Nanotechnology: An Introduction to Synthesis Properties and Applications of Nanomaterials

Nanotechnology is the design, fabrication and application of nanostructures or nanomaterials, and fundamental understanding of the relationships between physical properties and material dimensions. Nanostructured inorganic, organic, and biological materials may have existed in nature since the evolution of life started on Earth. Nanotechnology deals with materials or structures in nanometer scales, typically ranging from 1–100 nm. Size reduction can lead to a whole range of new physico-chemical properties and thus offer a wealth of potential applications. However, access to these nanostructured entities requires the development of suitable methods for their elaboration. Nanotechnology has become a very active and vital research topic which is rapidly developing in industrial sectors and spreading to almost every field of science and engineering. Several major research and development programs on nanostructured materials and nanotechnology have been launched by governments worldwide. This field of research has become an area of great scientific and commercial interest because of its rapid expansion to academic institutes, laboratories and industries. The book summarizes briefly the fundamentals and established techniques of synthesis, processing, characterization, properties and potential applications of nanomaterials so as to provide the readers a systematic and coherent picture about nanotechnology. It is divided into seven illuminating chapters; viz. Introduction; Nanomaterials; Properties and Scaling Laws; Synthesis of Nanomaterials; Tools of Nanomaterials; Carbon Nanostructures; and Applications of Nanomaterials. It will serve as a general introduction to people just entering the field of nanotechnology and is well suited as a textbook for students of any science discipline and engineering, research scientists and others working in this area.