MODULE 13

THE NANO WORLD

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, the learner should be able to:

• Define nanoscience clearly.
• Discuss the contributions of persons to this subject.
• Appreciate the uses of nano science and nano technology.

INTRODUCTION

Nanoworld of science and technology is of great interest to governments, industries and academia.
The prefix “nano” denotes sizes of the order of one billionth of a meter. “Nanostructure science
and technology is a broad and interdisciplinary area of research and development activity that has
been growing explosively worldwide in the past few years. It has the potential for revolutionizing
the way in which materials and products are created and the range and nature of functionalities
that can be accessed” (Siegel, 1999).

The history of nanotechnology traces the development of the concepts and experimental work
falling under the broad category of nanotechnology. 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 discovery of fullerenes in 1985, with the elucidation and popularization
of a conceptual framework for the goals of nanotechnology.

DEFINING THE TERMS

The two terms often used in the literature with reference to the world of nano materials are
nanoscience and nanotechnology. Nano materials denote divided matter.” As Rao (1999) said, “if
you take a piece of solid matter (say a metal) containing an Avogardro number of atoms and go
on dividing it to smaller bits, you will ultimately end up with an atom of the substance Before that,
you will reach a stage of very tiny particles containing 100 to 10,000 atoms. Such particles with
diameters of (1-50nm) (10-500) Ao are referred to as nanoparticles.

Nanomaterials: exhibit properties entirely different from bulk materials and constitute materials of
the future. Increased surface area and quantum effects are the two key factors that separate
nanomaterials from bulk materials (The Royal Society and The Royal Academy of Engineering,
2004). A substance of size 3 nm has 50% of its atoms on the surface compared to a substance of
size 30 nm with 5% of its atoms on its surface. As size decreases more quantum effects begin to
manifest in the form of electrical, magnetic and optical properties.

Nanoscience refers to the scientific study of materials of nanometer size, e one billionth of a meter
(The Royal Society, 1994). It is a combination of developments in solid state chemistry, synthetic
chemistry, molecular biology, solid state physics and engineering, and scanning tunneling
microscopy. According to Alfred Nordmann (cited in Schummer, 2003), it is a site-oriented
technoscience approach that differs both from classical theory-driven and problem-driven (p. 2).
For example, nanosized indium melts at much lower temperature than respective bulk metal
(Allen, 2002). Copper in extremely thin layers, in the presence of magnetic field, becomes a poor
conductor of electricity (Loder, 2005).

Nanotechnology refers to various technologies to produce materials of extra high precision and
dimensions on the scale of one-billionth of a meter. (Norio Taniguchi of Tokyo Science University
is credited with coining the term "nanotechnology in 1974). Nanotechnology "implies the ability to
generate and utilize structures, components, and devices with a size range from about 0.1 nm
(atomic and molecular scale) to about 100nm (or larger in some situations) by control at atomic
molecular, and macromolecular levels (Roco, 1999) One of the most interesting aspects of
nanotechnology is building molecule-by-molecule materials similar to those produced by biological
self-assembly, self-organization and selfregulation (Carraher, Jr. 1994).

WHAT IS NANO WORLD?

To understand the nano world here are presented important personages who have contributed to
the growth and study of the Nano World.

The retroactive rediscovery of Feynman's "Plenty of Room" gave nanotechnology a packaged

history that provided an early date of December 1959, plus a connection to the charisma and
genius of Richard Feynman. Feynman's stature as a Nobel laureate and as an iconic figure in 20
century science surely helped advocates of nanotechnology and provided a valuable intellectual
link to the past.

Erick Drexler
His paper on the Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery Manufacturing and Computation, received
the Association of American Publishers award for Best Computer Science Book of 1992. Drexler
founded the Foresight Institute in 1986 with the mission of Preparing for nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology and nanoscience got a boost in the early 1980s with two major developments:
the birth of cluster science and the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). These
developments led to the discovery of fullerenes in 1985 and the structural assignment of carbon
nanotubes a few years later.

Gerd Binnig & Heinrich Rohrer

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 were awarded the Nobel
Prize in Physics in 1986. [18][19] Binnig, Calvin Quate and Christoph Gerber invented the first
atomic force microscope in 1986. The first commercially available atomic force microscope was
introduced in 1989.

IBM researcher Don Eigler was the first to manipulate atoms using a scanning tunneling
microscope in 1989. He used 35 Xenon atoms to spell out the IBM logo. He shared the 2010 Kavli
Prize in Nanoscience for this work.

Initial commercial applications

The early 2000s saw the beginnings of the use of nanotechnology in commercial products,
although most applications are limited to the buk use of passive nanomaterials. Examples include
titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles in sunscreen, cosmetics and some food products,
silver nanoparticles in food packaging, clothing, disinfectants and household appliances such as
Silver Nano; carbon nanotubes for stain-resistant textiles; and cerium oxide as a fuel catalyst [51]
As of March 10, 2011, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies estimated that over 1300
manufacturer-identified nanotech products are publicly available, with new ones hitting the market
at a pace of 3-4 per week.

discovery of fullerenes in 1985 and the structural assignment of carbon nanotubes a few years
later.

Gerd Binnig & Heinrich Rohrer

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 were awarded the Nobel
Prize in Physics in 1986. [18][19] Binnig, Calvin Quate and Christoph Gerber invented the first
atomic force microscope in 1986. The first commercially available atomic force microscope was
introduced in 1989.

IBM researcher Don Eigler was the first to manipulate atoms using a scanning tunneling
microscope in 1989. He used 35 Xenon atoms to spell out the IBM logo. He shared the 2010 Kavli
Prize in Nanoscience for this work.

Initial commercial applications

The early 2000s saw the beginnings of the use of nanotechnology in commercial products,
although most applications are limited to the buk use of passive nanomaterials. Examples include
titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles in sunscreen, cosmetics and some food products,
silver nanoparticles in food packaging, clothing, disinfectants and household appliances such as
Silver Nano; carbon nanotubes for stain-resistant textiles; and cerium oxide as a fuel catalyst [51]
As of March 10, 2011, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies estimated that over 1300
manufacturer-identified nanotech products are publicly available, with new ones hitting the market
at a pace of 3-4 per week.