ABSTRACT
Nanoscience and nanotechnology primarily deal with the synthesis, characterization, exploration, and exploitation of nanostructured materials. These materials are characterized by at least one dimension in the nanometer (1 nm 10−9 m) range. Nanostructures constitute a bridge between molecules and infinite bulk systems. Individual nanostructures include clusters, quantum dots, nanocrystals, nanowires, and nanotubes, while collections of nanostructures involve arrays, assemblies, and superlattices of the individual nanostructures [1,2]. Table 1.1 lists typical dimensions of nanomaterials. The physical and chemical properties of nanomaterials can differ significantly from those of the atomic-molecular or the bulk materials of the same composition. The uniqueness of the structural characteristics, energetics, response, dynamics, and chemistry of nanostructures constitutes the basis of nanoscience. Suitable control of the properties and response of nanostructures can lead to new devices and technologies. The themes underlying nanoscience and nanotechnology are twofold: one is the bottom-up approach, that is, the miniaturization of the components, as articulated by Feynman, who stated in the 1959 lecture that “there is plenty of room at the bottom” [3]; and the other is the approach of the self-assembly of molecular components, where each nanostructured component becomes part of a suprastructure. The latter approach is akin to that of JeanMarie Lehn [4].
