Introduction to Nanomaterials
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Introduction to Nanomaterials
Nanomaterials are chemical substances or materials at a very small size ranging from ~1 – 100 nm.
A nanometer (1 x 10-9 m) is one millionth of a millimeter - approximately 100,000 times smaller than the diameter
of a human hair.
Nanomaterials can occur naturally for example volcanic ash, soot from forest fires, be created as the by-products of
combustion reaction.
On the other hand, engineered nanomaterials, are intentionally produced and designed with physico-chemical
properties for a specific purpose or function.
Nanomaterials are different compared to the same material without nanoscale features, such as increased strength,
porosity, chemical reactivity or conductivity.
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Nanomaterials Classification Based on Dimensionality
Zero dimension – length, breadth and heights are confined at single point (example, nano dots, nano particles)
One dimension – it has only one parameter length or breadth (example, nanowires and nanotubes)
Two dimensions – it has only two parameter either length (or ) breadth (or height) (example, very thin surface
coatings)
Three dimensions – it has all parameter of length, breadth and height (for example crystals)
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Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
The Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK, defined the terms Nanoscience and
Nanotechnology avoided the use of dimensions at all:
• Nanoscience is the study of phenomena and manipulation of materials at atomic, molecular, and
macromolecular scales, where properties differ significantly from those at a larger scale
• Nanotechnologies are the design, characterization, production, and application of structures,
devices, and systems by controlling shape and size on the nano scale
Nanomaterials cross the boundary between nanoscience and nanotechnology and link the two areas
together
Nanomaterials cover a hugely diverse range of materials: polymers, metals, and ceramics
Nanoparticles can come in a wide range of morphologies, from spheres, through flakes and platelets, to
dendritic structures, tubes, and rods
By being able to fabricate and control the structure of nanoparticles, the scientist and engineer can
influence the resulting properties and, ultimately, design materials to give desired properties
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How are nanoparticles made?
There are four generic routes to make nanoparticles: wet chemical, mechanical, form-in-place, and gas-
phase synthesis.
(i) Wet Chemical
These include colloidal chemistry, hydrothermal methods, sol-gels, and other precipitation
processes.
Essentially, solutions of different ions are mixed in well-defined quantities and under controlled
conditions of heat, temperature, and pressure to promote the formation of insoluble compounds,
which precipitate out of solution.
These precipitates are then collected through filtering and/or spray drying to produce a dry powder.
Advantages: large variety of compounds can be fabricated, including inorganics, organics, and also
some metals, essentially cheap equipment, significant quantities, able to control particle size closely
and produce highly monodisperse materials
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(ii) Mechanical Processes
These include grinding, milling, and mechanical alloying techniques.
Provided that one can produce a coarse powder as a feedstock, physically pounding coarse powders
into finer and finer ones, similar to flour mills.
The most common processes are either planetary or rotating ball mills.
The advantages: simple, require low-cost equipment and, provided that a coarse feedstock powder
can be made, the powder can be processed.
However, there can be difficulties such as agglomeration of the powders, broad particle size
distributions, contamination from the process equipment itself, and often difficulty in getting to the
very fine particle sizes with viable yields.
It is commonly used for inorganics and metals, but not organic materials.
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(iii) Form-in-place Processes
These include lithography, vacuum deposition processes such as physical vapor deposition (PVD)
and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and spray coatings.
Usually used to produce nanostructured layers and coatings, but can be used to fabricate
nanoparticles by scraping the deposits from the collector.
(iv) Gas-phase Synthesis
These include flame pyrolysis, electro-explosion, laser ablation, high-temperature evaporation, and
plasma synthesis techniques.
Flame pyrolysis has been used for many years in the fabrication of simple materials such as carbon
black and fumed silica, and is being used in the fabrication of many more compounds.
Laser ablation is capable of making almost any nanomaterial, since it utilizes a mix of physical
erosion and evaporation. However, the production rates are extremely slow and most suited to
research uses.
Both radiofrequency (RF) and direct current (DC) plasmas are being used successfully to make
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wide range of materials.
In short, nanoparticle synthesis involves two major approaches:
(i) Top down Approach (physical method)
- cutting of bulk material to get nanosized particles
(ii) Bottom up Approach (chemical method)
- atoms build up into new molecules which grow into clusters and then form particles of nano-scale
Differences between Top-Down and Bottom-Up approaches of Nanoparticle Synthesis
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Schematic Illustration of Preparative Methods of Nanoparticles 10
Characterization of Nanomaterials
Characterization of nanomaterials can be carried out using two major strategies which are
spectroscopy and microscopy techniques.
Spectroscopy = SPECTRUM Get a spectrum to know materials/chemistry, so spectroscopy shows
what the material actually is (its identity or nature)
Microscopy = MICRO + SCOPE Look at something small, so microscopy shows that the material
looks like
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Example of spectroscopy data:
C-O Cu-O
CuO-CNT4
CuO-CNT3 (1016.48603) (570.92954)
Transmittance (a.u)
CuO-CNT2 (1028.05893)
(567.0719)
CuO-CNT1 (1018.41485)
(553.57019)
(1026.13011)
CuO (553.57019)
(565.14309)
4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500
Wavenumber (cm-1)
FTIR spectra for CuO and CNT nanocomposites.
Raman spectra of the raw soot and the SWCNT
samples oxidized at different oxidation conditions
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Example of microscopy data:
TEM images of (a) COOH-MWCNT and
(b) electrospun COOH-MWCNT/PVA
nanofibre
Surface and cross-sectional SEM images of (a and b) the
MCOOH-MWCNT membrane and (c and d) the control sample
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