Nano-Materials

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 NANOMATERIALS

Natural Nano-Materials

Many kinds of physical and chemical processes (both human activities and natural processes)
produce nano-particles. Naturally occurring nano-particles can be found in volcanic ash, ocean
spray, fine sand and dust, and even biological matter (e.g. viruses).

Artificial Nano-Materials

There are many types of intentionally produced (man-made) nanomaterials, and a variety of
others are expected to appear in the future.

Types of Nanomaterials

The most current nanomaterials can be organized into four types:

1. Carbon Based Materials

2. Metal Based Materials
3. Dendrimers
4. Composites

1. CARBON BASED NANO MATERIALS

Introduction
These nanomaterials are composed mostly of carbon, most commonly taking the form of a
hollow spheres, ellipsoids, or tubes. Spherical and ellipsoidal carbon nanomaterials are referred
to as fullerenes, while cylindrical ones are called nano tubes. These particles have many potential
applications, including improved films and coatings, stronger and lighter materials, and
applications in electronics.

Carbon Nano tubes

CNT can be described as sheet of graphite rolled into a cylinder. They are constructed from
hexagonal rings of carbon which can have one layer or multiple layers and can have caps at the
ends making them look like pills. They are basically carbon molecules provided with very
particular properties. Nano tube diameter is of the order of a few nanometers, while their length
can be of the order of several millimeters.

Types of Nano tubes

1. Single walled Nano Tubes
2. Multi walled Nano Tubes

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Single walled Nano Tubes
It is like Sheet of carbon atoms rolled into cylinder. Each carbon has three bonds to nearest
neighbors. Diameter is close to 1 or 2 nanometers, with a tube length that can be many millions
of times longer. The structure of a SWNT can be conceptualized by wrapping a one-atom-thick
layer of graphite called graphene into a seamless cylinder.

Multi walled Nano Tubes

Concentric tubes of Single walled Nano Tubes. Their Diameter ranges from 15 to 40 nm. They
are extremely elastic. Young’s modulus is 1 Tera Pascal 5 times elastic than steel.

Nano tubes Classification

Nano tubes are of different types, which can be described by the chiral vector.
• Armchair Nano tubes
• Zigzag Nano tubes
• Chiral Nano tubes
Armchair carbon nano tubes share electrical properties similar to metals. The zigzag and Chiral
carbon nano tubes possess electrical properties similar to semi-metal and semiconductors

Applications
 Nano tubes In Efficient Solar Cells
The carbon nano tubes are arranged like blades of grass in a lawn - they absorb nearly all light.
Use of carbon nano tubes in solar cells could vastly improve their efficiency.

 Nano tubes In TV Technology

Carbon nano tubes are being used to develop flat screen televisions with higher resolution than
the human eye can detect.

 Coatings and films

CNTs can serve as a multifunctional coating material. They are a possible alternative to
environmentally hazardous biocide-containing paints. Mixing CNTs into anticorrosion coatings
for metals can enhance coating stiffness and strength and provide a path for cathodic protection.

2. METAL BASED NANOMATERIALS

Introduction
Metal based nano particles are heavily utilized in biomedical sciences and engineering. These
nanomaterials include quantum dots, nano gold nano silver and metal oxides, such as titanium
dioxide.

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Various imaging modalities have been developed over the period of time such as MRI, CT, PET,
ultrasound, SERS, and optical imaging as an aid to image various disease states.
These imaging modalities differ in both techniques and instrumentation. They require materials
with unique physiochemical properties. This led to the invention of various nano particulate
contrast agent such as magnetic nano particles (Fe 3O4), gold, and silver nano particles for their
application in these imaging modalities.
In general, nano particles used in the field of biotechnology range in particle size between 10 and
500 nm, seldom exceeding 700 nm.

Iron nano particles

Introduction
Nano-iron particles are sub-micrometer particles of iron metal. Iron is highly reactive to both air
(oxygen) and water, and in nanoparticles it is even more rapid than the bulk material. This
characteristic limits its use to inert environments. Iron nanoparticles are not toxic.

Applications

• For treating industrial sites contaminated with chlorinated organic compounds

• To treat many types of ground contamination such as grounds contaminated by
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organo chlorine pesticides, and chlorinated
organic solvents
• As a primary colorant in glass and ceramics and as a catalyst
• The magnetic properties of the nano particles allow them to be used in memory
tape
• In medical and laboratory applications
• In magnetic data storage and resonance imaging (MRI)
• In plastics, nano wires, coatings, nano fibers and textiles
• In certain alloy and catalyst applications.

Gold nano particles

The versatile surface chemistry of gold nano particles allows them to be coated with small
molecules, polymers, and biological recognition molecules, thereby extending their range of
application. The morphology of gold nano particles is spherical, and they appear as a brown
powder.

Applications

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Applications of gold nano particles are listed below:

 In nano wires and catalyst applications

 As catalysts in a number of chemical reactions
 As an anti-biotic, anti-fungal, and anti-microbial agent when added in plastics, coatings,
nano fibers and textiles
 To connect resistors, conductors, and other elements of an electronic chip
 In photodynamic therapy - When light is applied to a tumor containing gold
nanoparticles, the particles rapidly heat up, killing tumor cells
 The scattered colors of gold nanoparticles are currently used for biological imaging
applications

Silver Nanoparticles
Silver nanoparticles have unique optical, electrical, and thermal properties and are being
incorporated into products that range from photo voltaic to biological and chemical sensors.
Examples include conductive inks, pastes and fillers which utilize silver nanoparticles for their
high electrical conductivity, stability, and low sintering temperatures.

Applications

Silver nanoparticles are being used in numerous technologies and incorporated into a wide array
of consumer products that take advantage of their desirable optical, conductive, and antibacterial
properties.

 Diagnostic Applications: Silver nanoparticles are used in biosensors and numerous

assays where the silver nanoparticles materials can be used as biological tags for
quantitative detection.
 Antibacterial Applications: Silver nanoparticles are incorporated in apparel, footwear,
paints, wound dressings, appliances, cosmetics, and plastics for their antibacterial
properties.
 Conductive Applications: Silver nanoparticles are used in conductive inks and
integrated into composites to enhance thermal and electrical conductivity.
 Optical Applications: Silver nanoparticles are used to efficiently harvest light and for
enhanced optical spectroscopes including metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) and
surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).

3. DENDRIMERS

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Introduction
Dendrimer is derived from the Greek word (dendron) for tree, refers to a synthetic, three-
dimensional molecule with branching parts.  Donald Tomalia, a researcher, first synthesized and
named dendrimers in 1979. They have unique properties that make them useful to the health and
pharmaceutical industry, life science, chemical, electronic and materials applications.

Structure and Chemistry

They are formed using a nano-scale, multistep fabrication process which is the successive
addition of layers of branching groups. Each new layer is called a generation. The final
generation incorporates the surface molecules that give the dendrimer the desired function.
The structure of Dendrimers molecules begins with a central atom or group of atoms labeled as
the core. From this central structure, the branches of other atoms called ‘Dendron’ grow through
a variety of chemical reactions.
Dendrimers are just in between molecular chemistry and polymer chemistry. They relate to the
molecular chemistry world by virtue of their step-by-step controlled synthesis, and they relate to
the polymer world because of their repetitive structure made of monomers

Properties of dendrimers
When comparing dendrimers with other nanoscale synthetic structures (e.g., traditional
polymers, buck balls, or carbon nano tubes), these are either highly non-defined or have limited
structural diversity.
 Mono dispersity
 Nanoscale size and shape
 Viscosity
 High aqueous solubility
 High solubility in non polar solutions
 Non crystalline and have low glass temperature
 Low compressibility

Applications
Today, Dendrimers have several medicinal and practical applications.

 Dendrimers in biomedical field. Dendritic polymers have advantage in biomedical

applications.
 Anticancer drugs.
 Dendrimers in drug delivery.
 Transdermal drug delivery.
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  Gene delivery.
 Dendrimers as magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents.
 Dendritic sensors.
 Dendrimers used for enhancing solubility.
 Photodynamic therapy

4. NANOCOMPOSITES

Introduction
The word composites means made of two or more different parts. A composite is the
combination of two or more different materials that are mixed in an effort to blend the best
properties of the both.
A nano composite is a multiphase solid phase material where one of the phases has one, two or
three dimensions of less than 100 nanometer scale or structure having nano scale repeat distance
between the different phases that make up the material.”
Nano composites differ from conventional composite materials due to the exceptionally high
surface to volume ratio of the reinforcing phase and/or its exceptionally high aspect ratio.

Types of nano composites

Classifications of nano composites are:
 Polymer based nano composites.
 Non polymer based nano composites.

Polymer
(Matrix nano composites)
Polymer-matrix nano composites consist of a matrix made from a polymeric material The second
phase (usually a few percent by weight, wt%), which is dispersed within the matrix, has
nanoscale dimensions The small size of this phase leads to unique properties. Due to the
nanoscale size of the reinforcing phase, the interface -to -volume ratio is significantly higher than
in 11. Due to the nanoscale size of the reinforcing phase, the interface -to -volume ratio is
significantly higher than in conventional composites. As a result, the volume fraction of the
second phase can be reduced, without degradation of the desired properties.

Polymer matrix (Thermoplastic)

The polymer matrix system can be a thermoplastic, thermo-set, or elastomer. A thermoplastic
polymer will soften when heated above the glass transition temperature and thus can be molded
into a particular 13 (Tg) and thus can be molded into a particular shape upon cooling. This
process is repeatable, Which makes thermoplastic materials reprocess able and recyclable.

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Polymer matrix (Thermosetting and elastomeric)
Thermosetting materials become permanently hard through cross-linking when heated above.
Thus thermosetting polymers cannot be molded by softening. Instead, they must be fabricated
during the cross-linking process. 14 fabricated during the cross-linking process. Elastomeric
resins are lightly cross linked polymer systems and have properties that lie between thermo sets
and thermoplastics.

Reinforcing phase
The nanoscale reinforcing phase can be grouped into three categories, namely, nanoparticles (0-
D), nano tubes (1-D), and nano plates (2-D). In the case of nanoparticles, the particle size and
distribution are of great importance. Depending on the type of nanoparticles added, the
mechanical, electrical, optical, and thermal 15 properties of polymer nano composites can be
altered. In the field of mechanical properties, the changes in modulus and strength depend
strongly on the degree of interaction between the particle and the polymer.

Applications
 Producing batteries with greater power output.
 Speeding up the healing process for broken bones.
 Making lightweight sensors with nano composites.
 Using nano composites to make flexible batteries.
 Making tumors easier to see and remove.
 Producing structural components with a high strength-to-weight ratio.


CONCLUSION

The unique properties of these various types of intentionally produced nanomaterials give them
novel electrical, catalytic, magnetic, mechanical, thermal, or imaging features that are highly
desirable for applications in commercial, medical, military, and environmental sectors.

These materials may also find their way into more complex nanostructures and systems. As new
uses for materials with these special properties are identified, the number of products containing
such nanomaterials and their possible applications continues to grow.

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