ABSTRACT
The highly desirable and often unique mechanical, chemical, electrical, optical, magnetic, magneto-optical, and electro-optical properties of nanoparticles have prompted their extensive investigation [1-3]. Indeed, a National Nanotechnology Initiative has been launched in the United States to “develop the capacity to create affordable products with dramatically improved performance through gaining a basic understanding of ways to control and manipulate matter at the ultimate frontier-the nanometer-and through the incorporation of nanostructures and nanoprocesses into technological innovations. In addition to producing new technologies, the study of nanoscale systems also promises to lead to fundamentally new advances in our understanding of biological, environmental, and planetary systems” [4]. Efforts similar to the U.S. National Natotechnology Initiative are underway in China, the European Community, Japan, Korea, and other countries.
