Nanotechnology

Nanometer - One nanometer is one billionth of a meter (1nm = 1 × 10^-9)

Nanoscale - Dimensions that are smaller than 100nm

Nanomaterials - materials that contain particles that are 1-100nm in size (nanoparticles). Properties of these nanomaterials often differ from the properties of the bulk material

Nanoparticles - Particles with a size range of 1-100nm e.g C60 Buckyball

At the nanoscale, the surfave area to volume ratio increases leading to more pronounced surface or quantum effects than its bulk form e.g

Optical properties

• Nanoparticles of gold appear pink in colour (bulk gold is yellow)

• Nanoparticles of ZnO appear invisble (bulk is white)

Antibacterials effect

• Nanoparticles of silver have enhanced antibacterial and antiviral properties

Increased Catalytic activity

• Noble metals such as platinum, pladium, gold exhbit signifantly higher catalytic activity when reduced to nanoscale.