Essentials in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Book Preface

The turn of twenty-firs century has witnessed the emergence of three cutting-edgetechnologies, namely, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology. In 2005, the United Nations Task Force on the Millennium Development Goals touted Nanotechnology as one of three platform technologies that can reduce hunger, promote health, improve water sanitation, develop renewable resources, and improve the environment, and recommended that developing countries should initiate nanotechnology programs at a national level. Inspired by such forecasts, by 2014, over 60 countries followed the United States and established the National Nanotechnology Initiative. These countries range from advanced industrial countries in Europe and Japan to the emerging markets of Russia, China, Brazil, and India.

Physicist Richard Feynman, in his famous speech of 1959, forecasted the development of nanoscience and the punch line “plenty of room at the bottom” became reality by the 1980s when scientists developed techniques and tools to explore and manipulate matter at the atomic scale. The term “nanoscale” define a size range from 1 to 100 nm, although a scientificall based range goes from the atomic scale (0.2 nm) to 100 nm. The focus on the nanoregime relates to the convenience of some standard definitio that can be used to both categorize nanotechnology, nanoscience, and nanoproducts and act as a bridge between quantum mechanical effects and surface area effects.

Nanoscience is not merely about size; it is about the unique physical, chemical, biological, and optical properties that emerge naturally at the nanoscale, whereas nanotechnology is related to the ability to manipulate and engineer such effects. It is a broad new area of science that demolishes boundaries among physics, chemistry, biology, cognitive science, materials science, and engineering at the nanoscale. New technologies, however, are likely to revolutionize the economy and the society only if there is a broader strong National base consisting of trained manpower and infrastructure that allows a new technology to spread and transform to its exciting niche applications, whether civilian or military. To do so, the most important thing is to educate and train the budding manpower at the school and university levels. For that, availability of standard books is necessary, and this book is designed keeping in mind these essential requirements.

Furthermore, keeping in view the unprecedented research and development in the area of nanoscience and nanotechnology and to make the students aware about the latest developments in the field we have attempted to write this book in a manner as simple as possible while including the latest development in the field The subject matter of the book, ranging from fundamentals to the latest developments and technological applications, is presented in 10 chapters. The first chapter on introduction gives a historical prospective, provides living examples of nanoscience in nature and artificia nanomaterials, and brings out the likely impact of nanotechnology on human civilization. Chapter 2 describes general synthetic approaches and strategies, while Chapter 3 deals with the characterization of nanomaterials using modern tools and techniques to provide the basic understanding to students who are interested in learning this emerging area. Chapters 4–7 deal with different kinds of nanomaterials such as inorganic, carbon-based nanocomposites, and self-assembled/supramolecular nanostructures, respectively, in terms of their varieties, synthesis, and properties. Following this, Chapters 8 and 9 are devoted to the unique properties and applications of nanotechnology in various disciplines such as information technology, pollution, environment, energy, healthcare, consumer goods, and so on. Finally, the last chapter deals with the toxicological and ethical issues associated with nanotechnology.

We believe this book will generate and promote the basic understanding on the complex and revolutionary disciplines of nanoscience and nanotechnology, which is offered now as a core subject in most of the academic institutions across the globe.