nanotechnology-a tiny revolution

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NANOTECHNOLOGY-A TINY REVOLUTION PRESENTED BY: P.Arun kumar III-B.TECH ECE BRANCH E-MAIL: [email protected] CONTACT NO: 9032147204 V.GOPI III-B.TECH ECE BRANCH E-MAIL: [email protected] CONTACT NO: 9491637070 DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING ESWAR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

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Page 1: Nanotechnology-A Tiny Revolution

NANOTECHNOLOGY-A TINY REVOLUTION

PRESENTED BY:

P.Arun kumar

III-B.TECH ECE BRANCH

E-MAIL: [email protected]

CONTACT NO: 9032147204

V.GOPI

III-B.TECH ECE BRANCH

E-MAIL: [email protected]

CONTACT NO: 9491637070

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

ESWAR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

KESANUPALLI

narasaraopet

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ABSTRACT Nanotechnology is about making things, whether it be making things that are smaller, faster or stronger, making something completely new or with additional properties or making machines that will lead to new manufacturing paradigms. Nanotechnology, to put it quite simply, is the future of manufacturing, and it will redefine the landscape of high technology. The race to the "bottom" has already begun. Nanotechnology-based products will be proliferating in the near term, not the long-term. The future is, literally, now. Nanotechnology, often defined as the ability to observe, measure and design at the atomic or, molecular scale, has the potential to impact every segment of life. Application of nanotechnology, as an enabling technology is anticipated to create over one million jobs and contribute billions of dollars. The rate of progress based on nanotechnology in many industry segments is truly astounding In recent years, scientists have realized that the answer to big problems lies in thinking small. With diameters ranging from 1 to 100 billionths of a meter, nanoparticles are destined to become big players for a variety of applications including high performance coatings, catalysis, filtration and separation, fuel cells, nanosensors, electronics, magnetic and biomaterials. This paper provides a brief overview of the versatile nature of nanotechnology, the commercial applications of it in the chemical industry working on new catalysts, coatings, lubricants filtration technologies and other end products, nanoparticle production methods responsible for high yield, the growing interest and spending on nanotechnology world wide and the long term possibilities of nanotechnology which is to conquer others in near future.

INTRODUCTION

NANOTECHNOLOGY is the ability to synthesize, manipulate and characterize matter at the sub-100-nm level. It is the ability to do things –measure, see, predict and make on the scale of atoms and molecules and exploit the novel properties found at that scale. This broad and multidisciplinary field encompasses several major areas of development and commercialization, including nanomaterials, nanobiotechnology, nanoelectronics and nanosystems and molecular machines. Over two billion dollars a year of government money is being pumped into nanotechnology worldwide, matched by a similar amount from private industry. To effectively evaluate the potential of a technology and its markets a firm understanding of the nature of the

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technology is essential. Equally, the perspective must be global in scope. Nanotechnology involve studying and working with matter on an ultra-small scale. One nanometer is one-millionth of a millimeter and a single human hair is around 80,000 nanometers in width. The technology stretches across the whole spectrum of science, touching medicine, physics, engineering and chemistry

To simply put in words, nanotechnology will affect every aspect of our lives from the medicines we use, to the power of our computers, the energy supplies we require, the food we eat, the cars we drive, the buildings we live in and the clothes we wear. More importantly, for every area where we can imagine an impact, there will be others no one has thought of –new capabilities, new products, and new markets. Given the breadth of impact in the short and medium-term this will be, by and large, a gradual, insidious revolution, creeping into the world around us for many years to come. It is important to realize the diversity of nanotechnology .It is an enabling technology allowing us to do new things in almost every conceivable technological discipline.

Like other enabling technologies, such as the Internet, the internal combustion engine, or electricity, its impact on society will be broad and often unanticipated (electricity was initially promoted as an alternative to gas lights, but from it we have developed telephones, computers, and the internet, and most of our lives would be impossible without it). Unlike these examples, nanotechnology is not so easy to pin down—it is a general capability that impacts on many scientific disciplines; it is multidisciplinary. This multidisciplinary nature presents a challenge for the scientific community and the R&D bodies of governments and industry but it also a reason to expect the unexpected controlling matter at a smaller scale is where the answers get more complex and diverse. An essential point is that nanotechnology is not just about miniaturizing things. At the nanoscale different laws of physics come into play (quantum physics), properties of traditional materials change, the behavior of surfaces starts to dominate the behavior of bulk materials, and whole new realms open up for us.

This multidisciplinary field is responsible for fueling the chemical industry’s future. With the various available nanoparticle production methods one can choose to make products that comply with future requirements and be tailored

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for specific commercial applications. The growing interest is on and the spending on nanotechnology is increasing worldwide because of its varied applications in almost every field. If ever there was a candidate for the phrase `all this and more', it is nanotechnology.

COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS Nanotechnology as a whole is still an emerging area with the need to make progress in both scientific and technological terms before enormous commercialization of products may occur. Nevertheless, commercial products are out there – more in some application areas than in others. The commercial application of nanotechnology includes the companies working on new catalysts, coatings, lubricants, filtration technologies and other end products.

1.Chemical reaction and Catalysts: Improved catalysts are prevalent in the chemical and related industries, especially in areas where chemical reactions are pivotal. Nanoporous materials such as Zeolite, have long been used to refine crude oil, an industry that will readily adopt catalysts that have been improved through control of structures on the nanoscale. The catalytic qualities of nanoparticles are attributed to their high surface –to –volume ratio. In addition, the substrate that holds the catalyst in place has a large influence on the catalyst efficacy, and can further boost the effectiveness of the catalyst if comprised of a nanostructured material. To illustrate, catalytic nanoparticles of silica substrate can increase the efficiency of the catalyst by a factor of ten. In some cases, the use of silica nanoparticles as a catalyst support has been inhibited by the brittleness of the silica material. This problem has been overcome by cross-linking the silica nanoparticles through polymerization. The cross linked nanoparticles can also be used as catalyst supports.

2.Filtration and separation.In the filtration industry, nanofiltration generally refers to the use of membranes with pore sizes larger than those in reverse osmosis membranes. The process is broadly applicable in water and air purification and many industrial processes, including purification of pharmaceuticals and enzymes, oil/water separation and

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waste removal. Slightly farther away is the goal of separating oxygen from nitrogen molecules, which only differ in size by two hundredths of a nanometer. The application of such a process would be to cost-effectively produce pure oxygen without cryogenic methods. In particular, nanofiltration technologies offer the potential to remove many contaminants from water. The first nanofiltration facility went into operation in 2000 in France, using pores of slightly less than 1 nm. Although power consumption is higher than for traditional purification technologies, there are offsetting benefits, such as avoiding the need to add chlorine. The adsorbent and absorbent properties of nanoporous, materials also offer potential in environment remediation, for example by mopping up heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury. But filtration technologies not based on nanoporous materials are also advancing. A prime example is the technology developed by Argonide nanomaterials, which uses 2nm dia. Fibers to create high throughput systems that can filter out viruses, arsenic and other contaminants.

3.Composite materialsUsing nanopoarticles in composite materials can: enhance material strength and /or reduce weight; increase chemical, heat and abrasion resistance; add new properties such as electrical conductivity; and change the interaction with light and other radiation. The market for clay-based Nanocomposites looks set to expand significantly in the near future. The prospect of new structural materials based on nanotube composites is just a few years away, with the major obstacles being the cost and availability of the best fillers (i.e., single-walled nanotubes) and the ability to leverage their properties in composites. Significant applications using the larger and less-perfect carbon nanofibres can be expected to start around 2004. These developments could put a dent in structural applications for nanoclay

4.CoatingsNanoparticles have had a significant impact on the coatings sector producing scratch-resistant and non-stick coatings, and self-assembled monolayers are making inroads too. Coatings based on nanoparticles offer a variety of properties, such as strength, abrasion resistance and transparency and conductivity. However creating nanoparticle-based coating is not without difficulties. Nanoparticles can be hard to handle. Few industries work with micro scale agglomerates, which are delivered as a plasma (a hot, ionized gas), and break up upon application. Producing water and dirt repellant coatings using nanoparticles are also in practice.

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Nanoparticle-enhanced coatings also show promise in biological applications. The inclusion of nanoparticles such as copper has been shown to reduce cell growth on surfaces, which can be a major problem for implants.

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5.The Role of DendrimersDendrimers are yet another wonder material from the realm of nanotechnology. As with carbon annotates, they come in a variety of forms with a legion of applications, from drug delivery to plastic additives to cleaning up environmental damage. In fact, in terms of sheer variety, dendrimers make nanotubes. Macromolecules like dendrimers hold great promise as building blocks for complex super molecular structures with specifically designed functions. They can be considered as versatile nanoscale components for building nanoscale structures. The enormous varieties of structures that can be built, with different physical - including optical and electrical - and chemical properties, make dendrimers potentially a great deal more versatile than the alternatives. In addition, they can be made with atomic precision, which becomes necessary when trying to build nanoscale structures or "devices" with sophisticated and complex functionality. Dendrimers also find applications in more traditional areas, such as coatings and inks. Whether used in nanotechnology or traditional technology, dendrimers are synthetically versatile which explains the ever-increasing interest they are provoking.

6.Dendrimers and DecontaminationDecontamination is one application where dendrimers seem particularly suited, compared with other approaches, which tend to be based on size alone (e.g.nanofiltration) or require fictionalization. Dendrimers can also act as scavengers of metal ions, offering the potential for environmental clean-up operations. Changing the acidity of a medium causes the dendrimers to release metal ions. The dendrimers can be recovered via ultra filtration and reused. In the same way, dendrimer-encapsulated catalysts can be separated from reaction products and recycled.moreover, the ability of dendrimers to capture small molecules in their cavities or on their modified end groups makes them suitable for the absorption or adsorption of biological or environmental contaminants.

7.Nanoprotection

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Dendrimers are also effective as reactive components in tropical skin-protection creams. This application may be extended to protective clothing, by stabilizing the dendritic layer against washing and weather conditions. In addition, over the last few years, much activity has centered on the use of nanoparticles to detect and/or protect against chemical warfare agents. Nanosphere will soon release a system that eventually could be used to detect biological warfare agents such as anthrax. An antibacterial liquid called as Nanoprotect, is developed which contains nanoscopic droplets of oil that destroy bacterial spores, virus particles and even funguses via an explosive release of surface tension. Surprisingly the product is not harmful to human tissue.

8.Fuel cellsThe increasing demand for power of portable electronics, combined with the desire to reduce their weight and size, has created a new market for nanoparticles, which, because of high surface area, can improve reaction rates in fuel cells and batteries. A successful series of advanced solid-oxide fuel cell, including connectors, electrolyte, anode and cathode has been developed. Nanoparticle lithium based battery electrode materials that have exhibited charge and discharge rates up to 10 times faster than those of current lithium battery materials is in use. A number of companies are planning to commercialize methanol-based fuel cells for portable electronics applications in 2004 or soon thereafter. Nanotubes and nanohorns are also being investigated for their potential to hold hydrogen and hydrocarbons for use in fuel cells. Nanomix which has fuel cells as a long term target, using hydrogen as a fuel, believes it will be able to produce systems holding 5-6 kg of hydrogen for under $1000/vehicle.

NANOPARTICLES-PRODUCTION METHODS

The term nanoparticle refers to a crystalline or primary particle measuring less than 100 nm in size. Academic and industrial research has shown that control over a nanoparticle’s size’shape’consistency and composite are necessary to ensure that the nanoparticle will be made to comply with future requirements and be tailored for specific commercial applications. Consequently, existing manufacturing are being continuously refined while at the same time novel production methods are being developed. The most commercially important nanoparticle materials are simple oxides, such as silica (SiO2), titania (TiO2), alumina (Al2O3), iron oxide (Fe2O3, Fe3O4), zinc oxide, ceria and zirconia. Historical processes have paved the way to manufacturing nanoparticles. Now

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innovative routes are being explored and developed. Some of the novel nanoparticle manufacturing methods under development include:

1. Attrition methods—these methods attempt to break coarse micron sized particles into smaller particles through application of directed energy, such as milling. Some teams are exploring ways to perform the milling in a carefully thermal, shear and chemical environments. While appropriate for certain applications, these techniques have been reported to yield a product that is contaminated with the media or vessel used to break the particles. Cost, yield and stability are other issues that must be addressed. Nanoparticle compositions produced using cost-effective attrition methods can be marked in the $50-500/kg range in the tons-per-year volumes.

Companies that use or have attrition or mechanochemical methods are:

Advanced Power Technologies Altair Nanotechnologies Nanosystems Samsung Corning Buhler AG

2.Vapor methods—these methods are used to make metallic and metal oxide ceramic nanoparticles and nano agglomerated particles that are necessary for transparent scratch resistant coatings and for modifying properties of plastics. They involve first directly vaporizing selected raw materials or combusting the raw materials with a reactant gas, such as oxygen (when making oxides) or an inert gas (when making nanoparticles) at temperatures ranging from 1,500 to 2,300 K. next the vapor is quenched to form powder nanoparticles. Attractive features of these processes are the low contamination levels of the products and diverse range of compositions that can be produced. Final particle size is controlled by variation of parameters such as temperature, gas environment and evaporation rate. Drawbacks include high-energy costs due to high temperature and, if he quench is accompanied by the addition of coolants, high raw material and separation costs. Nanoparticle compositions produced using the cost-effective vapor methods can be marketed in the $20-$200/kg range in tons-per-year volumes. Large volumes are expected to permit pricing in $5-$50/kg range.

Companies that have used vapor phase methods include:

Cabot Degussa

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Nanoproducts Nanophase Technologies Tal Materials Nano Technologies Hosokawa Micron Toshiba

To overcome the high energy coats of vapor methods, NanoProducts has invented the joule-Quench process where in a mixture of raw materials is sprayed and combusted in presence of oxygen or air, followed immediately by further heating with plasma to achieve peak temperatures greater than 3000K. This creates hot elemental vapor that is cooled to nucleate nanoparticles, which are then quenched via Joule-Thompson expansion of the vapor stream.

3.Solution methods—Often referred to as chemical synthesis, these methods attempt to precipitate nanoparticles from liquid precursors. The attractive feature of solution methods is their low temperature and capital costs. In addition they are generally better than vapor condensation techniques for controlling the final shape of the particles. Nanoparticle composition produced using solution methods can be marketed as dry powders in the $30-300/kg range in tons-per-year volumes.higer volumes are expected to cost less.

Companies that use or have used solution methods include:

Baikowski Chemie Cima Nanotech Dupont Hanse Chemie Nanocrystals technology Nanoscale Materials Nyacol Nanotechnologies NanoGate Quantum Dot Corp. Sachtleben AG

Although solution approaches are generally low-cost and high-volume, there are drawbacks. Precursor chemicals may sinter on the nanoparticles and create unwanted surface coatings. Further, solution thermodynamics can sometimes limit the complexity of material compositions that can be manufactured cost –effectively. In addition solution methods often produce hydroxides, which needs to

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be filtered and then calcined at higher temperatures to yields oxides. The retention of nanoscale features and high yields during filtration and calcinations can be expensive and difficult to control.

Novel nanoparticle production routes

As the market for nanoparticles in high-tech areas such as the computers, coatings, pigments and pharmaceuticals continues to expand, the demand for nanoparticles with well –defined sizes and/or shapes in high volumes and at low costs continues to increase. This trend is responsible for a continuous refinement of existing manufacturing technologies and for the development of novel production techniques.

2001

Actual

2002

Estimate

2003

Proposed

Change

2002 to 2003

Percent change 2002-2003

National science

Foundation

150 199 221 22 11%

Defense 125 180 201 21 12%

Energy 88 91 139 48 53%

Commerce 33 38 44 6 16%

National institute of health

40 41 43 2 6%

National aeronautics and space administration

22 22 22 0 0%

Environment protection agency

5 5 5 0 0%

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Department of transportation

0 2 2 0 0%

Department of justice

1 1 1 0 0%

Total 464 579 679 100 17%

Recently, researchers have begun to use super critical fluids (SCF) as a medium for metal nanoparticle growth. SCF precipitation processes produce a narrow particle size distribution. Generally CO2 is used because of its relatively mild super critical conditions, and because it is inexpensive, non-toxic, non-corrosive and non-explosive and non-flammable. This process leads to the formation of micro emulsions, which can be viewed as potential nanoreactors for synthesizing extremely homogeneous nanoparticles. Other novel production techniques have been reported, based on the use of microwaves, ultrasound.biomimetics (mimicking biology) and electrodeposition.

Some bacteria have been found to crate magnetic nanoparticles, and bacterial proteins have been used to grow magnetite in laboratories. Yeast cells can create cadmium sulfide nanoparticles. More recently, researchers in India found a fungus capable of making gold nanoparticles, while others in the U. S used viral proteins to create silver nanoparticles with interesting and well –formed shapes

THE GROWING INTEREST IN, AND SPENDING ON, NANOTECH

Nanotechnology is a global phenomenon, with critical research being done, and discoveries being made around the world. Our ability to work on the nanoscale is blossoming. A wide range of companies and initiatives has already been established to create specific products based on nanotechnology. Applications have hit the markets already (bulk materials, coatings, sensors) and others are being touted as around the corner (drug-delivery systems, new data storage technologies, fuel cells, nanotube composites). Money is pouring into the field from government, businesses and investors. some sense of the scale of this is :

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Breakdown of spending on the US's National Nanotechnology Initiative from 2001 to

2003 (all figures in millions of dollars)

Note that statistics relating to the world of nanotechnology sometimes have to be approached with caution since it is not always easy to define nanotechnology's boundaries. Any technologies and areas of scientific research, especially in the biological sciences and biotechnology, are tending to be reclassified as nanotechnology. This has some justification because of the multidisciplinary nature of the subject and the synergies that will arise from this. Funding has grown at precedent rates in the last three years.

For the fiscal year 2002, the US government proposed $519 million dollars for nanotech research and the budget enacted by Congress is about $604 million, up from about $497 million proposed, and $422 million approved, in fiscal year 2001. The 2003 proposal is now $710 million (an extra $31 million in associated programs having been added to the original $679 million). In Europe, 1.3 billion euros is earmarked for nanotechnology, new materials and production processes for the 2002 - 2006 Framework Programmer, Figures coming out of Europe are sometimes confusing and contradictory, in part because much nanotechnology is funded in ways that don't specifically identify it as such. The table above shows the latest available spending figures for the EU plus individual European countries—it should not be forgotten that Europe is still far more a collection of individual countries than a bloc.

In the Far East spending is also impressive (see table). The Chinese figure doesn't initially seem that high but one has to allow for the fact that it buys a lot more in China than it would in the US, Europe or Japan. Adjusting for that, the figure is

Probably closer to $1 billion US equivalent. All told, global government spending on nanotech has now grown to over $2 billion a Year.

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Government nanotechnology spending in the Far

Japan $650M

China $200MTaiwan $150MKorea $150MSingapore $40MTotal $1.19B

In India the nanotechnology initiative will support long-term nano-scale research and development leading to potential breakthroughs in areas such as materials and manufacturing, nanoelectronics, medicine and healthcare, environment, energy, chemicals, biotechnology, agriculture, information technology, and national security. The effect of nanotechnology on the health, wealth, and lives of people could be at least as significant as the combined influences of microelectronics, medical imaging, computer-aided engineering, and man-made polymers developed in this century. India Nano Nanotechnology Initiative establishes Grand Challenges -- potential breakthroughs that if one day realized could provide major, broad-based economic benefits to India, as well as improve the quality of life for its citizens dramatically.

However, current work on nanotechnology is not limited to theoretical papers and computer models. The company Zyvex, which bills itself as the world's first molecular nanotechnology company, has recently teamed up with some respected academic groups and attracted government funding to work on building assemblers (NANO ROBOTICS), starting at the micro scale but, hopefully, moving down to the nanoscale. NASA is currently researching dendrimers for detecting apoptosis, or cell death, to diagnose radiation damage in astronauts before symptoms become apparent.

There is growing interest from venture capital firms in nanotech-related companies; with over 20 nanotech investments in the first half of 2002 in the US and Europe, and More than $100 million invested in the US in the first half

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of 2002. Some of the World’s largest companies, including IBM, Motorola, Hewlett Packard, Lucent, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, NEC, Corning, Dow Chemical, and 3M have launched significant Nanotech initiatives through their own venture capital funds or as a direct result of their own R&D. Some of the biggest spenders on R&D are allocating up to half of their long-term research budgets to nanotech. While initial interest has been greatest among the seed stage finders, many investment banks are now taking an interest, and some institutions are already creating nanotechnology funds. The US's National Science Foundation predicts that the total market for nanotech products and services will reach $1 trillion by 2015 (National Science Foundation, “Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology,” March 2001) and huge variations in existing and predicted market sizes have been seen. These are generally offered unqualified and the size of some figures suggests that they are including revenues or any industry seeing an impact from nanotech. Companies.

LONG-TERM POSSIBILITIES OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

In an imminent future, tiny submarines patrolling our bodies, stitching up damaged tissue, zapping an occasional cancer cell or invading virus or switching off an errant gene; nanorobots weaving extensions to our brains to enhance our intelligence; desktop machines that can make you a diamond ring; a table that will transform into a chair at the flick of a remote control; and even immortality. These examples represent the sensationalism and distortion of the popular press but are based on some seriously made predictions of possible futures. While some of the wilder visions of nanotech-enabled futures are extremely speculative, they stem largely from quite straightforward ideas founded in science. The mainstream applications of nanotechnology are of more interest to investors in the near and medium terms. Failure to distinguish between what is available now and what is theoretically possible at some point in the future has been the cause of many of the misconceptions about nanotechnology. The core idea is that of making robotic machines, called assemblers, on a molecular scale, that are capable of constructing materials an atom or a molecule at a time by precisely placing reactive groups (this is called positional assembly). This could lead to the creation of new substances not found in nature and which cannot be synthesized by existing methods such as solution chemistry.

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Then comes the second big idea, getting these molecular machines to make copies of themselves, which then make copies of themselves, which then make copies, and so on. This would lead to exponential growth of tiny machines that could then be used to construct macro scale objects from appropriate molecular feedstocks, and with no wastage.

The potential of such technology to change our world is indeed truly staggering, if it can be realized. Whether it can or not is a subject of debate, sometimes fierce. There is, though, an unassailable argument for the feasibility, in principle, of self-replicating machines that construct things on a molecular level, this being that they already exist—all living things, including ourselves, are built this way.

. A commonly heard piece of nanotechnology hype is that it will give us the ability to detect cancer at the single-cell level. That's somewhat misleading since this can already be done and does not need to involve nanotechnology. However, dendrimers promise the ability to fight cancer at the cellular level, performing the tasks of detection, delivering a payload and then monitoring to check that the drug has worked. Such a creation may well warrant the use of that overused word, "nanodevice". Scientists and engineers believe nanotechnology can be used to benefit human health now and in the future through applications such as better filters for improving water purification, more effective methods of delivering drugs in medicine and new ways of repairing damaged tissues and organs

OTHER APPLICATIONS

Life Sciences and Medicine: In life sciences and medicine, it means we are now becoming able to measure and make things on the level at which organisms in the living world, from bacteria to plants to ourselves, do most of their work. Being able to work at this scale doesn't just empower us in our control of the Biological world, but also allows us to start borrowing from that world, leveraging the extraordinary inventions that nature has produced through billions of years of Evolution.

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Materials. In materials, things start to behave differently at the nanoscale. The bulk materials that we have traditionally dealt with are uncontrolled and disordered at small scales. The strongest alloys are still made of crystals the size and shape of which we control only crudely. By comparison, a tiny, hollow tube of carbon atoms, called a carbon nanotube, can be perfectly formed, is remarkably strong, and has some interesting and useful electrical and thermal properties. When particles get small enough (and qualify as nanoparticles), their mechanical properties change, and the way light and other electromagnetic radiation is affected by them changes (visible light wavelengths are on the order of a few hundred nanometers). Using nanoparticles in composite materials can enhance their strength and/or reduce weight, increase chemical and heat resistance and change the interaction with light and other radiation. Coatings made from nanoparticles can be unusually tough or slippery, or exhibit unusual properties, such as changing color when a current is applied or cleaning themselves when it rains.

Electronics. In electronics the benefit of working on the nanoscale stems largely from being able to make things smaller. The value comes from the fact that the semiconductor industry, which we have come to expect to provide ever smaller circuits and ever more powerful computers, relies on a technology that is fundamentally limited by the wavelength of light (or other forms of electromagnetic radiation, such as X-rays). The semiconductor industry sees itself plunging towards a fundamental size barrier using existing technologies. The ability to work at levels below these wavelengths, with nanotubes or other molecular configurations, offers us a sledgehammer to break through this barrier. Ultimately, circuit elements could consist of single molecules. Nanoscale structures such as quantum dots also offer a path to making a revolutionary new type of computer, the quantum computer, with its promise of mind-boggling computing power, at least in certain types of application, if it can be converted from theory to practice. Some of the above technologies are already generating revenue; others are attracting venture capital, in the expectation of revenue in the near future, and some

are being heavily funded by government, in recognition of the considerable longer-term

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potential. Many commentators argue that most nanotechnological applications are still a long way off and thus of no interest to the investment community. This is simply not true. Areas that are already seeing commercial application of nanotechnology, or could well do within the next five years, include: drug delivery; solar energy (photovoltaic or direct hydrogen production); batteries; display technologies and e-paper; composites containing nanotubes (multi-walled); various nanoparticle composites; catalysts (many applications); coatings (extra hard or with novel properties); alloys (e.g. steel or those used in prosthetics); implants that encourage cell growth; insulation (thermal and electrical); sensors (bio and chemical); single photon generators and detectors; new solid-state lasers; bioanalysis tools; bioseparation technologies; medical imaging technologies; filters; abrasives; glues; lubricants; paints; fuels and explosives;

Textiles; higher capacity hard drives; new forms of computer memory; printable electronic circuits; and various optical components. This list is by no means complete. . Nanotechnology in Energy Application The theme of the development of nanotechnology in energy application technology is geared toward two main directions, "Nanomaterials for Energy Storage" and "Nanotechnology for Energy Saving”

Others include

Producing catalyst that helps destroy toxic pollutants in environmentally friendly way

Decontaminating anthrax

Discoloring textile mill waste water

Breaking down pesticides

Removing sulphur compounds from fuels

Clean up of paper and wood pulp manufacturing process

Building better bones

Working on nanotech based solar cells

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Nanotech will also have a large impact on the most mundane products. Carbon nanotubes are many times as strong as steel, and can also be used as wires, computer switches, chemical sensors, heat conductors, and for storing hydrogen. Silicon nanocrystals do interesting things to light; they can be used for biotech research, optical computing, and to make more efficient light bulbs. Nano-sized aluminum powder makes a better rocket fuel. Zeolites, materials with nano-sized holes, are useful in all sorts of industrial processes. The list goes on and on--every time we study something at the nanometer scale, we find new effects that are often amazingly useful, both for new products and in existing products. Even if we ignore the nano-robot scenarios, we will see unprecedented improvement in many of our current technologies, including computers and weapons. Even the conservative opinions about nanotechnology sound like a new industrial revolution.

CONCLUSION

More than anything else, nanotechnology is an enabling technology. It's the breadth of impact of nanotechnology that has to be appreciated. The world will be changed, bit-by-bit, over a period of many years, and it is the summation of all these effects that will cause most transformations. As we have shown, sometimes these effects promise to combine, often synergistically, to add up to a revolutionary change in a market, and sometimes a nanotechnology looks set to achieve that on its own. Additionally, there will be the inevitable unanticipated effects, both primary and secondary, and these too could prove revolutionary, as the examples of electricity, computing and manned flight show. Throughout this there will be periods of discontinuous and accelerating change. Discontinuous changes challenge investors and technologists alike.

Having read the description of many of the technologies that are on the horizon, or already impacting our world, one might argue that many don't seem particularly revolutionary in the way that computers or the invention of electricity have been. Apart from the obvious rejoinder that early computer manufacturers did not envision the Internet, early developers of electrical technology did not envision telephones, television or computers, and the Wright Brothers surely didn't anticipate globalization enabled by satellite communications

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One area not addressed in detail is the impact of all this on society and the

consequent ethical considerations, including consideration of the dangers this new technology presents. Nevertheless, like any other new technology, nanotechnology can have positive or negative effects on the environment and society. However the cumulative effects of nanotechnology will impact the industrial and commercial landscape significantly, and there will likely be a few problems along the way. Given the piecemeal nature of the influence of nanotechnology, this, and its consequent effects on society, is very difficult to anticipate and plan for.

The fact that early nanotech business will be driven by science, and not simple science at that, argues for a very different competitive landscape—in any nanotechnology-related endeavor, the barriers to entry are automatically high. By contrast, the failure of most specialist business-to-business companies could be attributed to low barriers to entry—once the concept had been grasped, all the major software makers could move in easily. The greater dependence of nanotechnology industries on complex science also argues for longer times to market, and thus longer times to an exit—investors will have to have patience.. In fact nanotechnology is not an industry but will touch on most other industries in various ways. Traditional approaches to tracking markets and industries will thus need to be significantly revised if they are to tell us how nanotechnology is affecting the wealth of corporations and nations. In sum, revolution is indeed the correct word. The nanotechnology revolution won't come overnight but its progress will be relentless.

Nanotechnology will impact every aspect of society and the global economy. it has the potential; to revolutionize multiple industries and improve the quality of life for millions. It is an enabling technology that will impact all of the traditional scientific disciplines. Because of this impact, nanotechnology offers opportunities and challenges.

REFERENCES1.www.nanoworld.com

2.www.indianano.com

3.www.zyvex.com