INTRODUCTION TO

NANOTECHNOLOGY
What is Nano?
Nano is a prefix meaning "extremely small." When
quantifiable, it translates to one-billionth, as in
the nanosecond. Nano comes from the Greek word
"nanos," meaning "dwarf."

Nano- (symbol n) is a unit prefix meaning "one billionth".

Used primarily with the metric system, this prefix
denotes a factor of 10−9 or 0.000000001.

• 1/1000 meter = 10-3 meter = 1 mm (millimeter)

• 1/1000 millimeter = 10-6 meter = 1 μ (micron)

• 1/1000 micron = 10-9 meter = 1 nm (nanometer)

 How and When did Nanotechnology start ?

The concept of nanotechnology is attributed to Nobel Prize winner

Richard Feynman who gave a very famous, visionary speech in 1959
(published in 1960) during one of his lectures, saying "The principles of
physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of
maneuvering things atom by atom".

“There is plenty of room at the bottom”

The Japanese scientist called Norio Taniguchi of Tokyo
University of Science was first to use the term "nano-
technology" in a 1974 conference, to describe semiconductor
processes such as thin film deposition and ion beam milling
exhibiting characteristic control on the order of a nanometer.

His definition was, "'Nano-technology' mainly consists of the

processing of, separation, consolidation, and deformation of
materials by one atom or one molecule.“

However, the term was not used again until 1981 when Eric
Drexler, who was unaware of Taniguchi's prior use of the
term, published his first paper on nanotechnology in 1981.
Few historical examples

Metal colloids (metal nanoparticles dispersed in a medium) are

the best example of nanotechnology throughout ancient,
medieval and modern times.

Metal nanoparticles possess optical properties (i.e., different

colours) that are related to surface plasmons. The size and
shape of the metal nanoparticles influence their visible colours!

There are numerous artefacts that have notable colour effects

precisely because they are made with metal colloids.
One of the most fascinating is a piece of Roman glasswork, the Lycurgus cup,
dating from the fifth century. This magnificent cup, housed at the British
Museum, depicts King Lycurgus dragged into the underworld by Ambrosia.

When illuminated from the outside, the cup appears green. When illuminated
from the inside, the cup appears ruby red except for the King, who looks purple.

The reason for this dichroism was unknown until detailed SEM analysis of the
cup was performed in 1990. It was found that it was due to the presence of
nanosized particles of silver (66.2%), gold (31.2%) and copper (2.6%), that were
embedded in the glass. Light absorption and scattering by these nanoparticles
determines the different colours.
The beautiful stained glass windows
produced in medieval times, and visible in
numerous churches, are made of a composite
of glass and nano-sized metal particles.

The "ruby-red" glasses often seen are a

mixture of glass with ultrafine (nanosized)
gold powder. The "purple of Cassius" is a
colloidal mixture of gold nanoparticles and
tin dioxide in glass.
The "core" of ICs is the transistor — every chip is made of numerous
transistors.

Just to give an idea, in 1965, 30 transistors populated a chip; in 1971, 2,000

populated it, and today there are about....40 million!

This exponential growth was actually predicted in 1965 by Gordon E. Moore

(one of the founders of Intel).

Moore predicted that the

"complexity of integrated chips"
would double every 18 months.

At the time he was a

visionary...but indeed Moore's
law proved to be right. The data
density of computer chips has
increased in the last years at the
predicted pace, doubling every
18 months.
For the Damascus sword, Indians produced the raw material - mined iron
ore and exported it.

Damascus swords were known to be extremely hard and flexible to the hilt
and able to cleave a free-falling silk scarf or a block of wood with the same
ease.

The Damascus sword when subjected to scrutiny by an electron microscope

in 2006 had shown to contain large amounts of nanotubes.

The earliest evidence of the use

and applications of
nanotechnology can be traced
back to carbon nanotubes,
cementite nanowires found in
the microstructure of wootz
steel manufactured in ancient
India from the time period of
600 BC and exported globally.
A corrosion resistant azure pigment known as Maya Blue, first
produced in AD800, was discovered in the pre-columbian Mayan
city of Chichen Itza.

It is complex material containing clay with nanopores into which

indigo dye was combined chemically to create an environmentally-
stable pigment.
For the longest time silver beaten into thin sheets has
been used on our sweet meats and on pan (betel leaf
with various admixture inside).
Pottery from across the Renaissance Mediterranean world was
often decorated with an iridescent metallic glaze called lustre, the
colour and sheen of which is a down to nanoparticles of copper or
silver.
Importance of Nanotechnology
Nanomaterials Classification
Nanomaterials can be classified primarily into two types:

• Natural ones

• Artificial ones
 Natural nanomaterials: These include nanomaterials that
exist in biological systems; eg: viruses (capsid), substances in
our bone matrix, etc.

• The structure of foraminifera and viruses (protein, capsid)

• the wax crystals covering a lotus leaf
• spider and spider-mite silk
• the blue hue of tarantulas
• some butterfly wing scales,
• natural colloids (milk, blood),
• horny materials (skin, claws, beaks, feathers, horns etc.)
• cotton, nacre, corals, and even our own bone matrix are all natural organic
nanomaterials.
Natural inorganic nanomaterials occur through crystal growth in the
diverse chemical conditions of the Earth's crust.

Natural sources of nanoparticles include combustion products forest

fires, volcanic ash, ocean spray, and the radioactive decay of radon gas
 Artificial nanomaterials: These are the ones that are
fabricated by different experiments. They can further sub-
divided into 4 classes:

Carbon Based Materials

These nanomaterials are
composed mostly of
carbon, most commonly
taking the form of a
hollow spheres, ellipsoids,
or tubes. Spherical and
ellipsoidal carbon
nanomaterials are referred
to as fullerenes, while
cylindrical ones are called
nanotubes (carbon
nanotubes (CNTs)).
 Metal Based Materials

These nanomaterials include

quantum dots, nanogold, nanosilver
and metal oxides, such as titanium
dioxide. A quantum dot is a closely
packed semiconductor crystal
comprised of hundreds or
thousands of atoms, and whose size
is on the order of a few nanometers
to a few hundred nanometers.
Changing the size 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 can 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 could be placed,
they may be useful for drug delivery.
Composites

Composites combine nanoparticles with other nanoparticles or with

larger, bulk-type materials. The composites may be any combination of
metal based, carbon based or polymer based nanomaterials with any form
of metal, ceramic, or polymer bulk materials!

Nanoparticles, such as nanosized clays, are already being added to

products ranging from auto parts to packaging materials, to enhance
mechanical, thermal, barrier, and flame-retardant properties.
 Applications
of Nanotechnology
Energy
• Solar Cells
• Fuel Cells
• Batteries
• Bio Fuels
An epoxy containing carbon nanotubes is being used to make stronger
and lower-weight windmill blades. The resulting longer blades increase
the amount of electricity generated by each windmill.

Researchers have developed piezoelectric nanofibers that are flexible

enough to be woven into clothing.
When piezoelectric material is compressed or expanded, it generates an
electrical current. The fibers can turn normal motion into electricity to
power a cell phone and other mobile electronic devices.
Bio-Medical
• Drug Delivery
• Disease Detection
• Bio-Sensors
• DNA Sequencing
• Imaging

Lab on chip
 Quantum dot beads

Cancer cells

Healthy cells

Cancer cells Quantum dot beads

Healthy cells
 Nanoshells
Nanoshells

Cancer Cancer cells

cells

Healthy cells Healthy cells

Near-infrared light

Dead cancer cells

Intact healthy cells

Energy Storage
Current research show that using nanotechnology,
1000GB of memory can fit o the head of a pin.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have great potential as the basis for memory
chips. their small size and unique dimensionality allows for interactions
between their electrical and mechanical properties which can be used to
design fast, dense, and non-volatile data storage devices.

Quantum Dot RAM uses 3nm-wide spots of semiconduictor

material, called quantum dots, embedded in a layer of
insulating material and covered with a metal film.

This structure forms an array of transistors, which are used

to store data by changing the state of each quantum dot
using a millisecond laser pulse.
Nano Sensors

Nano Electronics
Lasers and optical applications
Consumer Goods
• Household and cosmetics
− Self-cleaning and scratch free products, paints, and better cosmetics

• Appliances and textiles

−Stain proof, water proof and wrinkle free textiles

• Foods and beverages

−Advanced packaging materials, sensors, and lab-on-chips for food quality testing
 Industrial Applications
SGG NANO is a high performance coated glass with advanced energy
efficient solar control and thermal insulation properties.

Altuglas® ShieldUp is a range of nanostructured

acrylic glass sheets combining strength,
transparency and lightness.

Building Materials

Concrete

X-SEED 100 is an engineered suspension of crystal seeds containing

nanoparticles, designed to boost the hydration process of early age cement (6-
12 hrs)

SHS 8000 increases the lifetime of boiler components over leading

industry standard coatings in elevated temperature environments
Environment
Water Filtration

Waste Water Treatment

Textiles

Garments

Protective coatings

Wrinkle free shirts

Cloaking devices

Stink free clothes

And many mnay more

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