Effect of Nanoscale dimensions on

Mechanical (Structural),Thermal &

Optical Properties
Types of bonds
Ionic

Covalent
Van der Waal forces
3 Types of attractive forces :

1)Dipole- dipole forces

2)Dipole induced dipole forces
3)Induced dipole-induced dipole forces
Dipole- Dipole interaction
Dipole induced- Dipole interaction
Induced Dipole- Induced Dipole interaction
Graphite
Surface atoms to bulk atoms
Surface atoms
Powdered sugar Sugar cube
Effect of size on Melting point

Here
Tm,bulk is the melting temperature
of the bulk material and
D is the particle diameter in nm
Surface to volume ratio vs Melting temperature
Mechanical Properties
Crystalline

Amorphous
Polymers
 Tensile test

• Determination of
mechanical properties

• Stress: σ = F/S

• Strain: ε = Δl / l0
 Stress, σ (Mpa)
Tensile Test curve
Max stress : tensile
strength Necking

Max elasticity: Yield

strength
Fracture

Strain, ε (%)
Elastic deformation Plastic deformation

Typical Tensile Test curve or Strain Stress curve

 Elastic Deformation
• Hooke’s law: σ = E ε
Stress, σ

• E = Young modulus (Pa)

Modulus = slope • Stiffness of material

• Non linear models exist

Strain (visco-elastic behaviour)
 Mechanical properties
• Yield strength: maximum stress before
permanent strain

• Tensile strength: maximum stress

• Ductility: measure of deformation (Lf – Lo)/ Lo

• Toughness: ability to absorbe energy: area

under curve
 Hardness
• Resistance to plastic
deformation

• Measure of depth or size

of indentation
II. Nanostructured materials
Effect of size on Yield strength
However, at the smallest of grain sizes—less than about 50 nm—the Hall–Petch
equation is no longer accurate!
Materials with grains this minute lose yield strength.
Plastic deformation starts to occur at lower and lower stresses as the grains shrink.
The elastic modulus of materials with grains smaller than 5 nm also suddenly drops
off.
Hall Petch Equation

Yield strength 

Hardness 
Reason for inverse Hall Petch effect:

• Instability of dislocations
• Activation of grain boundary sliding as a means to deform
• Activation of local liquid to solid phase transitions to deform
• Radical change in the mechanisms of dislocation nucleation
• Influence on Young’s modulus properties:
Tensile strength
Mechanical properties of nanomaterials
compared to coarse grain materials

• Higher Young modulus and tensile strength (to

4 times higher)

• Lower plastic deformation

• More brittle
 Comparison of Young modulus
Material Young modulus (GPa)
Rubber 0.1
Al 70
Fe 200
SiC 440
Fe nanoparticles (100 nm) 800
C nanotubes 1000
Diamond 1200
 Elongation nanostructured
materials
• Elongation decreased

• Lower density of mobile

dislocations

• Short distance of
dislocation movement
• Materials more brittle

• Due to increased grain boundary density and

less dislocations density
 Applications
• Biomedical: bones, implants, etc.

• High strength, strong, long-lasting materials:

automotives, electronics, aerospace, etc.

• Composites materials
Optical Properties
“BLUE SHIFT”
 What is the origin of the color?
Answer: ``surface plasmons’’
 An SP is a natural oscillation of the electron gas
inside a gold nanosphere.
 If the sphere is small compared to a wavelength
of light, and the light has a frequency close to
that of the SP, then the SP will absorb energy.
 The frequency of the SP depends on the
dielectric function of the gold, and the shape of
the nanoparticle. For a spherical particle, the
frequency is about 0.58 of the bulk plasma
frequency. Thus, although the bulk plasma
frequency is in the UV, the SP frequency is in
the visible (in fact, close to 520 nm)
Surface Plasma Resonance (SPR)
SPR
Typical SPR Signal