What is Nanotechnology

The study of the controlling of matter on an atomic

and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals
with structures sized between 1 to 100 nanometer in
at least one dimension, and involves developing or
modifying materials or devices within that size.
 The Origin and Development of
Nanotechnology
• Feynman—— 《 There is Plenty of Room at the
Bottom 》
• The Invention of the Scanning Tunneling
Microscope(STM)
• The Nanotechnology Developed Rapidly in1990s,
and the New Words Came Fast
• One of the 9 Major Key Technologies in the Future
Global Technology Development
 A materials perspective
“quantum size effect” ： dominant when the
nanometer size range is reached. a number of
physical (mechanical, electrical, optical, etc.)
properties change when compared to
macroscopic systems.

For example: Image of reconstruction on a clean

Gold(100) surface, as visualized using
opaque substances become transparent scanning tunneling microscopy. The
positions of the individual atoms

(copper); stable materials turn combustible composing the surface are visible

(aluminum); insoluble materials become

soluble (gold). A material such as gold, which is
chemically inert at normal scales, can serve as a
potent chemical catalyst at nanoscales.
 Why “nano”
Nanomaterials have superior properties than the
bulk substances :
 Mechanical strength
 Thermal stability
 Catalytic activity
 Electrical conductivity
 Magnetic properties
 Optical properties

A wide range of applications:

Quantum electronics, nonlinear optics, photonics, sensing,
information storage and processing, adsorbents, catalysis, solar
cells, superplastic ceramics…

New fields:
Nanofabrication, nanodevices, nanobiology, and nanocatalysis
 SALIENT FEATURES
 At atomic and molecular scales, in the length scale of
approximately 1 - 100 nanometer range
 Fundamentally new properties and functions because of
their nanoscale structure
 Ability to control , to see, measure, and manipulate
matter on the atomic scale to exploit those properties
and functions
 Ability to integrate those properties and functions into
systems spanning from nano- to macro-scopic scales
Particle size versus Surface area
R = 10-5 % R = 10% R = 100%

1nm
10 nm
1 cm

This graph shows the approximate percentage of surface

atoms as a function of nanocrystal size
Benefits of nanoscale :

• the way in which quantum effects become important at the

nanoscale, meaning that the nanostructures behave differently
from bulk structures – particularly the existence of discrete energy
levels and the existence of a phenomenon known as quantum
tunneling-can be made useful in electrical and photonic devices
• the potential to be able to synthesize/design any type of desired
nanostructure by manipulating the atoms individually
• novel optical properties, enabling nanoparticles to absorb or emit
precise frequencies of light (i.e. tuning of Optical properties)
• high surface area to mass ratio, enhancing the ability of the
nanostructures to take part in chemical reactions
 How?--Tools and techniques
• Tools: The atomic force microscope (AFM) and the Scanning
Tunneling Microscope (STM) are two early versions of scanning
probes that launched nanotechnology

• They can be used to look at surfaces

and to move atoms around. By
designing different tips for these
microscopes, they can be used for
carving out structures on surfaces
and to help guide self-assembling
structures.
Typical AFM setup. A microfabricated cantilever with a sharp tip is deflected by
features on a sample surface, much like in a phonograph but on a much smaller
scale. A laser beam reflects off the backside of the cantilever into a set of
photodetectors, allowing the deflection to be measured and assembled into an
image of the surface
Two Different Approaches to Nanofabrication

 Top-Down:
• Start with the bulk material and
“cut away material” to make the
what you want

 Bottom-Up:

• Building what you want by

assembling it from building blocks
( such as atoms and molecules).

• Atom-by-atom, molecule-by-
molecule, or cluster-by-cluster
 Top-down Approaches
• milling
• 10 ~ 1000 nm; broad size distribution
• varied particle shape or geometry
• impurities
• for nanocomposites and nanograined bulk
materials (lower sintering temperature)
 Bottom-up approaches
• These seek to arrange smaller components
into more complex assemblies

• Molecular self-assembly seeks to use

concepts of supremolecular chemistry, and
molecular recognition in particular, to cause
single-molecule components to
automatically arrange themselves into some
useful conformation.
 Top-down approaches
• These seek to create smaller devices by using larger
ones to direct their assembly.
• Solid-state silicon methods for fabricating
microprocessors
• Solid-state techniques can be used to create devices
known as nano electro mechanical systems or
NEMS, which are related to micro electro
mechanical systems or MEMS.
 Fullerene
• Introduction of Fullerene family (what is?)
• Fullerene (discovery, naming)
• Types of Fullerene and related structures
• Properties
• Synthesis (fabrication)
• Potential and current applications
Important
What is Fullerene?
A Fullerene is any molecule composed entirely of
carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid,
or tube. Spherical fullerenes are also
called buckyballs, and cylindrical ones are called
carbon nanotubes or buckytubes.

Buckminster fullerene C60 (left) and carbon

C60 in solution
nanotubes (right) are two examples of structures
in the fullerene family.
Buckminsterfulleren
The Icosahedral
e C60
Fullerene C540
 Properties & Applications
Fullerenes were studied for potential medicinal use:
binding specific antibiotics to the structure to target
resistant bacteria and even target certain cancer cells.

• use of fullerenes as light-activated

C60 in solution
antimicrobial agents

Fullerenes are stable, but not totally unreactive.

Solubility
Fullerenes are sparingly soluble in many solvents
Solutions of pure buckminsterfullerene have a deep purple
color. Solutions of C70 are a reddish brown. The higher
fullerenes C76 to C84 have a variety of colors
 Properties & Applications
Hydrated Fullerene

Hydrated fullerene C60HyFn is a stable, highly

hydrophilic, supra-molecular complex
consisting of С60 fullerene molecule enclosed
into the first hydrated shell that contains 24
water molecules: C60@(H2O)24. C60HyFn water solution with a
C60 concentration of 0.22 mg/mL
Superconductivity

That intercalation of alkali-metal atoms in solid C60 leads to metallic

behavior. In 1991, it was revealed that potassium-doped C60 becomes
superconducting at 18 K. This was the highest transition temperature for a
molecular superconductor. Since then, superconductivity has been
reported in fullerene doped with various other alkali metals
 What are Carbon nanotubes.
• Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are allotropes of carbon.
These cylindrical carbon molecules have interesting
properties that make them potentially useful in many
applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics and
other fields of materials science, as well as potential
uses in architectural fields.
• They exhibit extraordinary strength and unique
electrical properties, and are efficient conductors of
heat. Their final usage, however, may be limited by
their potential toxicity.
 How CNTs are made
• Arc discharge
– CNTs Can be found in the carbon soot of graphite electrodes
during an arc discharge involving high current. This process
yields CNTs with lengths up to 50 microns.
• Laser Ablation
– In the laser ablation process, a pulsed laser vaporizes a graphite
target in a high-temperature reactor while an inert gas is inserted
into the reactor. Nanotubes develop on the cooler surfaces of the
reactor as the vaporized carbon condenses.

• Other methods where CNTs are created:

- Chemical Vapor Decomposition
- Natural, incidental, and controlled flame environments
 Properties

• Strength
• Electrical
• Thermal
• Defects
• One-Dimensional Transport
• Toxicity
 Strength Properties
• Carbon nanotubes have the strongest tensile
strength of any material known.
• It also has the highest modulus of elasticity.
 Electrical Properties
• If the nanotube structure is armchair then the electrical
properties are metallic
• If the nanotube structure is chiral then the electrical
properties can be either semiconducting with a very
small band gap, otherwise the nanotube is a moderate
semiconductor
• In theory, metallic nanotubes can carry an electrical
current density of 4×109 A/cm2 which is more than 1,000
times greater than metals such as copper
 Thermal Properties
• All nanotubes are expected to be very good thermal
conductors along the tube, but good insulators laterally to the
tube axis.

• It is predicted that carbon nanotubes will be able to transmit

up to 6000 watts per meter per Kelvin at room temperature;
compare this to copper, a metal well-known for its good
thermal conductivity, which transmits 385 watts per meter per
K.

• The temperature stability of carbon nanotubes is estimated to

be up to 2800oC in vacuum and about 750oC in air.