, in his explorations of
ultraprecision machining, Professor Norio Taniguchi coined the term
nanotechnology. It wasn't until 1981, with the development of the
scanning tunneling microscope that could "see" individual atoms, that
modern nanotechnology began1.

Although nanotechnology is a relatively recent development in scientific

research, the development of its central concepts happened over a longer
period of time. The emergence of nanotechnology in the 1980s was
caused by the convergence of experimental advances such as the
invention of the scanning tunneling microscope in 1981 and the

1
http://www.nano.gov
discovery of fullerenes in 1985, with the elucidation and popularization
of a conceptual framework for the goals of nanotechnology beginning
with the 1986 publication of the book Engines of Creation.
The scanning tunneling microscope, an instrument for imaging surfaces
at the atomic level, was developed in 1981 by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich
Rohrer at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, for which they received
the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. Fullerenes were discovered in 1985
by Harry Kroto, Richard Smalley, and Robert Curl, who together won the
1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry2.

Size of the Nanoscale

Just how small is “nano?” 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

• A single gold atom is about a third of a nanometer in diameter

• 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

The illustration below has three visual examples of the size and the scale
of nanotechnology, showing just how small things at the nanoscale
actually are.

2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology
Figure 1: The scale of the things
Manufacturing at the Nanoscale

Manufacturing at the nanoscale is known as nanomanufacturing.

Nanomanufacturing involves scaled-up, reliable, and cost-effective
manufacturing of nanoscale materials, structures, devices, and systems.
It also includes research, development, and integration of top-down
processes and increasingly complex bottom-up or self-assembly
processes.

Figure 2: A product of nanomanufacturing: A 16 gauge wire (above),

approximately 1.3 millimeters in diameter, made from carbon nanotubes
that were spun into thread. And the same wire on a 150 ply spool
(below.) Courtesy of Nanocomp.

In more simple terms, nanomanufacturing leads to the production of

improved materials and new products. As mentioned above, there are
two basic approaches to nanomanufacturing, either top-down or
bottom-up. Top-down fabrication reduces large pieces of materials all
the way down to the nanoscale, like someone carving a model airplane
out of a block of wood. This approach requires larger amounts of
materials and can lead to waste if excess material is discarded. The
bottom-up approach to nanomanufacturing creates products by building
them up from atomic- and molecular-scale components, which can be
time-consuming and called Molecular Nanotechnology “Molecular
nanotechnology is the capability to build or modify any material
object by adding or removing individual atoms under complete
external control” . Scientists are exploring the concept of placing
certain molecular-scale components together that will spontaneously
“self-assemble,” from the bottom up into ordered structures.

Within the top-down and bottom-up categories of nanomanufacturing,

there are a growing number of new processes that enable
nanomanufacturing. Among these are:

1. Chemical vapor deposition is a process in which chemicals

react to produce very pure, high-performance films

2. Molecular beam epitaxy is one method for depositing highly

controlled thin films

3. Atomic layer epitaxy is a process for depositing one-atom-

thick layers on a surface

4. Dip pen lithography is a process in which the tip of an atomic

force microscope is "dipped" into a chemical fluid and then
used to "write" on a surface, like an old fashioned ink pen onto
paper

5. Nanoimprint lithography is a process for creating nanoscale

features by "stamping" or "printing" them onto a surface

6. Roll-to-roll processing is a high-volume process to produce

nanoscale devices on a roll of ultrathin plastic or metal

7. Self-assembly describes the process in which a group of

components come together to form an ordered structure
without outside direction

Structures and properties of materials can be improved through these

nanomanufacturing processes. Such nanomaterials can be stronger,
lighter, more durable, water-repellent, anti-reflective, self-cleaning,
ultraviolet- or infrared-resistant, antifog, antimicrobial, scratch-resistant,
or electrically conductive, among other traits. Taking advantage of these
properties, today's nanotechnology-enabled products range from baseball
bats and tennis rackets to catalysts for refining crude oil and
ultrasensitive detection and identification of biological and chemical
toxins.
Scale at which Surface and Interface Play a Large Role in Materials
Properties and Interaction

Nanoscale materials have far larger surface areas than similar masses of
larger-scale materials. As surface area per mass of a material increases,
a greater amount of the material can come into contact with surrounding
materials, thus affecting reactivity.

A simple thought experiment shows why nanoparticles have

phenomenally high surface areas. A solid cube of a material 1 cm on a
side has 6 square centimeters of surface area, about equal to one side of
half a stick of gum. But if that volume of 1 cubic centimeter were filled
with cubes 1 mm on a side, that would be 1,000 millimeter-sized cubes
(10 x 10 x 10), each one of which has a surface area of 6 square
millimeters, for a total surface area of 60 square centimeters—about the
same as one side of two-thirds of a 3’’ x 5” note card. When the 1 cubic
centimeter is filled with micrometer-sized cubes—a trillion (1012) of them,
each with a surface area of 6 square micrometers—the total surface area
amounts to 6 square meters, or about the area of the main bathroom in
an average house. And when that single cubic centimeter of volume is
filled with 1-nanometer-sized cubes—1021 of them, each with an area of
6 square nanometers—their total surface area comes to 6,000 square
meters. In other words, a single cubic centimeter of cubic nanoparticles
has a total surface area one-third larger than a football field.
Figure 3: Illustration demonstrating the effect of the increased surface area provided
by nanostructured materials

One benefit of greater surface area—and improved reactivity—in

nanostructured materials is that they have helped create better catalysts.
As a result, catalysis by engineered nanostructured materials already
impacts about one-third of the huge U.S.—and global—catalyst markets,
affecting billions of dollars of revenue in the oil and chemical
industries. An everyday example of catalysis is the catalytic converter in
a car, which reduces the toxicity of the engine’s fumes. Nanoengineered
batteries, fuel cells, and catalysts can potentially use enhanced reactivity
at the nanoscale to produce cleaner, safer, and more affordable modes of
producing and storing energy.

Large surface area also makes nanostructured membranes and materials

ideal candidates for water treatment and desalination, among other uses.
It also helps support “functionalization” of nanoscale material surfaces
(adding particles for specific purposes), for applications ranging from
drug delivery to clothing insulation.
_____________________________
Nanotechnology Timeline

This timeline features Premodern example of nanotechnology, as well as

Modern Era discoveries and milestones in the field of nanotechnology.

Early examples of nanostructured materials were based on craftsmen’s

empirical understanding and manipulation of materials. Use of high heat
was one common step in their processes to produce these materials with
nel properties.

4thCentury: The
Lycurgus
Cup (Rome) is an
example
of dichroic glass;
colloidal gold and
silver in the glass
allow it to look
opaque green
when lit from
outside but
translucent red
when light shines
The Lycurgus Cup at the British Museum, lit from through the
the outside (left) and from the inside (right) inside. (Images at
left.)

9th-17thCenturies: Glowing,
glittering “luster” ceramic
glazes used in the Islamic
world, and later in Europe,
contained silver or copper or
other metallic nanoparticles.
(Image at right.)

Polychrome lustreware bowl, 9th C,

Iraq, British Museum (©Trinitat
Pradell 2008)
 6th-15th Centuries: Vibrant stained glass
windows in European cathedrals owed their
rich colors to nanoparticles of gold chloride and
other metal oxides and chlorides; gold
nanoparticles also acted as photocatalytic air
purifiers. (Image at left.)

The South rose window

of Notre Dame
Cathedral, ca 1250

13th-18th Centurties: “Damascus” saber blades contained carbon

nanotubes and cementite nanowires—an ultrahigh-carbon steel
formulation that gave them strength, resilience, the ability to hold a keen
edge, and a visible moiré pattern in the steel that give the blades their
name. (Images below)

(Left) A Damascus saber (photo by Tina Fineberg for The New York Times).
(Right) High-resolution transmission electron microscopy image of carbon
nanotubes in a genuine Damascus sabre after dissolution in hydrochloric acid,
showing remnants of cementite nanowires encapsulated by carbon nanotubes
(scale bar, 5 nm) (M. Reibold, P. Paufler, A. A. Levin, W. Kochmann, N. Pätzke &
D. C. Meyer, Nature 444, 286, 2006).
These are based on increasingly sophisticated scientific understanding
and instrumentation, as well as experimentation.

1857: Michael Faraday discovered colloidal

“ruby” gold, demonstrating that nanostructured
gold under certain lighting conditions produces
different-colored solutions.

1936: Erwin Müller, working at Siemens

Research Laboratory, invented the field
emission microscope, allowing near-atomic-
resolution images of materials.

"Ruby" gold colloid

(Gold Bulletin 2007 1947: John Bardeen, William Shockley, and
40,4, p. 267) Walter Brattain at Bell Labs discovered
thesemiconductor transistor and greatly
expanded scientific knowledge of semiconductor interfaces, laying the
foundation for electronic devices and the
Information Age.

1950: Victor La Mer and Robert Dinegar

developed the theory and a process for
growing monodisperse colloidal
materials. Controlled ability to fabricate
colloids enables myriad industrial uses
such as specialized papers, paints, and
thin films, even dialysis treatments.

1951: Erwin Müller pioneered the field 1947 transistor, Bell Labs
ion microscope, a means to image the
arrangement of atoms at the surface of a sharp metal tip; he first imaged
tungsten atoms.

1956: Arthur von Hippel at MIT introduced many concepts of—and

coined the term—“molecular engineering” as applied to dielectrics,
ferroelectrics, and piezoelectrics.
 1958: Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments
originated the concept of, designed, and built
the first integrated circuit, for which he
received the Nobel
Prize in 2000.
(Image at left.)

Jack Kilby, about 1960.

1959: Richard Feynman of the California

Institute of Technology gave what is
considered to be the first lecture on
technology and engineering at the atomic
scale, "There's Plenty of Room at the
Bottom" at an American Physical Society Richard Feynman (Caltech
meeting at Caltech. (Image at right.) archives)

1965: Intel co-founder Gordon

Moore described
in Electronics magazine several
trends he foresaw in the field
of electronics. One trend now
known as “Moore’s Law,”
described the density of
transistors on an integrated
chip (IC) doubling every 12
months (later amended to
every 2 years). Moore also saw
chip sizes and costs shrinking
with their growing
functionality—with a
transformational effect on the
ways people live and work.
That the basic trend Moore
envisioned has continued for
50 years is to a large extent
Moore's first public graph showning his due to the semiconductor
vision of the semiconductor industry industry’s increasing reliance
being able to "cram more components on nanotechnology as ICs and
onto integrated circuits" transistors have approached
atomic dimensions.
1974: Tokyo Science University Professor Norio Taniguchi coined the
term nanotechnology to describe precision machining of materials to
within atomic-scale dimensional tolerances. (See graph at left.)

1981: Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at IBM’s Zurich lab invented
the scanning tunneling microscope, allowing scientists to "see" (create
direct spatial images of) individual atoms for the first time. Binnig and
Rohrer won the Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1986.

1981: Russia’s Alexei Ekimov discovered nanocrystalline,

semiconducting quantum dots in a glass matrix and conducted
pioneering studies of their electronic and optical properties.

1985: Rice University researchers Harold Kroto,

Sean O’Brien, Robert Curl, and Richard Smalley
discovered the Buckminsterfullerene (C60), more
commonly known as the buckyball, which is a
molecule resembling a soccerball in shape and
composed entirely of carbon, as are graphite and
diamond. The team was awarded the 1996 Nobel
Prize in Chemistry for their roles in this discovery
and that of the fullerene class of molecules more
generally. (Artist's rendering at right.)

1985: Bell Labs’s Louis Brus discovered colloidal semiconductor

nanocrystals (quantum dots), for which he shared the 2008 Kavli Prize
in Nanotechnology.

1986: Gerd Binnig, Calvin Quate, and Christoph Gerber invented

the atomic force microscope, which has the capability to view,
measure, and manipulate materials down to fractions of a nanometer in
size, including measurement of various forces intrinsic to nanomaterials.
 1989: Don Eigler and Erhard Schweizer at IBM's Almaden Research
Center manipulated 35 individual xenon atoms to spell out the IBM
logo. This demonstration of the ability to precisely manipulate atoms
ushered in the applied use of nanotechnology. (Image at left.)

1990s: Early nanotechnology companies began to operate, e.g.,

Nanophase Technologies in 1989, Helix Energy Solutions Group in 1990,
Zyvex in 1997, Nano-Tex in 1998….

1991: Sumio Iijima of NEC is credited with discovering the carbon

nanotube (CNT), although there were early observations of tubular
carbon structures by others as well. Iijima shared the Kavli Prize in
Nanoscience in 2008 for this advance and other advances in the field.
CNTs, like buckyballs, are entirely composed of carbon, but in a tubular
shape. They exhibit extraordinary properties in terms of strength,
electrical and thermal conductivity, among others. (Image below.)

Carbon nanotubes (courtesy, National SEM micrograph of purified An array of aligned carbon
Science Foundation). The properties of nanotube "paper" in which nanotubes, which can act
CNTs are being explored for the nanotubes are the like a radio antenna for
applications in electronics, photonics, fibers (scale bar, 0.001 detecting light at visible
multifunctional fabrics, biology (e.g., mm) (courtesy, NASA). wave- lengths (scale bar
as a scaffold to grow bone cells), and 0.001 mm) (courtesy, K.
communications. See a Kempa, Boston College).
2009 Discovery Magazinearticle for
other examples

1992: C.T. Kresge and colleagues at Mobil Oil discovered

the nanostructured catalytic materials MCM-41 and MCM-48, now
used heavily in refining crude oil as well as for drug delivery, water
treatment, and other varied applications.
MCM-41 is a "mesoporous molecular sieve" silica This TEM image of MCM-41 looks at the
nanomaterial with a hexagonal or "honeycomb" straight cylindrical pores as they lie
arrangement of its straight cylindrical pores, as shown perpendicular to the viewing axis (courtesy of
in this TEM image (courtesy of Thomas Pauly, Michigan Thomas Pauly, Michigan State University).
State University).

1993: Moungi Bawendi of MIT invented a method for controlled

synthesis of nanocrystals (quantum dots), paving the way for
applications ranging from computing to biology to high-efficiency
photovoltaics and lighting. Within the next several years, work by other
researchers such as Louis Brus and Chris Murray also contributed
methods for synthesizing quantum dots.

1998: The Interagency Working Group on Nanotechnology (IWGN) was

formed under the National Science and Technology Council to investigate
the state of the art in nanoscale science and technology and to forecast
possible future developments. The IWGN’s study and
report, Nanotechnology Research Directions: Vision for the Next
Decade (1999) defined the vision for and led directly to formation of the
U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative in 2000.
 1999: Cornell
University researchers
Wilson Ho and Hyojune
Lee probed secrets of
chemical bonding
by assembling a
molecule [iron
carbonyl Fe(CO)2] from
constituent
components [iron (Fe)
and carbon monoxide
(CO)] with a scanning
tunneling microscope.
(Image at left.)

1999: Chad Mirkin at

Northwestern
University
invented dip-pen
nanolithography®
The progression of steps of using a scanning (DPN®), leading to
tunneling microscope tip to "assemble" an iron manufacturable,
reproducible “writing”
carbonyl molecule, beginning with Fe (iron) and
of electronic circuits as
CO (carbon monoxide) molecules (A), joining well as patterning of
them to produce FeCO (B), then adding a second biomaterials for cell
CO molecule (C), to achieve the FECO2 molecule biology research,
(D). (H.J. Lee, W. Ho, Science 286, 1719 [1999].) nanoencryption, and
other applications.
(Image below right.)

Use of DPN to deposit biomaterials

©2010 Nanoink
1999–early 2000’s: Consumer products making use of nanotechnology
began appearing in the marketplace, including lightweight
nanotechnology-enabled automobile bumpers that resist denting and
scratching, golf balls that fly straighter, tennis rackets that are stiffer
(therefore, the ball rebounds faster), baseball bats with better flex and
"kick," nano-silver antibacterial socks, clear sunscreens, wrinkle- and
stain-resistant clothing, deep-penetrating therapeutic cosmetics, scratch-
resistant glass coatings, faster-recharging batteries for cordless electric
tools, and improved displays for televisions, cell phones, and digital
cameras.

Nanotechnology socks contain nanoparticles of silver. These particles

help kill the bacteria that makes our feet smell. Many people with smelly
feet will benefit from this technology.

2000: President Clinton launched the National Nanotechnology Initiative

(NNI) to coordinate Federal R&D efforts and promote U.S.
competitiveness in nanotechnology. Congress funded the NNI for the first
time in FY2001. The NSET Subcommittee of the NSTC was designated as
the interagency group responsible for coordinating the NNI.
2003: Congress enacted the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and
Development Act (P.L. 108-153). The act provided a statutory foundation
for the NNI, established programs, assigned agency responsibilities,
authorized funding levels, and promoted research to address key issues.

2003: Naomi Halas, Jennifer West,

Rebekah Drezek, and Renata
Pasqualin at Rice University
developed gold nanoshells, which
Computer simulation of growth of when “tuned” in size to absorb
near-infrared light, serve as a
gold nanoshell with silica core and
platform for the integrated
over-layer of gold (courtesy N. discovery, diagnosis, and
Halas,Genome News Network, 2003) treatment of breast cancer without
invasive biopsies, surgery, or systemically destructive radiation or
chemotherapy.2004: The European Commission adopted the
Communication “Towards a European Strategy for Nanotechnology,”
COM(2004) 338, which proposed institutionalizing European
nanoscience and nanotechnology R&D efforts within an integrated and
responsible strategy, and which spurred European action plans and
ongoing funding for nanotechnology R&D. (Image at left.)
2004: Britain’s Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering
published Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies: Opportunities and
Uncertainties advocating the need to address potential health,
environmental, social, ethical, and regulatory issues associated with
nanotechnology.
2004: SUNY Albany launched the first college-level education program
in nanotechnology in the United States, the College of Nanoscale
Science and Engineering.
2005: Erik Winfree and Paul Rothemund from the California Institute of
Technology developed theories for DNA-based computation and
“algorithmic self-assembly” in which computations are embedded in the
process of nanocrystal growth.
 2006: James Tour and colleagues at
Rice University built a nanoscale
carmade of oligo(phenylene
ethynylene) with alkynyl axles and
four spherical C60 fullerene
(buckyball) wheels. In response to
increases in temperature, the
nanocar moved about on a gold
surface as a result of the buckyball
wheels turning, as in a conventional
Nanocar with turning buckyball car. At temperatures above 300°C it
wheels (credit:RSC, 29 March moved around too fast for the
chemists to keep track of it! (Image
2006).
at left.)

2007: Angela Belcher and colleagues at MIT built a lithium-ion battery

with a common type of virus that is nonharmful to humans, using a
low-cost and environmentally benign process. The batteries have the
same energy capacity and power performance as state-of-the-art
rechargeable batteries being considered to power plug-in hybrid cars,
and they could also be used to power personal electronic devices. (Image
at right.)

After more than 20 years of basic nanoscience research and 10 years of

focused R&D under the NNI, applications of nanotechnology are
delivering in both expected and unexpected ways on nanotechnology’s
promise to benefit society.

Nanotechnology is helping to considerably improve, even revolutionize,

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

Most benefits of nanotechnology depend on the fact that it is possible to

tailor the essential structures of materials at the nanoscale to achieve
specific properties, thus greatly extending the well-used toolkits of
materials science. Using nanotechnology, materials can effectively be
made to be stronger, lighter, more durable, more reactive, more sieve-
like, or better electrical conductors, among many other traits. There
already exist over 800 everyday commercial products that rely on
nanoscale materials and processes:
• Nanoscale additives in polymer composite materials for baseball
bats, tennis rackets, motorcycle helmets, automobile bumpers,
luggage, and power tool housings can make them simultaneously
lightweight, stiff, durable, and resilient.

• Nanoscale additives to or surface treatments of fabrics help them

resist wrinkling, staining, and bacterial growth, and provide
lightweight ballistic energy deflection in personal body armor.

• Nanoscale thin films on eyeglasses, computer and camera displays,

windows, and other surfaces can make them water-repellent,
antireflective, self-cleaning, resistant to ultraviolet or infrared light,
antifog, antimicrobial, scratch-resistant, or electrically conductive.

• Nanoscale materials in cosmetic products provide greater clarity or

coverage; cleansing; absorption; personalization; and antioxidant,
anti-microbial, and other health properties in sunscreens, cleansers,
complexion treatments, creams and lotions, shampoos, and
specialized makeup.

• Nano-engineered materials in the food industry include

nanocomposites in food containers to minimize carbon dioxide
leakage out of carbonated beverages, or reduce oxygen inflow,
moisture outflow, or the growth of bacteria in order to keep food
fresher and safer, longer. Nanosensors built into plastic packaging
can warn against spoiled food. Nanosensors are being developed to
detect salmonella, pesticides, and other contaminates on food before
packaging and distribution.
 High-resolution image of a polymer-silicate
nanocomposite. This material has
improved thermal, mechanical, and barrier
properties and can be used in food and
beverage containers, fuel storage tanks for
aircraft and automobiles, and in aerospace
components. (Image courtesy of NASA.)

• Nano-engineered materials in automotive products include high-

power rechargeable battery systems; thermoelectric materials for
temperature control; lower-rolling-resistance tires; high-
efficiency/low-cost sensors and electronics; thin-film smart solar
panels; and fuel additives and improved catalytic converters for
cleaner exhaust and extended range.

• Nano-engineered materials make superior household products

such as degreasers and stain removers; environmental sensors, alert
systems, air purifiers and filters; antibacterial cleansers; and
specialized paints and sealing products.

• Nanostructured ceramic coatings exhibit much greater toughness

than conventional wear-resistant coatings for machine parts. In 2000,
the U.S. Navy qualified such a coating for use on gears of air-
conditioning units for its ships, saving $20 million in maintenance
costs over 10 years. Such coatings can extend the lifetimes of moving
parts in everything from power tools to industrial machinery.
• Nanoparticles are used increasingly in catalysis to boost chemical
reactions. This reduces the quantity of catalytic materials necessary
to produce desired results, saving money and reducing pollutants.
Two big applications are in petroleum refining and in automotive
catalytic converters.

Nanotechnology is already in use in many computing, communications,

and other electronics applications to provide faster, smaller, and more
portable systems that can manage and store larger and larger amounts
of information. These continuously evolving applications include:

• Nanoscale transistors that are faster, more powerful, and

increasingly energy-efficient; soon your computer’s entire memory
may be stored on a single tiny chip.

• Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) enabled by

nanometer‐scale magnetic tunnel junctions that can quickly and
effectively save even encrypted data during a system shutdown or
crash, enable resume‐play features, and gather vehicle accident
data.

• Displays for many new TVs, laptop computers, cell phones, digital
cameras, and other devices incorporate nanostructured polymer films
known as organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. OLED screens offer
brighter images in a flat format, as well as wider viewing angles,
lighter weight, better picture density, lower power consumption, and
longer lifetimes.

• Other computing and electronic products include Flash memory

chips for iPod nanos; ultraresponsive hearing aids;
antimicrobial/antibacterial coatings on mouse/keyboard/cell phone
casings; conductive inks for printed electronics for RFID/smart
cards/smart packaging; more life-like video games; and flexible
displays for e-book readers.

The difficulty of meeting the world’s energy demand is compounded by

the growing need to protect our environment. Many scientists are looking
into ways to develop clean, affordable, and renewable energy sources,
along with means to reduce energy consumption and lessen toxicity
burdens on the environment.

• Prototype solar panels incorporating nanotechnology are more

efficient than standard designs in converting sunlight to electricity,
promising inexpensive solar power in the future. Nanostructured solar
cells already are cheaper to manufacture and easier to install, since
 they can use print-like manufacturing processes and can be made in
flexible rolls rather than discrete panels.

New solar panel films incorporate nanoparticles to create

lightwieght, flexible solar cells. (Image courtesy of
Nanosys

• Nanotechnology is improving the efficiency of fuel production from

normal and low-grade raw petroleum materials through better
catalysis, as well as fuel consumption efficiency in vehicles and power
plants through higher-efficiency combustion and decreased friction.

• Nano-bioengineering of enzymes is aiming to enable conversion of

cellulose into ethanol for fuel, from wood chips, corn stalks (not just
the kernels, as today), unfertilized perennial grasses, etc.

• Nanotechnology is already being used in numerous new kinds of

batteries that are less flammable, quicker-charging, more efficient,
lighter weight, and that have a higher power density and hold
electrical charge longer. One new lithium-ion battery type uses a
common, nontoxic virus in an environmentally benign production
process.
• Nanostructured materials are being pursued to greatly improve
hydrogen membrane and storage materials and the catalysts needed
to realize fuel cells for alternative transportation technologies at
reduced cost. Researchers are also working to develop a safe,
lightweight hydrogen fuel tank.

• Various nanoscience-based options are being pursued to convert

waste heat in computers, automobiles, homes, power plants, etc., to
usable electrical power.

• 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.

• Researchers are developing wires containing carbon nanotubes to

have much lower resistance than the high-tension wires currently
used in the electric grid and thus reduce transmission power loss.

• To power mobile electronic devices, researchers are developing

thin-film solar electric panels that can be fitted onto computer cases
and flexible piezoelectric nanowires woven into clothing to generate
usable energy on-the-go from light, friction, and/or body heat.

• Energy efficiency products are increasing in number and kinds of

application. In addition to those noted above, they include more
efficient lighting systems for vastly reduced energy consumption for
illumination; lighter and stronger vehicle chassis materials for the
transportation sector; lower energy consumption in advanced
electronics; low-friction nano-engineered lubricants for all kinds of
higher-efficiency machine gears, pumps, and fans; light-responsive
smart coatings for glass to complement alternative heating/cooling
schemes; and high-light-intensity, fast-recharging lanterns for
emergency crews.

• Nanotechnology could help meet the need for affordable, clean

drinking water through rapid, low-cost detection of impurities in and
filtration and purification of water. For example, researchers have
discovered unexpected magnetic interactions between ultrasmall
specks of rust, which can help remove arsenic or carbon tetrachloride
from water (see image); they are developing nanostructured filters that
can remove virus cells from water; and they are investigating a
deionization method using nano-sized fiber electrodes to reduce the
cost and energy requirements of removing salts from water.
 • Nanoparticles will someday
be used to clean industrial
water pollutants in ground
water through chemical
reactions that render them
harmless, at much lower cost
than methods that require
pumping the water out of the
ground for treatment.

• Researchers have
developed a nanofabric "paper
Nanorust cleans arsenic from drinking
towel," woven from tiny wires
water. of potassium manganese
(Image courtesy of Rice University) oxide, that can absorb 20
times its weight in oil for
cleanup applications.

• Many airplane cabin and other types of air filters are

nanotechnology-based filters that allow “mechanical filtration,” in
which the fiber material creates nanoscale pores that trap particles
larger than the size of the pores. They also may contain charcoal
layers that remove odors. Almost 80% of the cars sold in the U.S.
include built-in nanotechnology-based filters.

• New nanotechnology-enabled sensors and solutions may one day

be able to detect, identify, and filter out, and/or neutralize harmful
chemical or biological agents in the air and soil with much higher
sensitivity than is possible today. Researchers around the world are
investigating carbon nanotube “scrubbers,” and membranes to
separate carbon dioxide from power plant exhaust. And researchers
are investigating particles such as self-assembled monolayers on
mesoporous supports (SAMMS™), dendrimers, carbon nanotubes,
and metalloporphyrinogens to determine how to apply their unique
chemical and physical properties for various kinds of toxic site
remediation.

Nanotechnology has the real potential to revolutionize a wide array of

medical and biotechnology tools and procedures so that they are more
personalized, portable, cheaper, safer, and easier to administer. Below
are some examples of important advances in these areas.

• Quantum dots are semiconducting nanocrystals that can enhance

biological imaging for medical diagnostics. When illuminated with
ultraviolet light, they emit a wide spectrum of bright colors that can
be used to locate and identify specific kinds of cells and biological
 activities. These crystals offer optical detection up to 1,000 times
better than conventional dyes used in many biological tests, such as
MRIs, and render significantly more information.

• Nanotechnology has been used in the early diagnosis of

atherosclerosis, or the buildup of plaque in arteries. Researchers have
developed an imaging technology to measure the amount of an
antibody-nanoparticle complex that accumulates specifically in
plaque. Clinical scientists are able to monitor the development of
plaque as well as its disappearance following treatment (see image).

Before (left) and after (right) picture of atherosclerotic placque in a mouse artery. Placqu
accumulation is shown in this image by the increasing intensity of color, from blue
yellow and red. (Image courtesy of M. Nahrendorf, MGH Center for Systems Biolog
Harvard Medical School)

• Gold nanoparticles can be used to detect early-stage Alzheimer’s

disease.

• Molecular imaging for the early detection where sensitive

biosensors constructed of nanoscale components (e.g.,
nanocantilevers, nanowires, and nanochannels) can recognize genetic
and molecular events and have reporting capabilities, thereby offering
the potential to detect rare molecular signals associated with
malignancy.
• Multifunctional therapeutics where a nanoparticle serves as a
platform to facilitate its specific targeting to cancer cells and delivery
of a potent treatment, minimizing the risk to normal tissues.

• Research enablers such as microfluidic chip-based nanolabs

capable of monitoring and manipulating individual cells and
nanoscale probes to track the movements of cells and individual
molecules as they move about in their environments.

• Research is underway to use nanotechnology to spur the growth of

nerve cells, e.g., in damaged spinal cord or brain cells. In one method,
a nanostuctured gel fills the space between existing cells and
encourages new cells to grow. There is early work on this in the
optical nerves of hamsters. Another method is exploring use of
nanofibers to regenerate damaged spinal nerves in mice.

In addition to contributing to building and maintaining lighter, smarter,

more efficient, and “greener” vehicles, aircraft, and ships,
nanotechnology offers various means to improve the transportation
infrastructure:

• Nano-engineering of steel, concrete, asphalt, and other

cementitious materials, and their recycled forms, offers great promise
in terms of improving the performance, resiliency, and longevity of
highway and transportation infrastructure components while
reducing their cost. New systems may incorporate innovative
capabilities into traditional infrastructure materials, such as the
ability to generate or transmit energy.

• Nanoscale sensors and devices may provide cost-effective

continuous structural monitoring of the condition and performance of
bridges, tunnels, rails, parking structures, and pavements over time.
Nanoscale sensors and devices may also support an enhanced
transportation infrastructure that can communicate with vehicle-
based systems to help drivers maintain lane position, avoid collisions,
adjust travel routes to circumnavigate congestion, and other such
activities.
Future sensor systems will be able to use multiple physical
phenomena to sense many analytes simultaneously for a variety of
applications, some of which are noted above. Illustrated here are
(left to right) an optical tranducer, which measures light; an
electro/chemical tranducer, which measures electrical properties;
a magnetic tranducer, which measures changes to the local
magnetic field; and a mechanical transducer, which detects
changes in motion. (Image by N.R. Fuller, Sayo-Art.)