Module 3

Nanophysics

Dr. SANJIB NAYAK

Assistant Professor, (VIT Bhopal)

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 Atoms, Molecules and Solids
Atom: It is the basic unit of matter. Molecules: It is a group of atoms, electrically
neutral, held together via a chemical bond.

When molecules are arranged in a regular repeating

patterns and held together firmly it results in a SOLID
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States of Matter

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 Types of Solids

Solids

Crystalline Amorphous
Solids Solids

Lack of long range order in their

Highly order and repeating three atomic structure and have a
dimensional atomic structure disordered arrangements of atoms

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 Crystalline and Amorphous Solids
Crystalline Solids Amorphous Solids
They have geometrical shape and They do not have a definite geometrical
geometrical form shape
They have a sharp definite melting point They melt over a wide range of
temperatures
They are rigid and incompressible They too are rigid and cannot be
compressed to any appreciable extent.
However graphite is soft because of its
unusual structure.
They have definite heat of fusion. They do not have a definite heat of fusion.

They can be break into pieces with plane They break into irregular pieces.
surface.

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 What is Nano ???
Science & Technology
BIG IDEAS COME FROM SMALL THINGS

Asking Mr. Ratan Tata ??? Asking Apple???

Nano is car which I introduce Nano is the product of ipod
in industry. for entertainment

Asking a
scientist???
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 Talk given to the American
Physical Society 1959.

How small we are talking

Understanding the size ??? about??

How small a nanometer ??

1 nanometer (nm) = 10-9 m

1 billionth of a meter
1/80000 times of a hair diameter
1/5000 times of red blood cell
A DNA molecule is 2.5 nm wide
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 What is nanoscale science ???
The study of objects and phenomena at a very small scale, roughly 1 to 100 nm.
- 10 hydrogen atoms line up ~ 1 nm
- A grain of sand is 1 million nm, or 1 mm wide

An emerging, interdisciplinary science involving

 Physics
 Chemistry
 Biology
 Engineering
 Materials Science
 Computer Science

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 Transferring Length Scale
NANO from Greek word “NANOS” means Dwarf

Thus the material need not be so small that it cannot be seen, it can be a large surface or
a long wire whose thickness or size or length is in the scale of Nanometers.

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 Transferring Length Scale

Particles with size ~ 2 nm to several ~ 100 nm along at least one

dimension are called nano-materials.
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 Example of Nanomaterials

Examples:
Sphere-like particles
Ag nanoparticles, buckyballs
Rod-like particles
Si & Ni nanowires
Tube-like particles
Carbon nanotubes
TiO2 nanotubes

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 History of Nanotechnology
The concept of nanotechnology
was first introduced in 1959 by
Prof. Richard Feynman

The term nanotechnology was first

introduced by Dr. Norio Taniguchi
in 1974

The invention of the Scanning

Tunneling Microscope in 1981 &
the discovery of Fullerene (C60) in
1985 leads to the field of
nanotechnology
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 History of Nanotechnology
Material: Glass
Period/culture: Late Roman
Present location: British Museum
Created: 4thC AD
Size: Height: 15.8 cm (6.2 in)

The Lycurgus Cup is a 4th-

century Roman glass cage cup made of
a dichroic glass, which shows a different
colour depending on whether or not light
is passing through it; red when lit from
behind and green when lit from in
It is dichroic, changing colour when front. It is the only complete Roman glass
illuminated from the inside. This effect is object made from this type of glass, and
caused by gold and silver nanoparticles, the one exhibiting the most impressive
and was likely produced by accident change in colour; it has been described as
"the most spectacular glass of the
period, fittingly decorated, which we
know to have existed".

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 History of Nanotechnology – Stain Glass
As early as 500 AD, glass artisans were
making stained glass windows with vibrant
reds and yellows. These colors were much
more luminous and durable than dyes
could produce.
They were the products of “coinage
metal” nanoparticles imbedded in the
glass.

• 1857: Michael Faraday discovered colloidal “ruby” gold, demonstrating that

nanostructured gold under certain lighting conditions produces different-colored
solutions

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 Nanomaterial's
• Ultrafine particles ranging in size from 1nm - 100 nm.
• Materials behave differently at microscopic level, NP size influences on their
physiochemical properties.

• On the basis of dimension nanomaterial's are classified as;

 Zero dimensional (0D)

 One dimensional (1D)

 Two dimensional (2D)

 Three dimensional(3D)

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 Zero Dimensional
• All dimensions in the nanometre range
• Most common representation of 0-D are : Nanoparticle, quantum
dot, nano dots

• Properties
(1) It can be amorphous or crystalline
(2) Can be composed of single or multi chemical elements
(3) Metallic, ceramic or polymer

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 One Dimensional
• One dimension of the nanostructure is outside the nanometer range
• Nanowires, nanorods, nanotubes
• Properties
(1) It can be amorphous or crystalline
(2) Can be composed of single or multi chemical elements
(3) Chemically pure or impure
(4) Metallic, ceramic or polymer

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 Two Dimensional
• Two dimensions are outside the nanometer range
• They exhibit plate like shape
• Nanofilms, nano-layers and nano-coatings

• Properties
(1) It can be amorphous or crystalline
(2) Made up of various chemical compositions
(3) Used as single layer or multilayer structures
(4) Metallic, ceramic or polymer

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 Three Dimensional
• Three dimensions are outside the nanometer range
• Bulk
• These materials possess nanocrystalline structures.
• With respect to the presence of features at the nanoscale, 3D
nanomaterials can contain dispersion of nanoparticles, bundles of
nanowires, and nanotubes

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 Comparison 0D, 1D, 2D and 3D nanomaterials

Dimensions Criteria Examples

All dimensions in the Nanoparticles, quantum dots,
Zero Dimensional (0-D)
nanometer range nanodots

One dimension of the

Nanowires, nanorods,
One Dimensional (1-D) nanostructure is outside
nanotubes
the nanometer range

Two dimensions are

Two Dimensional (2-D) outside the nanometer Coatings, thin-film-multilayers
range

Three dimensions are

Three Dimensional (3-D) outside the nanometer Bulk
range
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Examples

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 Moore’s Law
• Originally formulated by Gordon Moore in 1965, describes a trend in the field of
microelectronics and semiconductor technology.
It predicts that the number of transistors that can be integrated onto a microchip would
roughly double approximately every two years.
Moore's Law has played a crucial role in the advancement of the electronics industry,
particularly in the development of increasingly powerful and smaller electronic devices like
computers and smartphones.
Gordon Moore’s prediction is that the density of transistors and
computing power doubles every twenty-four months, which has held
since there were fewer than 100 transistors in an integrated circuit. Up
to today’s many millions of transistors on a single-integrated computer
chip are still followed this trend.

Size of the transistor

will be reduced

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 Moore’s Law
• 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.

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 Synthesis of Nanomaterials
 Bottom-up approach
Building up procedure (atom by atom or molecule by molecule…..)
Involves chemical method for the synthesis of NP.
Chemical Vapor Deposition, Sol-Gel, Hydrothermal, Co precipitation,

 Top down approach

Breaking down of larger components of materials to nano sized materials .
Ball milling, Thermal evaporation, Laser ablation, Sputtering….

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 Size is a Material Property?

The gold we are discovering:

The Gold we
know Material properties (such as optical
Absorption, shown here) change with
the size of the gold nanoparticle.
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 Surface to Volume Ratio

Ratio= Surface atoms/Volume atoms

• For a bulk material this ratio will be very less. The

size of the material will dominate over the ratio

What if I go on cut the material ???

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 Ratio will increase as number of surface atoms increase.

• No. of surface atom will increase compared to volume

atoms and finally the ratio will dominate over the size.

• In bulk material there was less number of surface

atoms and more number of volume atoms, so most
of the properties were determined by Volume atoms

• When size is very much reduced, Surface atoms will dominate over volume atom and
such materials/particles formed is nanomaterials

• Thus surface to volume ratio will dominate over the size of the particle(<100nm)

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• The smaller we subdivide particles, the more surface area is exposed. Things that happen at
surfaces, like heat transfer or chemical reactions, happen faster. Some common applications
of this fact:
• Crushed ice cools faster than an ice cube
• Granulated sugar dissolves faster than a large lump
• A carburetor or fuel injector sprays a fine mist of gasoline into an engine cylinder
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In this graph:
SA = nm2
Vol = nm3

SA:Vol Ratio = nm2/nm3

The ratio increases

dramatically when the
nanoparticle diameter drops
below about 100 nm

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Quantum Confinement

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• In an atom we have electrons present in each orbit, having discrete energy levels
• If we consider a molecule which is made up of two atoms. For E1 we will have
two energy levels of slightly different energies…similarly for E2 also…but the
energy levels are discrete
• So if the number of atoms increase and forms a solid, instead of discrete energy
levels we get a continuous energy level or energy bands.
• In bulk material we have valance band and conduction band

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• When size is reduced from bulk to nano, the energy levels becomes discrete (valance band
and conduction band are discretized.)
• With discretization the band gap is increasing, as size is decreased.
• This property is known as Quantum confinement and thereby we obtain quantum dot
like materials
• Quantum confinement effect becomes more significant if the particle size approaches de
Broglie wavelength of electron.

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Quantum Confinement

• The reduction in the number of atoms in a material results in the confinement of

normally delocalized energy states.
• This is very similar to the famous particle-in-a-box scenario and can be
understood by examining the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.
• The Uncertainty Principle states that the more precisely one knows the position
of a particle, the more uncertainty in its momentum (and vice versa).
• Therefore, the more spatially confined and localized a particle becomes, the
broader the range of its momentum/energy.
• What's the use?

Energy

650 nm 555 nm

Quantum dots are band gap tunable by size. We can engineer their optical and electrical properties!!
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• Nanomaterial properties can be ‘tuned’ by varying the size of the particle (e.g.
changing the fluorescence color so a particle can be identified)

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 Quantum Confinement
• The term ‘quantum confinement’ is mainly deals with energy of confined
electrons (electrons or electron-hole). The energy levels of electrons will not
remain continuous as in the case of bulk materials compared to the nanocrystal.
Moreover, obtains the confined electron wave functions, they become a discrete
set of energy levels as shown in the above figures. Such kinds of effects appear
when the dimensions of the potential approach nearly to de Broglie wavelength
of electrons and resulting in the changes or discretizing levels of energy. The
effects are defined as quantum confinement and consequently, for nano-crystals
are often called quantum dots (QDs).
• Furthermore, this quantum dot effect influence into the nanomaterial properties
such as electrical, optical as well as mechanical behavior of material . It is due to
the peculiar nature in nano material possess higher energy electrons than the bulk
material’s. Depending on the QDs size, confined electrons have higher energy
than the electrons in bulk materials.

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 Size Dependent Properties of Nanomaterials
• The various properties, which get tremendously altered due to the size reduction in
at least one dimension are

1. Chemical properties: Reactivity; Catalysis.

2. Thermal property: Melting point temperature.
3. Electronic properties: Electrical conduction.
4. Optical properties: Absorption and scattering of light.
5. Magnetic properties: Magnetization.

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 Properties of Nanomaterials

• Compared to bulk materials nanomaterials have very different and interesting

properties.
Physical properties
• For nanomaterials at least one of its dimension should be in 1-100nm range
• Nanoparticles have high surface area to volume ratio

• For spherical body, Surface ratio =

• Lowered phase transition temps

• Increased mechanical strength
• Different optical properties
• Altered electrical conductivity
• Magnetic properties
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Chemical Properties
• Highly reactivity due to large surface area to volume ratio.
• For example, the reactivity of a metal catalyst particle increases appreciably as its size
decreases- macroscopic gold is chemically inert, whereas at nanoscale, gold becomes
extremely reactive and catalytic.
Based on the surface area to volume effect, nanoscale materials have:
a) Increased total surface area.
b) Increased number of atoms accessible on the surface.
c) Increased catalytic activity of those large number surface atoms.
d) Different/tunable surface catalytic properties by the change in shape, size and composition.
Hence, nanoscale catalysts can increase the rate, selectivity and efficiency of various
chemical reactions.

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 Thermal
Properties

Melting point: Temperature at which the atoms, ions, or molecules in a substance have enough
energy to overcome the intermolecular forces that hold the them in a “fixed” position in a solid

Nanomaterials may have a significantly lower melting point or phase transition temperature and
appreciably reduced lattice constants (spacing between atoms is reduced), due to a huge
fraction of surface atoms in the total amount of atoms
Surface atoms require less energy to move because they are in contact with fewer atoms
of the substance
• The melting point of a material directly correlates with the bond strength. In bulk materials, the surface to
volume ratio is small and hence the surface effects can be neglected.
• However, in nanomaterials the melting temperature is size dependent and it decreases with the decrease
particle size diameters. The reason is that in nanoscale materials, surface atoms are not bonded in
direction normal to the surface plane and hence the surface atoms will have more freedom to move.
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 Electronic properties
• In bulk materials, conduction of electrons is delocalized, that is, electrons can move
freely in all directions.
• When the scale is reduced to nanoscale, the quantum effect dominates. For zero
dimensional nanomaterials, all the dimensions are at the nanoscale and hence the
electrons are confined in 3-D space. Therefore no electron delocalization (freedom to
move) occurs.
• For one dimensional nanomaterials, electrons confinement occurs in 2-D space and
hence electron delocalization takes place along the axis of
nanotubes/nanorods/nanowires.
• Due to electron confinement, the energy bands are replaced by discrete energy states
which make the conducting materials to behave like either semiconductors or
insulators.
• Change of electronic structure: When size is reduced below a critical size (de-
Broglie wave length), the band gap of the material will be widened, and hence, a low
electrical conductivity. Some materials become semiconductors and semiconductors
become insulators.

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 Magnetic Property
• Nanomaterials exhibit magnetic properties different from the bulk material, due to
finite size effects and high surface to volume ratio.
• The individual magnetic moment of atoms interact with each other and as result
all magnetic moments get aligned in a particular direction.

Non magnetic material in bulk may be magnetic in nanosized structure.

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Mechanical Property
• Mechanical strength, toughness and Young's modulus of the materials are seen very high
compared to bulk material.
• Carbon nanotubes are stronger than steel and more flexible than rubber.

• Ultra Hard -- Mechanical properties of nanomaterial's may reach the theoretical strength,
which are one or two orders of magnitude higher than that of single crystals in the bulk
form. The enhancement in mechanical strength is simply due to the reduced probability of
defects.

Thus we can always increase the mechanical properties of

the materials by addition of nanoparticles .

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 Optical Properties
Because of the quantum confinement in nanomaterials, the emission of visible light can be
tuned by varying the nanoscale dimensions. It is observed that the size reduction in
nanomaterials shifts the emission of peak towards the shorter wavelength (blue shift).
• A larger band gap means that more energy is required to excite an electron from the valance
band to the conduction band and hence light of a higher frequency and lower wavelength
would be absorbed.

• The color of the material is determined by the wavelength of the light absorbed by it.
• Nanomaterial of different size have different electronic structures and different energy level
separation
• Smaller nanoparticles are blue in color and larger are red in color
• By controlling the size of nanoparticle one can design material which can absorb/emit different
wavelength.

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 Energy

650 nm 555 nm

• When metal absorbs light of resonant wavelength, the coherent excitation of entire free
electrons in the CB occurs, it results an in-phase oscillation, called Surface Plasmon
Resonance (SPR). It occurs at the surface, hence, the name surface Plasmon resonance.

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• Surface Plasmon's
– Recall that metals can be modeled as an arrangement of
positive ions surrounded by a sea of free electrons.
– The sea of electrons behaves like a fluid and will move under
the influence of an electric field
If the electric field is oscillating, then the sea of electrons will oscillate too.
These oscillations are quantized and resonate at a specific frequency. Such
oscillations are called Plasmon's.

Resonance at a metal surface

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Surface Plasmon's
 Formal definition: Plasmon's are the coherent excitation of free electrons in a
metal.
 The Plasmon resonance frequency (f) depends on particle size, shape, and
material type. It is related to the Plasmon energy (E) by Planck’s constant. E
= h
 Surface Plasmon's are confined to the surface of the material.
 The optical properties of metal nanoparticles are dominated by the
interaction of surface Plasmon's with incident photons.

 Metal nanoparticles like gold and silver have Plasmon frequencies in the
visible range.
 When white light impinges on metal nanoparticles the wavelength
corresponding to the Plasmon frequency is absorbed.
 The spectral locations, strengths, and number of Plasmon resonances for a
given particle depend on the particle’s shape and size.

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• Absorption spectra of spherical Au nanoparticles

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 Quantum Well
It is a two dimensional nanostructure in which there is confinement along one
direction
And particle is free to move in other two directions. Particles posses discrete
(quantized) energies associated with the confinement dimension. Particle energies are
continuous along the other two dimensions

A quantum well is often realized with a thin layer of a semiconductor medium,

embedded between other semiconductor layers.(examples: GaAs quantum well
embedded in AlGaAs, or InGaAs in GaAs). The thickness of such a quantum well is
typically ≈ 5–20 nm.

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 Quantum Wires
It is a one dimensional nanostructure in which there is confinement along two
directions and particle is free to move in the third direction. Particles has discrete
energies associated with these two directions of confinement and continuous along the
third direction

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 Quantum dots
The extreme case in which confinement of the particle occurs in all the three
directions, results in a zero dimensional nanostructure, called quantum dot.
In tis case, the number of degrees of freedom of the particle is zero. Particle has
discrete energies associated with its motion along all three directions

The ability to tune the emission from the quantum dot by changing its size is called the
“Size quantisation effect”.
Quantum dots can even be tuned beyond visible light, into the infra-red or into the
ultra-violet.

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 Special Nanomaterial's
• FULLERENES , CARBON NANOTUBES, GRAPHENE
• Carbon allotropes
• Crystalline carbon can exist in diamond, graphite, fullerene, carbon nanotubes and
graphene forms. Out of these allotropes of carbon; fullerene, carbon nanotubes
and graphene are relatively new.

• 0-D (small clusters and fullerenes as well as nano-diamonds)

• 1-D (carbon nanotubes)
• 2-D (graphene)
• 3-D (diamond)

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 Carbon Fullerene’s
• Discovered around 1985
• Fullerenes are allotrope of carbon whose molecule consist of carbon atoms
connected by a single or double bond forming a closed or partially closed
mesh, with fused rings of five to seven atoms.

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 Carbon Fullerene’s
• The name of fullerene was given to this family of carbon molecule because of the
resemblance of the molecule to the geodesic dome design and built by R Buckminster
Fuller.
• Fullerene name is specifically given to C60 molecule.
• Large molecular weight fullerenes C70 , C76 , C78 , C80 and higher mass fullerenes
are also present which posses different structure.

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C60 is an optical limiter
 When light is shone on it, solution of fullerene 60 instantly turns darker.
 The more intense the light the darker it gets
 So, the intensity of transmitted light is limited to a maximum value.
 This limiting light transmittance property can be used in the design of safety
goggles in intense light situations e.g. people working with laser beams.

May be used as Vehicles to carry drug into cells –

 The cage like fullerene molecules could contain a drug.
 The combination can pass easily through the wall of a target cell.

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 Carbon Nanotubes
• Accidentally observed in 1991 by S. Iijima under a transmission electron
microscope.
• A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a hexagonal array of carbon atoms rolled up into a
long, thin, hollow cylinder and are known for their size, shape, and remarkable
physical properties.
• A rolled up sheet of graphene, which is a planar-hexagonal arrangement of
carbon atoms distributed in a honeycomb lattice.
• During their formation, nanotubes get capped with hemispheres of fullerenes.

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Allotropes of carbon
Graphene is a single layer (monolayer) of carbon
atoms, tightly bound in a hexagonal honeycomb
lattice. It is an allotrope of carbon in the form of
a plane of with a molecular bond length of 0.142
nanometers.

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 Types of Nanotubes
• There are two basic types of CNTs:
• Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) which are the fundamental
cylindrical structure and
• multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) which are made of coaxial
cylinders

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 Single Walled Nanotubes
• SWNT typically have a diameter of close to 1 nm.
• The tube length can be many thousands of times longer.
• SWNT are more pliable yet harder to make than MWNT.
• Looking at the atomic structure, graphene tube sheet can be rolled-up to form
three different principal atomic structures in CNT namely armchair, zig-zag and
chiral CNT

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 Multi Walled Nanotubes
• The diameters of MWNT are typically in the range of 5 nm to 50 nm.
• There are two structural models.
Russian Doll model, a carbon nanotube contains another nanotube inside it
Parchment model, a single graphene sheet is rolled around itself multiple times.
• Outer walls on multi wall nanotubes can protect the inner carbon nanotubes from chemical
interactions with outside materials.
• Multi wall nanotubes also have a higher tensile strength than single wall nanotubes.
• MWNT are easier to produce than SWNT.

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 Synthesis of Nanotubes
Arc Discharge Method
Nanotubes were observed in 1991 in the carbon soot of graphite electrodes during an arc
discharge, by using a current of 100 amps, that was intended to produce fullerenes.
The first macroscopic production of carbon nanotubes was made in 1992 by two researchers
at NECs Fundamental Research Laboratory.
During this process, the carbon contained in the negative electrode sublimates because of the
high-discharge temperatures.
The yield for this method is up to 30% by weight and it produces both single- and multi-walled
nanotubes with lengths of up to 50 micrometers with few structural defects. Arc-discharge
technique uses higher temperatures (above 1,700 °C).

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Laser ablation method

In the pulsed laser vaporization or laser ablation method, a high energy laser is directed to
ablate a carbon target that contains some nickel and cobalt in a tube furnace, at the
temperature of ~ 1400 K. A flow of inert gas is passed through the chamber to carry the
CNTs downstream, to a collector surface. Single walled carbon nanotubes, mostly in the form
of ropes, at a 1- 10g scale have been formed by this method. The CNTs formed by the laser
ablation method are of a higher quality than those produced by the arc discharge method.
However, the production rate is low, and the pulsed laser vaporization or laser ablation
method is both capital and energy intensive.

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Chemical Vapor deposition method
The most common method of carbon nanotubes synthesis is catalyzed chemical vapor
deposition of hydrocarbons.

• Carbon in gas phase (Methane, carbon monoxide, acetylene) is generally used.

• Energy is transferred to these to Carbon molecule.
• Carbon molecule binds to the substrate and growth process starts.
• Temperature is kept b/w 600-800oC.
• 30% yield.

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 Properties of CNT
 Carbon nanotubes are stiff. They are as stiff as a diamond (the hardest natural
material in nature).
 The gravitational weight of the nanotube is very low.
 The density of the carbon nanotubes is one-fourth of that of steel.
 Carbon nanotubes are stronger than steel.
 They exhibit extraordinary mechanical properties.
 Carbon nanotubes have a high thermal capacity.
 Therefore, it does not expand on heating like that of steel. Therefore carbon
nanotubes uses in making bridges and aircrafts material.

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 Electrical Conductivity:
Carbon nanotubes (CNT’s) are electrically and thermally conductive and have a high
mechanical strength. Parallel arrays of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT forests) can be
drawn into electrically continuous length webs.

Strength and Elasticity :

In terms of tensile strength and elastic modulus carbon nanotubes are the strongest and
stiffest materials yet found.

Thermal Conductivity and Expansion:

The carbon’s bond rigidity aids in the transmission of vibration throughout the nanotube,
resulting in excellent heat conductivity. Because each carbon atom is connected to three other
carbon atoms by strong covalent bonds, carbon nanotubes have an extremely high melting
point. This also leaves a spare electron of each carbon atom, resulting in a sea of delocalized
electrons within the tube, allowing nanotube to conduct electricity.

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Their unique composition, geometry, and properties enable
numerous potential carbon nanotubes applications. Getting costs
down to commercially viable levels has proven challenging but
increasing scale is happening.

• Energy Storage
• Molecular Electronics
• Thermal Materials
• Electrical Conductivity
• Fabrics And Fibers
• Biomedical

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 Electronics and IT Applications
Nanotechnology has greatly contributed to major advances in computing and electronics,
leading to faster, smaller, and more portable systems that can manage and store larger and
larger amounts of information. These continuously evolving applications include
• Transistors, the basic switches that enable all modern computing, have gotten smaller and
smaller through nanotechnology. At the turn of the century, a typical transistor was 130 to
250 nanometers in size. In 2014, Intel created a 14 nanometer transistor, then IBM created
the first seven nanometer transistor in 2015, and then Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
demonstrated a one nanometer transistor in 2016! Smaller, faster, and better transistors
may mean that soon your computer’s entire memory may be stored on a single tiny chip

• Ultra-high definition displays and televisions are now being sold that use quantum dots to
produce more vibrant colors while being more energy efficient

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 Medical and Healthcare Applications
Size and shape dependent optical properties, large surface area-to-volume ratio, high
surface energy and tunable surface properties make them suitable for biomedical
applications
• Nanorobots can perform delicate surgeries,
repair cancer cells and mutations in DNA,
destroy toxic chemicals and attack viruses to
make them harmless.

Radioactive smart bombs with Buckyballs – radioactive actinium 225 atom is

placed inside, protein on the outside, protein attaches only to the cancer cell. Cures for
AIDS, Cancers, Alzheimer's, Diabetes
Drug Delivery : Deliver sufficient dosage of drug to the infected part of the body,
minimum side effects.
Nanotube have hollow and porous structures, ideal for drug delivery vehicles

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Textiles

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Agriculture and Food Industry

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Glass Industry

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Vehicle Industry

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 Energy Industry
Energy storage, energy conversion, energy saving and effective
utilization of renewable energy sources
Hydrogen is found abundant in nature and is an ideal fuel source.
CNTs and graphite nanofibres (GNFs) are excellent for hydrogen
storage. They are eco-friendly form of energy, byproduct is water.
Nanomaterials (nanotubes), have a large number of nanopores and
hence, they are suitable for hydrogen storage.
Lightweight and high energy density batteries are of great demand.
Nanomaterials with aerogel structure are best suited for separator
plates in batteries and needs less frequent charging.
Nanomaterials based light emitting diodes (LEDs) and quantum
caged atoms (QCAs) can best suited for lighting.

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