When materials are reduced to a very small scale, like the size of a few molecules or atoms, their properties can change drastically. The reason for this is the fact that the surface area to volume ration of the material at a tiny scale is much greater than it is at a larger scale. Some interesting examples of the changes that can occur are gold, which becomes a liquid at room temperature, copper, which becomes transparent, and silicon, which gains the ability to conduct electricity. The production of these materials is one of the main avenues of research in the field of nanotechnology. One method of production is known as “self assembly”, in which the atoms and molecules simply arrange themselves in the correct places, because of their natural properties!

Currently, nanomaterials are used as extremely thin coatings on various items, such as circuit boards, to enhance conduction of electricity, or even on panes of glass, to make them self-cleaning! An application of this technology currently under active research, is to increase the strength of conventional products. At a nanometre level, “softer” metals such as nickel can become as strong as hardened steel at a larger scale.

Nanomaterials can be categorised into “fullerenes” and “nanoparticles”. Fullerenes are made of carbon, and are thought to have important properties that could be used to produce more powerful antibiotics which may be able to tackle some forms of cancer. A nanoparticle is a “small object [1-100 nanometres] that behaves as a whole unit”. As mentioned previously, the properties of many materials change at this scale, so most nanoparticles exhibit interesting differences to their larger scale equivalents. These differences are not always desirable. For example, magnetic materials used to store information in computers can “flip” their magnetic field, making them lose any information stored on them.

Leave Comment