ABSTRACT
In recent years, the scientific and technological communities in chemistry, physics, materials science, and even life sciences have faced and advanced the “nano” revolution, namely, increasing efforts to synthesize, explore, and find uses for nano-materials, including particulated matter with a particle size of (1–1000) × 10−9 m (size of molecules) and composite matter with features of that size (e.g., nano-porous materials). The nano revolution was promoted by the development of high-resolution microscopy (high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), and scanning probe microscopy/atomic force microscopy (SPM–AFM), scanning tunneling microscope (STM), etc.), which enables the imaging of nano-materials and, hence, the ability to monitor size, morphology, and composition (through attached techniques such as energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscope (STEM), and electron diffraction).
