Unlike many other areas of nanotechnologies, Nanoparticles is one that has already been looked into for a while and is not in its beginning stages. In fact, it was used in the middle ages to glaze pottery. In modern times, we have been studying nanoparticles since the 1970s-80s.
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The reason Nanoparticles are so important is because of its special properties of being tiny, that it can interact with other nano/microparticles, and that the differences in size and shape of a nanostructure makes a difference to its properties.
Nanoparticles are interesting because of the differences of the two objects above. The cube has a side length of 1 cm and the pane of steel has a length of 50 nm and a with of only 5 nm. To compare the two objects, imagine we had a cube of iron 1 meter x 1 meter x 1 meter and one triple the size of it. Analytically, the two the same properties regardless of its size or shape. Therefore, one could reach the conclusion that the two figures above have the same properties. Unfortunately, this is not the case. As the size of an object gets smaller, the size and shape of an object does matter, thus leading to many possibilities of innovation and creations that has scientist so hyped about it.
(Source)
The reason Nanoparticles are so important is because of its special properties of being tiny, that it can interact with other nano/microparticles, and that the differences in size and shape of a nanostructure makes a difference to its properties.
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| 1 cm by 1 cm by 1 cm |
Nanoparticles are interesting because of the differences of the two objects above. The cube has a side length of 1 cm and the pane of steel has a length of 50 nm and a with of only 5 nm. To compare the two objects, imagine we had a cube of iron 1 meter x 1 meter x 1 meter and one triple the size of it. Analytically, the two the same properties regardless of its size or shape. Therefore, one could reach the conclusion that the two figures above have the same properties. Unfortunately, this is not the case. As the size of an object gets smaller, the size and shape of an object does matter, thus leading to many possibilities of innovation and creations that has scientist so hyped about it.
It is at these nanoscopic sizes that quantum functions come in to play. From here there are different properties in a material or element than what we might see at larger sizes. For example,Copper is malleable when it is large, but if it is less than 50 nm, it becomes very strong. Ferromagnetic materials in properties after 10 nm. Ferromagnetic materials are used to store memory. However, after 10 nm it no longer works for memory because the direction of magnetism changes direction.
Even without understanding the details embedded within nanoparticles, the one thing to remember is that size and shape do effect an object's properties when at the nanoscale because of quantum physics.
