Textbook of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology - 2013

Textbook of
Nanoscience
and
Nanotechnology
Textbook of
Nanoscience
and
Nanotechnology
B S Murty
Professor,
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
P Shankar
Principal,
Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai, India
Baldev Raj
PresidentResearch
PSG Institutions, Coimbatore, India
B B Rath
Director,
Materials Science and Component Technology,
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
James Murday
Scientist,
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
B S Murty
Professor
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Chennai, India
P Shankar
Principal
Saveetha Engineering College
Chennai, India
Baldev Raj
PresidentResearch
PSG Institutions, Coimbatore, India
B B Rath
Director
Materials Science and
Component Technology
Naval Research Laboratory
Washington DC, USA
James Murday
Scientist
Naval Research Laboratory
Washington DC, USA
e-ISBN 978-3-642-28030-6
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-28030-6
Bangalore / Bhopal / Bhubaneshwar / Chandigarh / Chennai

Ernakulam / Guwahati / Hyderabad / Jaipur / Kolkata
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Universities Press (India) Private Limited 2013
Cover and book design
Universities Press (India) Private Limited 2013
Typeset in MinionPro 11/13 by
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Foreword
The emergence of nanoscience and nanotechnology has opened a myriad possibilities to revolutionize
a wide range of fields ranging from cosmetics to space technologies; there are also important contributions to diagnostics and therapeutic practices, especially for treating cancer. Nanoscience is also making a difference in many areas of engineering and technology, such as energy environmental pollution
control, textile, automobile and electronics. Nanoscience and nanotechnology combine the essence of
knowledge in many fields of science and are truly interdisciplinary. There is little doubt that the next
generation of citizens will be the beneficiaries of the applications of nanoscience and nanotechnology
in their daily life. It is, therefore, vital to have adequate awareness of this important field, irrespective of
the specialization or profession that one may choose.
This book presents a fine insight into many aspects of nanoscience and their applications in engineering. The book has been written from the perspective of materials scientists, but the presentation is lucid
and simple and easily understandable by beginners and undergraduate students. The valuable experience of the authors as teachers and scientists is borne out by the balanced perspective provided by the
text. While emphasizing the applications of nanotechnology that are yet to be explored, the authors have
also indicated possible issues related to environmental and ecological concerns.
I trust that students, research scholars and teachers will find this book a useful introduction to nanoscience and nanotechnology.
C N R Rao
National Research Professor and Honorary President
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research
Bengaluru, India
Preface
The impact of anything associated with nano can be compared to Vamana, a well-known figure in
Indian Mythology; though diminutive in size, he encompassed the entire universe with one tiny step!
Similarly, nanosciences omnipresence can be felt in almost all fields of engineering and technology. Since
the Industrial Revolution, Manhattan Project (utilization of nuclear energy), deployment of Sputnik
(led to space exploration) and ARPANET (resulted in information explosion), it is the only science that
has brought together people of different fields, making it truly inter-disciplinary. Nano as a term is no
longer restricted to research laboratories and institutes; it is seen everywhere, in applications ranging
from consumer goods such as toothpaste, wall paints, water purifiers and refrigerators to sophisticated
applications such as catalysis, sensors and electronics.
Though many books on nanoscience and nanotechnology are available, very few have been written with
the beginner in mind. This book attempts to bridge this gap. The presentation is kept simple so that beginners
and undergraduate students will be able to understand and obtain a good overview of the subject. To kindle
interest in this field in the minds of the readers, brief biographical sketches of people who contributed
significantly to this field have been given. Students and research scholars in this field will find this book
immensely useful. The science and technology of regulating the controlled application of this revolutionary
technology for restraining the negative impacts is perhaps going to be the biggest challenge of the future.
The first chapter introduces the reader to the nano-world and brings out the exciting developments
in this field. The second chapter identifies the unique properties of materials at the nanoscale. The
synthesis routes, both bottom-up and top-down, have been discussed briefly in the third chapter. The
applications of nanomaterials, ranging from medical to electronic, have been highlighted in the fourth
chapter. The fifth chapter gives a brief description of the various tools used to characterize materials
at the nanoscale. The most widely studied nanostructures such as quantum dots, carbon nanotubes,
fullerenes and graphenes, nanowires, etc., are presented in the sixth chapter. The last chapter brings out
the health hazards related to nanomaterials.
In this book, we have made special efforts to showcase the contributions of Indian scientists in
the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. We are grateful to Dr N Ravisankar, IISc Bangalore,
Dr Bhaskar Majumdar, DMRL, Hyderabad, Prof. V Ramgopal Rao, IIT Bombay, Prof. M S Ramachandra
Rao, Prof. Uday Chakkingal, Prof. T S Sampath Kumar and Dr R Sarathi, IIT Madras, who have
contributed their research work to enrich this book. Prof. Murty would specially like to thank his research
scholars, both past and present, Joydip, Monikanchan, Kallol, Venugopal, Parashar, Barua, Sashank,
Jatin, Varalakshmi, Shanmugasundaram, Udhayabanu, Srinivasulu, Ajeet, Ramakrishna, Murugan,
Praveen Kumar, Karthikeyan, Anisha, Praveen, Susila and Prakash, all of who have significantly
contributed to this field and enriched his knowledge. Some parts of their work have been referred to
in this book, which is gratefully acknowledged. Discussions and associations with experts in this field,
such as Profs S Ranganathan, K Chattopadhyay, T Pradeep, S Ramaprabhu, S K Das, I Manna, S K Pabi
and C Suryanarayana, and Drs A K Tyagi, G K Dey and B L V Prasad, are gratefully acknowledged.
vi
Preface
The authors acknowledge the enthusiastic support and meticulous editorial coordination of
Universities Press at various stages of the preparation of the book. A special word of appreciation to
Ms Javanthi Singaram and Ms Madhavi Sethupathi for their untiring editorial support. We welcome
suggestions from readers towards improvements that can be incorporated in future editions of this
book.
B S Murty, P Shankar, Baldev Raj, B B Rath and James Murday
About the Series
The study of metallurgy and materials science is vital for developing advanced materials for diverse
applications. In the last decade, the progress in this field has been rapid and extensive, giving us a new
array of materials, with a wide range of applications, and a variety of possibilities for processing and
characterizing the materials. In order to make this growing volume of knowledge available, an initiative
to publish a series of books in Metallurgy and Materials Science was taken during the Diamond Jubilee
year of the Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) in the year 2006. As part of the series we have already
brought out five books, and all of them have been copublished by CRC Press, USA, for distribution
overseas. This is the sixth book in the series and the second textbook to be published.
The IIM is a premier professional body representing an eminent and dynamic group of metallurgists
and materials scientists from R&D institutions, academia and industry in India. It is a registered
professional institute with the primary objective of promoting and advancing the study and practice
of the science and technology of metals, alloys and novel materials.The institute is actively engaged in
promoting academiaresearch and instituteindustry interactions.
Universities Press, an associate of Orient Blackswan, with its long tradition of publication of quality
books in engineering and sciences, has come forward to undertake the publication of this series, thus
synergising the professional expertise of IIM with the publishing experience of Universities Press towards
effective knowledge dissemination. This book series shall include different categories of publications:
textbooks to satisfy the requirements of undergraduates and beginners in the field, monographs on
select topics by experts in the field, and proceedings of select international conferences organized by
IIM after mandatory peer review. To increase the readership and to ensure wide dissemination, some of
the books in the series will be copublished with international publishers.
The international character of the authors and editors has helped the books command a global
readership. An eminent panel of international and national experts acts as the advisory body in overseeing
the selection of topics, important areas to be covered, and the selection of contributing authors. These
publications are expected to serve as a source of knowledge to a wide spectrum of students, engineers,
researchers and industrialists in the field of metallurgy and materials science. I look forward to receiving
your valuable response to the present book as well as the other books in the series.
Baldev Raj
Editor-in-Chief
SERIES IN METALLURGY AND MATERIALS SCIENCE

Editor-in-Chief
BALDEV RAJ
PresidentResearch
PSG Institutions, Coimbatore, INDIA
Editorial Advisory Board

G AMARENDRA
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research,
Kalpakkam, INDIA
BIKRAMJIT BASU
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur,
Kanpur, INDIA
C H CHEN
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth,
N. Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA
A K GUPTA
Advanced Materials & Processes Research
Institute, Bhopal, INDIA
M KAMARAJ
Indian Institute of Technology Madras,
Chennai, INDIA
M H MANGHNANI
Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology,
Hawaii, USA
S RANGANATHAN
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, INDIA
K B S RAO
School of Engineering Sciences & Technology,
University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, INDIA
B B RATH
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC,
USA
SAROJA SAIBABA
Kalpakkam, INDIA
S SRIKANTH
National Metallurgical Laboratory,
Jamshedpur, INDIA
T S SUDARSHAN
Materials Modification Inc. Fairfax,
Vancouver, USA
I MANNA
Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute,
Kolkata, INDIA
G SUNDARRARAJAN
International Advanced Research Centre
for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials,
Hyderabad, INDIA
SUMAN MISRA
National Metallurgical Laboratory,
Jamshedpur, INDIA
ANISH UPADHYAYA
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur,
Kanpur, INDIA
U KAMACHI MUDALI
Kalpakkam, INDIA
About the Authors
B S Murty, Professor, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Madras,

Chennai, India, has pioneered the synthesis of nanomaterials by high-energy ball milling/
mechanical alloying route and has also made significant contributions to the field of bulk
metallic glasses and their nanocrystallization. His other fields of interest are in-situ composites
and metal foams.
P Shankar, Principal, Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai, India, is a prolific researcher
and teacher with National and International credentials. As senior research scientist at the
Department of Atomic Energy, he made several pioneering contributions in the field of
characterization of advanced nuclear materials and in the development of novel surface
engineering processes that are being used in our nuclear reactors.
Baldev Raj, PresidentResearch, PSG Institutions, Coimbatore, India, has made pioneering
contributions in the area of non-destructive characterization, evaluation of defects,
microstructures and stresses in structural and strategic materials. His contributions also
encompass the design and development of nuclear materials such as austentic steels, lowactivation martensitic/ferritic steels and nuclear fuels, which have a wide range of applications
in fission and fusion reactors, advanced clean energy systems and aerospace structures. He is a
leading authority in materials, welding, corrosion and structureproperty correlation studies.
His work in nanoscience and technology relates to nanofluids, nanosensors and coatings.
Bhakta B Rath, Associate Director, Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate,
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA, is an educator, researcher and administrator.
His research interests are in the fields of solid state transformations and structureproperty
relationships. He serves on the planning and advisory boards of a number of US Government
agencies, academies and universities.
James S Murday, Director of Physical Sciences, University of Southern Californias Research
Advancement Office in Washington DC, USA, led the Naval Research Laboratorys Chemistry
Division for twenty years. He served as Director of the US National Nanotechnology
Coordination Office in 20012002 and as Executive Secretary to the US National Science and
Technology Councils Subcommittee on Nanometer Science Engineering and Technology
(NSET) in 20012006.
List of Colour Plates
Plate 1
Fig. 1.3 : Colours of stained glass panels

Fig. 1.4 : Supported lipid bilayer formation
Plate 2
Fig. 1.5 : Nanoshells designed to absorb various wavelengths of light

Fig. 1.6 : Famous 4th century Roman cup
Plate 3
Fig. 1.17 : Schematic illustration of nanotubes

Fig. 1.21 : Nanotechnology in nature
Plate 4
Fig. 2.6 : Grain growth restriction in CuW nanocomposites

Fig. 2.19 : Image of Don Quixote
Plate 5
Fig. 5.4 : Ray diagrams for SEM and TEM

Fig. 5.10 : AFM image of a CuTa nanocomposite
Plate 6
Fig. 5.12 : The principle of FIM

Fig. 6.2 : CdSe NCQDs that fluoresce into different colours
Plate 7
Plate 8
Fig. 6.7 : Ballstick model of a nanotube

Image of Barak Obama produced using nanoparticles
Contents
Foreword
Preface
About the Series
List of Editors
About the Authors
List of Colour Plates
iii
v
vii
viii
ix
x
1. The Big World of Nanomaterials

1.1 History and Scope
1.2 Can Small Things Make a Big Difference?
1.3 Classification of Nanostructured Materials
1.4 Fascinating Nanostructures
1.5 Applications of Nanomaterials
1.6 Nature: The Best Nanotechnologist
1.7 Challenges and Future Prospects
1
3
8
10
13
17
22
25
2. Unique Properties of Nanomaterials

2.1 Microstructure and Defects in Nanocrystalline Materials
2.2 Effect of Nano-dimensions on Materials Behaviour
29
29
36
3. Synthesis Routes
3.1 Bottom-Up Approaches
3.2 Top-Down Approaches
3.3 Consolidation of Nanopowders
66
67
85
100
4. Applications of Nanomaterials
4.1 Nano-electronics
4.2 Micro- and Nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS)
4.3 Nanosensors
4.4 Nanocatalysts
107
108
118
119
131
xii
Contents
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13
4.14
4.15
Food and Agriculture Industry

Cosmetics and Consumer Goods
Structure and Engineering
Automotive Industy
Water Treatment and the Environment
Nano-medical Applications
Textiles
Paints
Energy
Defence and Space Applications
Structural Applications
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
146
5. Tools to Characterize Nanomaterials

5.1 X-ray Diffraction (XRD)
5.2 Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)
5.3 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
5.4 Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
5.5 Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
5.6 Scanning Tunnelling Microscope (STM)
5.7 Field Ion Microscope (FIM)
5.8 Three-dimensional Atom Probe (3DAP)
5.9 Nanoindentation
149
150
151
152
155
159
165
169
170
172
6. Nanostructured Materials with High Application Potential

6.1 Quantum Dots
6.2 Carbon Nanotubes
6.3 GaN Nanowires
6.4 Nanocrystalline ZnO
6.5 Nanocrystalline Titanium Oxide
6.6 Multilayered Films
176
176
182
196
198
207
210
7. Concerns and Challenges of Nanotechnology
214
Glossary
Index
225
231
Chapter 1: The Big World of Nanomaterials 1
Chapter 1
The Big World of Nanomaterials

Learning objectives
Introduction to nanocrystalline materials

Brief history of research in nanomaterials
Exciting developments in the science and technology of nanomaterials
Classification of nanomaterials
aterials have been of great interest to human beings since time immemorial. A few
million years ago, it was found that rocks could be used to break things that were
impossible to break with bare hands. Stones were the first tools and even today they are still
in use in kitchens and laboratories to pound and grind, or as mortars and pestles. Around
50006000 years ago, it was accidentally discovered that when a rock containing copper
was placed on a fire, molten copper could be collected. This discovery led to the reduction
of metal ores to produce metals for the fabrication of items from ploughshares to swords.
New materials with greater hardness and longer use than stone became available for making
tools. Our growth and progress have paralleled the development of metals and metallurgy.
Traditionally, civilizations were named after the metals or materials used. Thus, we have the
Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age (Fig. 1.1). The current age is driven by the applications
(a)
(b)
Fig. 1.1 Materials evolutionfrom the Stone Age (a) to the Space Age (b)
(Source: http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raider5/greece/thessaloniki/museums/archaeological/neolithic/thessaloniki/
museums/archaeological/neolithic).
B. S. Murty et al., Textbook of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-28030-6_1, Universities Press (India) Private Limited 2013
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
of silicon and other advanced materials. The coming decades could well be dominated by
nanotechnology (Nano Age), a deviation from the practice of identification of an era based on
materials to one based on technology.
New technologies require new materials with superior physical, chemical and mechanical
properties. Materials science and engineering have provided us materials with widely varying
properties made by changing the composition or altering the microstructure using thermochemical-mechanical methods. Consequently, microstructural engineering and the study
of structureproperty correlation have become very important. The mechanism by which
ultrafine microstructures affect the properties of solids could be better understood after the
advent of the theory of lattice defects and dislocation theory, and the availability of advanced
high-resolution microscopy techniques such as electron, atomic force and field ion microscopy.
These developments have helped in understanding the correlation between the structure and
properties of solids.
The unique properties of materials due to ultrafine particle sizes were recognized early in
the 20th century. The classic lecture by Richard P Feynman titled Theres plenty of room at
the bottom, on 29 December 1959, at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society,
opened up a whole new field, known as nanotechnology. He spoke about manipulating and
controlling things on a small scale (For full text: http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/feynman.
html). He stated:
In the year 2000, when they look back at this age, they will wonder why it was not
until the year 1960 that anybody began seriously to move in this direction.
Due to his foresight, Feynman is often regarded as the first visionary of nanotechnology.
Feynmans profound vision resulted in a lot of discussion and interest among the research
community on engineering at a very small scale. However, it took almost three decades for the
research community to translate his vision into reality for want of proper tools and techniques.
Eric Drexler, yet another visionary of nanotechnology, stretched the imagination further.
He advocated that the power of chemistry be used to build molecular machines, and predicted
the tremendous impact this would have on a wide spectrum of technologies. In his popular
book, Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, he speaks about the power of an
interdisciplinary approach to make commendable progress in nanoscience and nanotechnology.
The following statement by Drexler in 1986 still continues to be relevant.
Development of the ability to design protein molecules will, by analogy between features
of natural macromolecules and components of existing machines, make possible the
construction of molecular machines. These machines can build second-generation
machines which can perform extremely general synthesis of three-dimensional
molecular structures, thus permitting construction of devices and materials to complex
atomic specifications. This capability has implications for technology in general and
in particular for computation and characterization, manipulation, and repair of
biological materials.
1.1
HISTORY AND SCOPE
The word nano is to a Greek prefix meaning dwarf or something very small and depicts
one billionth (109) of a unit (refer Table 1.1). Nanomaterials, therefore, refer to the class of
materials with at least one of the dimensions in the nanometric range.
How small is a nanocrystal? For an immediate comparison, a nanometre represents
a dimension about a few tens of thousand times thinner than human hair. Figure 1.2
gives an idea of the scale of different objects, from macroscale to nanoscale. In the case
of polycrystalline materials, the grain size is typically of the order of 1100 microns
(1 micron = 106 m). Nanocrystalline materials have a grain size of the order of 1100 nm,
and are therefore 1001000 times smaller than conventional grain dimensions. However,
compared to the size of an atom (0.20.4 nm in diameter), nanocrystalline grains are still
significantly big.
For example, a nanocrystal of size 10 nm contains over a hundred thousand atoms (assuming
a spherical nanograin of 10 nm and atomic diameter of 0.2 nm), large enough to exhibit bulk
properties, i.e., properties different from those of single atoms or clusters (see box on page 5
for details). As the dimensions reduce to below 50100 nm, they can no longer be treated as
infinite systems and the resultant boundary effects lead to fascinating and useful properties,
which can be explored and tailored for a variety of structural and functional applications.
In principle, one cannot define an exact dimension for the grain size below which materials
can be classified as nano. This is because it is subjective and depends on the application or
end property of interest. Most electronic and optical properties vary when the grain size is
reduced typically below 10 nm. However, their mechanical, chemical and many physical
properties begin to vary significantly from bulk below 50100 nm. Hence, nanomaterials may
be classified as those materials which have at least one of their dimensions in the nanometric
range, below which there is significant variation in the property of interest compared to
microcrystalline materials.
Nanomaterials can be metals, ceramics, polymers or composites. Nanotechnology is an
umbrella term for many areas of research dealing with objects that have one of their dimensions
Table 1.1 The world of small dimensions
Number
0.1
0.01
0.001
0.000 001
0.000 000 001
0.000 000 000 001
0.000 000 000 000 001
0.000 000 000 000 000 001
0.000 000 000 000 000 000 001
0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001
Name
deci
centi
milli
micro
nano
pico
femto
atto
zepto
yocto
Symbol
d
c
m
n
p
f
a
z
y
Fig. 1.2 Objects in different scales: micro to nano. A number of biological features are on the nanoscale
and hence a deeper understanding of biological systems may be the key to success in nanoscience and
nanotechnology.
CLUSTERS AND MAGIC NUMBERS

When atoms come together, they initially form two-dimensional clusters. When
more atoms join the cluster, they become three-dimensional with topographically
close-packed arrangements, before taking up a crystal structure. It has been found
that clusters of certain critical sizes, i.e., clusters with a certain number of atoms in
the group, are more stable than others. Such clusters are stabilized either by geometric
or electronic considerations. Magic number is defined as the number of atoms in
the clusters of critical sizes with higher stability. This effect was initially observed
in gaseous metal atoms, in the early 1980s. Subsequently, a similar effect was also
noticed during the condensation of atoms from a vapour phase on a substrate surface,
for example, during thin film deposition.
Magic numbers based on electronic shells
were first observed in mass spectra of alkali
metal clusters. The stability of such clusters
as a function of the size did not follow a
continuous function. It was seen that for some
specific number of atoms in the cluster (N),
N = 2, 8, 20, 40, 58, 92, etc., the free energy is
lower, resulting in stabilization of the cluster.
Small clusters of atoms behave quite
differently from bulk materials. Studies
indicate that bulk properties are scalable only
Krypton atoms cluster together in stable
up to a certain critical grain size and below this
sizes of 13, 55, 147, 309, 561,... atoms.
limit, the behaviour of small clusters of atoms
cannot be predicted on the same mechanistic or heuristic basis. Recent work has
shown that atomic clusters containing certain magic numbers of atoms have quite
distinct behaviour. For example, when 60 carbon atoms come together, the structure
of carbon has unique icosahedral symmetry (crystal possessing 20 regular triangular
faces) and such clusters are now widely referred to as fullerenes and have exceptional
properties.
Krypton, being a noble gas, does not form strong chemical bonds with other atoms
as well as with itself. However, Lethbridge and Stace of University of Sussex have
succeeded in synthesizing clusters of krypton atoms with icosohedral symmetry. This
was possible by allowing sudden expansion of krypton gas through a small orifice
in a vacuum chamber. So far, clusters of 147 and 309 atoms have been detected with
mass spectrography. There are models to suggest that the magic numbers of 13, 55,
147, 309, 561and 923 would have higher stability.
in the realm of a few hundreds of nanometres. The term nanotechnology was first coined by
Norio Taniguchi in 1974 to describe semiconductor processes such as thin film deposition
and ion beam milling, where the features can be controlled at the nanometric level. The most
widely accepted definition of nanotechnology to date appears on the NASA website:
the creation of functional materials, devices and systems through control of matter
on the nanometer length scale (1100 nm), and exploitation of novel phenomena and
properties (physical, chemical, biological) at that length scale.
1.1.1
Nanomaterials are not new
Nanomaterials have been produced and used by humans for hundreds of years. However,
the understanding of certain materials as nanostructured materials is relatively recent,
made possible by the advent of advanced tools that are capable of resolving information
at nanoscale.
We now know that the beautiful ruby red colour of some ancient glass paintings is due
to gold and silver nanoparticles trapped in the glass matrix (Fig. 1.3; see Plate 1).
The decorative glaze or metallic film known as luster, found on some medieval
pottery, contains metallic spherical nanoparticles dispersed in a complex way in the
glaze, which gives rise to special optical properties. The techniques used to produce
these materials were a closely guarded secret, and are not completely understood even
now.
Carbon black is a nanostructured material that is used in car tyres to increase the
life of the tyre and impart black colour. This material was discovered in the 1900s.
Fumed silica, a component of silicon rubber, coatings, sealants and adhesives, is
also a nanostructured material. It became commercially available in the 1940s. Steel
(an alloy of iron and carbon) is believed to have been first prepared in India about
1500 years ago and is popularly known as wootz (Indias Legendary Wootz Steel:
An Advanced Material of the Ancient World by Sharada Srinivasan and Srinivasa
Ranganathan is worth reading).. This steel was used to make swords, which were so
strong and sharp that they could easily cut a helmet into two pieces. Very recently,
high-resolution electron microscopy of such a steel (picked up from a museum)
showed the presence of carbon nanotubes in them, which has surprised scientists.
People now believe that the high strength of these steels may be due to the presence
of these carbon nanotubes, which are known for their exceptionally large Youngs
modulus.
The development of advanced microscopic analysis techniques, including transmission
electron microscope (TEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), etc., have given great impetus to
the identification and characterization of nanomaterials and the correlation of their behaviour
with their structure. Figure 1.4 (see Plate 1) shows how the nano-world can be visualized using
an AFM.
1.1.2
Early applications of nanotechnology: Nano-gold
Nanotechnology does not pertain to just miniaturization but goes beyond that. Materials in
the nanometre-scale exhibit uniquely different physical, chemical and mechanical properties
compared to bulk materials. Gold, for example, under ordinary conditions is a yellow, inert
metal, capable of conducting electricity. If a centimetre-long gold foil is taken and broken
into a dozen equal pieces, the pieces will still appear golden yellow. However, when the pieces
are broken down about a million times, into bits just a few nanometres wide, almost every
characteristic changes. Nano-gold no longer glitters with a golden yellow metallic lustre.
Reflected light of gold nanoparticles varies in colour, depending upon their dimensions.
Particles that are about 50 nm in diameter appear blue or purple, at 25 nm they are red, and at
1 nm they are orange (Fig. 1.5; see Plate 2).
Figure 1.6 (see Plate 2) is an excellent illustration of how the varying colours of nano-gold
here used in ancient days for making tinted glass and the Roman Lycurgus cup. Could you
have imagined that a noble material like gold could actually become highly reactive and be
used as a powerful catalyst when synthesized in nanometric size? The melting point of gold
also drops by almost 50% when the grain size is reduced below 10 nm. Similar changes have
been observed in different nanomaterials with regard to a variety of other properties like
magnetism and conductivity.
1.1.3
Publications on nanoscience and nanotechnology
In the past 10 years, the number of groups and laboratories engaged in the study of
fundamental science, engineering and applications of nanostructured materials has grown
almost exponentially. The significant growth in the number of publications in this area is a
testimony to this fact (Fig. 1.7).
Many international and regional conferences or symposia have been held on
nanostructured materials in the last two decades. The first international conference on
nanostructured materials (Nano
1992) was held in Cancun, Mexico,
in 1992. Subsequently, the conference
was organized biannually in different
parts of the world [Stuttgart,
Germany (1994), Kona, Hawaii, USA
(1996), Stockholm, Sweden (1998),
Sendai, Japan (2000), Orlando, USA
(2002), Wiesbaden, Germany (2004),
Bangalore, India (2006), Rio, Brazil
(2008) and Rome, Italy (2010)].
In India the Government has
constituted the Nano Science
Fig. 1.7 Number of publications in the field of
and Technology Initiative (NSTI)
nanotechnology.
(which is currently referred to
as the Nano Mission programme) as a thrust activity of the Department of Science and
Technology (DST), and has already supported research in this field to the tune of Rs. 200
crores over the last five years. In the current five year plan, this has been enhanced by about
five times. NSTI has also initiated a conference series named ICONSAT (International
Conference on Nano Science and Technology) for exchange of ideas by researchers in this
multi-disciplinary field. The first ICONSAT was held at Kolkata in 2003, the second one at
New Delhi in 2006, the third one at Chennai in 2008 and the fourth one at Mumbai in 2010.
1.2
CAN SMALL THINGS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE?
Why is the study of nanomaterials gaining wide importance and increased scientific attention?
So what if the dimensions of a material are in the nanometric scale? Can small things make
a big difference? Surprisingly, the answer is an emphatic YES. The modifications in the
properties due to reduction in grain size to nanoscale dimensions are very large, and in most
cases the resultant properties are superior to those of conventional materials. It is no wonder
that nanomaterials are finding use in a large number of applications. More and more potential
applications of nanomaterials are being discovered. For example, the change in properties of
Ni when it is made in nanocrystalline form is shown in Table 1.2. It should be recognized,
however, that there are secondary effects on properties, since commercially pure Ni contains
impurity atoms that would prefer to segregate to the boundaries between grains. The higher
concentration of impurity atoms at the grain boundaries will alter the bulk properties of
solids.
1.2.1
Nanosize and properties
Figure 1.8 shows that nearly all properties like hardness, strength, ductility, elastic modulus,
melting point, density, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, diffusivity, and
so on, change for nanomaterials. Why should the material behaviour vary so significantly by
a mere reduction in grain size? Nanostructured materials are composed of grains and grain
boundaries. Nanometre-sized grains contain only a few thousands of atoms within each grain.
Table 1.2
Property
Change in properties of Ni as grain size is changed from 10 m to 10 nm

Change in property in comparison to bulk
Hardness
Strength
Wear resistance
Frictional coefficient
Corrosion resistance
Magnetic properties
Electrical properties
Hydrogen diffusion
Electrocatalytic properties
5 times increase
310 times increase
170 times increase
Reduced to half
Reduced or localised corrosion is stopped
Lower coercivity, saturation magnetisation reduced by 5%
Resistivity increased by 3 times
Higher
Improved electrocatalytic activities for hydrogen evolution
A large number of atoms reside at the grain boundaries,

as shown in Fig. 1.9. As the grain size decreases, there
is a significant increase in the volume fraction of grain
boundaries or interfaces and triple junctions, as shown
in Fig. 1.10. With increase in defect density, or in other
words, when the fraction of atoms residing at defect
cores like dislocations, grain boundaries and triple
junctions becomes comparable with that residing in
the core, the properties of the material are bound to
be governed to a large extent by defect configurations,
dynamics and interactions. For example, the way in
which a crack grows in a larger-scale bulk material is
likely to be different from the same in a nanomaterial
where crack and particle size are comparable. Hence the
mechanical and chemical properties of nanomaterials are
significantly altered due to defect dynamics. The elastic
Fig. 1.8 Schematic diagram showing
modulus of nanomaterials can be significantly different
how different properties are affected in
from that of bulk alloys, due to the presence of increased
the nano-regime.
fraction of defects. Nanocrystalline ceramics are tougher
and stronger than those with coarse grains. Nano-sized metals exhibit significant increase in
yield strength and the toughness decreases. It has also been shown that electrical, optical
and magnetic particles are influenced by the fine-grained structure of these materials. As the
technical capability to tailor and modulate dimensions at the nanoscale has improved greatly,
it has become possible to realise the fascinating properties of nanostructures.
Fig. 1.9 The hypothetical structure of a

nanomaterial. The black circles indicate atoms in the
grain, while the white circles indicate atoms at the
grain boundaries.
Fig. 1.10 Increase in the intercrystalline region (grain

boundaries) and triple junctions with decrease in grain
size of nanomaterials.
10
A number of characterizing tools (shown in the illustration below) have been developed
over the past three decades. They have helped in understanding the behaviour of nanomaterials
and nanostructures.
In nanoscale materials, quantum confinement can also lead to different electromagnetic and
optical properties of a material. Due to the GibbsThomson effect (see Chapter 2), the melting
Characterization techniques
Microstructure
Chemistry
Near field optical

microscope
High-resolution scanning
electrical microscope
Transmission electron
microscope
Atomic force microscope
(AFM)
Scanning tunnelling
microscope
Auger electron spectroscope

Secondary ion
Atom probe field ion
microscope (APFIM)
Fourier transform infrared
spectroscope
Analytical TEM (EDX/ EELS)
Proton induced x-ray
emission
Defects and Structure

Positron annihilation
Small angle x-ray
scattering
Small angle neutron
scattering
Extended x-ray absorption
fine spectroscopy structure
Glancing incidence x-ray
diffraction
Rutherford backscattering
point of a free-standing particle is lowered if it is a few nanometres in size. Due to quantum

mechanical forces that are exhibited at these length scales, nanomaterials may become better
electrical conductors, be able to transfer heat better, etc.
Quantum dots (Fig. 1.11) are the best example of quantum confinement effects leading
to bandgap tuning, etc (see box for details). The schematic representation in Fig. 1.12 shows
the basic concept of quantum confinement in 2D quantum wells, 1D quantum wires and 0D
quantum dots. Proteins are 101000 nm in size, with cell walls of 1100 nm thickness. Their
behaviour on encountering a nanomaterial may be quite different from that seen in relation to
larger-scale materials.
1.3
CLASSIFICATION OF NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS
Siegel classified nanostructured materials into four categories according to their

dimensionality: 0D: nanoclusters, 1D: multilayers, 2D: nanograined layers and 3D:
equiaxed bulk solids. Gleiter further classified nanostructured materials according to
the composition, morphology and distribution of the nanocrystalline component. This
classification includes many possible permutations of materials and is quite broad.
According to the shape of the crystallites, three categories of nanostructured materials are
distinguished (Fig. 1.13):
Fig. 1.11 Schematic of a quantum dot in a matrix. The cluster of atoms shown in black are embedded in the
matrix of atoms in grey. This is a schematic representation of a quantum dot. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/File:Matrix_Isolated.JPG).
Fig. 1.12
Schematic diagram of quantum confinement in quantum well, quantum wire and quantum dot.
Rod-shaped crystallites (with layer thickness or rod diameter of the order of a few
nanometres)
Layer-shaped crystallites
Nanostructures composed of equiaxed nanometre-sized crystallites.
Depending on the chemical composition of the crystallites, the three categories of
nanostructured materials may be grouped into four families. The simplest case is where all
crystallites and interfacial regions have the same chemical composition. Examples of this family
are semicrystalline polymers or nanostructured materials made up of equiaxed nanometresized crystals.
12
Fig. 1.13 Classification of nanomaterials. (The boundary regions of the first and second family are indicated in
black to emphasise the different atomic arrangements in the crystallites and boundaries).
Nanostructured materials belonging to the second family consist of crystallites with

different chemical compositions. Quantum well structures are well-known examples of
this case. If the compositional variation occurs primarily between the crystallites and the
interfacial regions, the third family of nanostructured materials is obtained. Nanostructured
materials consisting of nanometre-sized W crystals with Ga atoms segregated to the grain
boundaries are an example of this type. An interesting new example of such materials
was recently produced by co-milling Al2O3 and Ga. The fourth family of nanostructured
materials is formed by nanometre-sized crystallites dispersed in a matrix of different
chemical composition.
With the advent of the scanning tunnelling microscope and the atomic force microscope,
scientists were able to not only identify the positions of single atoms in an aggregate, but also
to move atoms one by one. In 1990, scientists at IBM positioned individual xenon atoms on
a nickel surface, using a scanning tunnelling microscopy probe. Subsequently, atomic scale
manipulation has been demonstrated by several researchers for scribing characters at atomic
scale (Fig. 1.14). In the mid-1980s, a new class of materials hollow carbon sphereswas
discovered. These spheres were called bucky balls or fullerenes, in honour of the architect and
futurist Buckminster Fuller. Fuller designed a geodesic dome with geometry similar to that
found at the molecular level in fullerenes. The C60 (60 carbon atoms chemically bonded together
in a ball-shaped molecule, Fig. 1.15) buckyballs inspired research that led to the fabrication
of carbon nanofibres, with diameters under 100 nm. In 1991, Iijima of NEC in Japan reported
the first observation of carbon nanotubes, which are now produced by a number of companies
in commercial quantities. It may be noted that images of carbon nanotubes were published by
Iijima several years prior to the discovery of fullerenes in 1985 by Robert Carl, Harold Kroto
and Richard Smalley.
QUANTUM CONFINEMENT: QUANTUM DOTS

Quantum dots are clusters of atoms of a semiconductor material. The electrons in
quantum dots have a range of energies. Quantum concepts such as energy levels,
bandgap, conduction band and valence band apply to quantum dots too. However,
the difference is the following. Excitons have an average physical separation between
the electron and hole, known as the exciton Bohr radius, which is different for each
material. In bulk, the dimensions of the semiconductor crystal are much larger than
the exciton Bohr radius, allowing the exciton to extend to its natural limit. However,
when the size of a semiconductor crystal approaches the materials exciton Bohr
radius, then the electron energy levels can no longer be treated as continuous and
must be treated as discrete, which means that there is a small and finite separation
between energy levels. This phenomenon is called quantum confinement and the
semiconductor material ceases to resemble bulk, and can instead be called a quantum
dot. This has significant influence on the absorptive and emissive behaviour of the
semiconductor material.
Because the electron energy levels of quantum dots are discrete, the addition
or subtraction of just a few atoms to the quantum dot has the effect of altering
the boundaries of the bandgap. The bandgap in a quantum dot will always be
energetically larger and hence the radiation from quantum dots is blue shifted
(shifted to lower wavelengths), reflecting the fact that electrons must fall a greater
distance in terms of energy and thus produce radiation of a shorter wavelength.
In quantum dots, the size of the bandgap is controlled by changing the size of the
dot. As the emission frequency of a dot is dependent on the bandgap, it is possible
to control the output wavelength of a dot with high precision. Thus, it is possible
to tune the bandgap of a dot, and thereby specify its colour matching with the
requirements of an application.
1.4
FASCINATING NANOSTRUCTURES
Nanostructured materials may occur in several different geometric configurations including

wires, tubes, rods, horns, shells, pores, etc. They possess unique properties and are being
developed for specific applications. Some of these interesting and emerging trends in
nanostructures are described below.
Nanowires These can be defined as 1D nanostructures with nanometric width dimensions
and exhibiting aspect ratios (the ratio between length and width) of 1000 or more (Fig. 1.16).
Nanowires exhibit interesting properties deviating from bulk behaviour, due to quantum
confinement in the lateral dimension. Nanowires are also, therefore, frequently referred to as
14
Fig. 1.14 Scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) image of PTCDA molecules adsorbed on a graphite surface.
The logo of the Center for NanoScience (CeNS) in Munich, Germany, was written with the STM tip by reducing
the tipsample distance (compared to the imaging distance) and moving the tip along predefined vectors
(nanomanipulation paths). This action removed molecules from the adsorbate layer along the manipulation
paths. Line width of the STM-written logo: 13 nm. Image processing software: SPIP; 3D enhancement was
applied. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cens_nanomanipulation3d_Trixler.jpg).
(a)
(b)
(d)
(e)
(g)
(c)
(f)
(h)
Fig. 1.15 Allotropes of carbon: (a) Diamond, (b) Graphite, (c) Lonsdaleite, (d) C60 (Buckminsterfullerene),
(e) C540 (see Fullerene), (f) C70 (see Fullerene), (g) Amorphous carbon, (h) Single-walled carbon nanotube.
(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Eight_Allotropes_of_Carbon.png).
50 nm
Fig. 1.16 Molecular scale Au nanowires (< 2 nm diameter) produced by wet chemical synthesis.
The wires are formed by oriented attachment of amine-capped Au nanoparticles in a toluene medium.
(Courtesy: N. Ravisankar, IISc, Bangalore).
quantum wires. So far, nanowires of several metals (Au, Ni, Pt), semiconductors (InP, Si, GaN)
and insulators (SiO2, TiO2) have been fabricated. Nanowires can find interesting applications
in the field of electronic, opto-electronic and nano-electromechanical sensors and devices.
They are also used as metallic interconnects in quantum devices and for toughening advanced
composites. It is possible to alter the growth parameters of nanowires so that they grow in a
helical formation. Such nanowires are referred to as nanosprings. Nanosprings could have
many applications as mechanical components with miniaturization of devices.
Nanorods These differ from nanowires in their aspect ratio. Standard aspect ratios for
nanorods are 35. This means that unlike nanowires with an unconstrained dimension along
the longitude, nanorods have all their dimensions in the range 1100 nm and hence are
3D nanostructures. They may be synthesized from a variety of materials and can find diverse
applications ranging from display technologies (the reflectivity of the rods can be changed by
changing their orientation with an applied electric field) to micromechanical switches.
Nanoshells These are those structures where the nanocrystalline particles are coated with
a thin layer of a different material with thickness in nanometric dimensions. Due to their
nanometric width and size, nanoshells can exhibit interesting quantum confinement effects.
For example, gold nanoshells coated on dielectric silica nanoparticles have been widely studied
in drug research. It is possible to vary the light absorption and emission characteristics of
gold nanoshells by controlling the thickness and size of the nanoparticles (particularly as they
approach the wavelength dimensions of the light medium used). Study of plasmon resonance
wavelength shift as a function of nanoshell composition for the case of a gold/silica nanoshell
with a 100-nm core, demonstrates the ability to tune the optical resonance of nanoshells to
a desired wavelength. This property is critical in nano-drug delivery for in vivo therapeutic
applications.
16
Laser light is not strongly absorbed generally by human tissues and blood. However, due to
resonance effects, it is possible for nanoshells to absorb significant amounts of incident laser
light, resulting in intensive localized energy absorption. By attaching certain antibodies to such
nanostructures, it is possible to provide site specificity, for example, for selective segregation of
such nanoparticles in cancerous or tumour cells. Subsequently, as the body is irradiated with
laser light, there will be selective heating of nanoshells concentrated at cancerous cells, leading
to selective burn out of such deleterious cells. Nanoshells can also find application in nanomedical diagnostic tools, for example, in thermal imaging.
Nanotubes These are tubes with diameters in the nanoscale. Although nanotubes of various
other materials have been reported, carbon nanotubes are by far the most important group.
A single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) is obtained by rolling a sheet of graphite
(a hexagonal lattice of carbon) into a cylinder. Typical diameters of SWCNTs are in the range
of 0.71.4 nm and their length can be several micrometres. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes
(MWCNTs) can be regarded as a coaxial assembly of SWCNTs (Fig. 1.17, see Plate 3).
MWCNTs have their diameters in the range of 550 nm. Carbon nanotubes are unique
nanostructures with remarkable electronic and mechanical properties, some of which are due
to the close relation between the carbon nanotubes and graphite, and some from their onedimensional aspects. Carbon nanotubes also exhibit good nano-mechanical properties due to
their high Youngs modulus. The modulus of single-walled (1210 GPa) and multi-walled (1260
GPa) carbon nanotubes is now established as a world record as the highest known modulus for
any material. In comparison, metallic wires such as copper and steel have a modulus of only
110 and 200 GPa, respectively.
Nanofluids These are fluids (e.g. water, ethylene glycol, lubricants) with dispersions of nanosized particles (e.g. carbon, metals, metal oxides, etc.). The nanofluids are characterized
by unique properties and have several applications. The most popular nanofluids are
magnetic nanofluids (ferrofluids) and thermal nanofluids. In case of thermal nanofluids,
improvements in energy efficiency and convective heat transfer have been demonstrated by
many investigators and thermal conductivity of the fluids has been enhanced to as high as
150% with the dispersion of minute quantities of nanoparticles. A number of applications
such as drug delivery, magnetic storage media, refrigerant chillers, electronic manufacturing,
cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, power generation, air-conditioning, etc. are envisaged for
nanofluids.
Nano-fantasies
Nano-guitar It is the worlds smallest guitar and is 10 m long (about the size of a single
cell) with six strings, each about 50 nm wide. Researchers made this device at the Cornell
Nanofabrication Facility, bringing micro-electromechanical devices (MEMS) to an even
smaller scalethe nano-sized world.
Nano-balance It is small enough to weigh viruses and other submicron-scale particles.
It works on the principle of variation in resonance frequency of the nanotube by changing its
mass. By knowing the resonance frequency of pure nanotubes, the mass of attached particles
can be studied. A nano-balance could be useful for determining the mass of objects on
the femtogram to picogram range. Such a nano-balance has been developed at the Georgia
Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA, by growing long individual filaments of carbon
nanotubes.
1.5
APPLICATIONS OF NANOMATERIALS
Since nanomaterials possess unique chemical, physical and mechanical properties, they can be
used for a wide variety of applications, ranging from toothpaste to satellites. Nanotechnology
is finding application in virtually all fields ranging from science to engineering, influencing our
lifestyle in many ways. The consumer world is being flooded with nanotechnology enhanced
products, with many more to come. Nanomaterials are finding application in cosmetics,
textiles, healthcare, tissue engineering, catalysis, functional coatings, medical diagnosis and
therapeutics, sensors and communication engineering, water and air pollution treatment.
Some of these applications are discussed below.
Electronic devices Numerous nano-electronic applications are in use for communication and
computing purposes. The days of massive computer stations occupying an entire room with
huge punch cards to process each program are behind us. Todays multi-functional laptops and
palmtops are more user friendly, faster, handy and have large memory capacities. Mobile phones,
pocket-sized memory storage devices and the widely used MP3 players, iPods and iPads are
perhaps the most convincing benefits of nanotechnology. All this has been possible due to the
shrinking sizes of electronic devices enabled by nanotechnology.
Miniaturization is the mantra of the electronics industry, which is driving research
on reduction in the size of transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc. Moores Law, an empirical
observation made in 1965, states that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit for
a minimum component cost doubles every 24 months (Fig. 1.18). Even four decades later,
the growing electronics industry still follows this law. The microprocessors containing these
smaller components can work at enhanced speed, thereby enabling computations at far greater
speeds than what was possible a few years back. However, there are several technological
difficulties to overcome, such as lack of ultrafine precursors to manufacture these components,
poor dissipation of heat generated by these microprocessors, etc. Nanomaterials can help the
industry overcome these barriers.
Nanostructures hold promise for the development of non-volatile, radiation hard, highdensity (terabit/cm2) memory with nanosecond read/write times; there are several technologies
being explored. While one terabit per square centimetre sounds astronomically large, a single
movie, The Lord of the Rings, required 27 terabytes (about 200 terabits) for the first instalment
alone.
Researchers at IBM Zurich have been working on a novel memory device based on a
mechanical storage method. This system, called Millipede, uses an array of microcantilevers
to create a pattern of nanoindentations in a polymer medium. This method has demonstrated
storage densities as large as 1Tb/in2. Researchers at Nantero, USA, and Korea are developing
18
Fig. 1.18 Moores Law: The number of transistors in an integrated circuit for minimum component cost doubles
every 24 months. (Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transistor_Count_and_Moore%27s_Law__2008.svg).
carbon-nanotube based memory concepts. The giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect has
led to a strong increase in the data storage density of hard disks and made the gigabyte range
possible. The so-called tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR) is very similar to GMR and is
based on the spin dependent tunnelling of electrons through adjacent ferromagnetic layers.
Both GMR and TMR effects can be used to create a non-volatile memory for computers,
such as the magnetic random access memory. The company Freescale (as well as IBM) has
a GMR memory device on the market with 4 Mbits, while researchers at Naval Research
Laboratory (NRL), USA, are developing the next generation GMR memory that may reach
terabit densities.
Opto-electronic devices Opto-electronic devices convert electricity to light and vice versa.
They have broad bandwidth and efficiency, and find application in LEDs (light emitting
diodes), OLEDs (organic LEDs), LCDs (liquid crystal displays), laser diodes, modulators,
CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) and CCD (charge-coupled device)
photodetectors, and solar cells. Opto-electronic devices coupled with optical fibres have
been extensively used in the fabrication of TFT (thin film transistor)-LCD laptop PC screens,
automobile illuminations, mobile phone backlighting, VCD/DVD players, telecommunications
and data communications (broadband communications), biotechnology (BioPhotonics), and
digital cameras.
Quantum computers Currently, lasers produced from nanoscale quantum dots are being
fabricated. The wavelength of the laser is reported to depend on the diameter of the quantum
dot. Quantum dot lasers are cheaper and offer higher beam quality than conventional laser
diodes. With the ability to synthesize quantum dots on a commercial scale, it has become
possible to exploit the laws of quantum mechanics for novel quantum computers, using fast
quantum algorithms. Quantum computers can perform several computations at the same time
and are much faster. This class of computers would be useful to solve specific problems and
supplement digital computation.
Insulation Aerogels are nanomaterials synthesized by the sol-gel process, which are porous,
foam-like and extremely light-weight, and yet can withstand about 100 times their weight.
They are currently being used for insulation in offices, homes, etc. They are also being used in
smart windows, which darken on a sunny day and lighten on a cloudy day.
Phosphors The use of nanophosphors such as zinc selenide, zinc sulphide, cadmium sulphide
and lead telluride is expected to make high-definition televisions (HDTVs), personal computers
and laptops affordable by an average household. Carbon nanotubes have been used for the
production of displays with low energy consumption, primarily due to their higher efficiency
field emission properties.
Cutting tools Microdrills (drill bits with diameter less than the thickness of human hair),
used in the miniaturization of microelectronic circuits, are required to have enhanced wear
resistance. Nanocrystalline carbides and nitrides are harder and wear-resistant, and hence are
currently being used in these microdrills.
Medicine In the field of medicine, nanotechnology finds application in diagnosis, therapeutics,
prosthesis materials and tissue engineering. Nanomaterials have dimensions similar to those
of biological molecules and hence they are useful for biomedical applications. By attaching
different biomolecules to nanomaterials, they can be used in medical applications for specific
functions. Nanotechnology is being developed for both therapeutic (using nano-drug delivery
systems) and diagnostic (nano-biosensors) applications.
Gold nanoparticles attached to short segments of DNA can be used to detect the genetic
sequence of a sample.
Bandages embedded with silver nanoparticles are gaining popularity for providing
anti-microbial protection and to aid faster wound healing.
Nanostructured synthetic skin is being used for several skin graft applications.
20
Biocapsules are increasingly being used as substitutes for diabetic insulin, targeted drug
delivery, biosensors, etc.
Respiration monitors utilizing nanomaterials can be more sensitive than conventional
monitors.
Early detection of a disease always enables quicker and more effective cure and recovery.
Nanotechnology-based sensors and medications have come in handy for the early diagnosis
of several diseases. Nanoparticles have shown potential for detecting viruses, pre-cancerous
cells, etc. Targeted drug delivery systems can deliver drugs effectively and conveniently with
increased patient compliance, extended product life and reduced healthcare costs.
Nanobots or nano-robots are becoming a reality. They are devices that can be injected into
the bloodstream to cure diseases at specific locations and their motion is controlled by an
external field. Nanotechnology is thus envisioned as being capable of changing the way we
live. Drug delivery systems that rely on nanomaterials are used for the targeted delivery of
compounds characterized by low oral bioavailability due to poor water solubility, permeability
and provide for longer sustained and controlled release. The overall drug consumption and
side effects can be lowered significantly by coating drugs on nanoparticles. This highly selective
approach reduces cost and human suffering. For example, dendrimers and nanoporous
materials can transport small molecules of drugs to the desired location. Another application
is based on small electromechanical systems: nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS) are
being investigated for the active release of drugs. The use of gold-coated shells for cancer
therapy is in an advanced stage of research.
Renewable energy Perhaps the greatest challenge for society and humankind is how to
meet our ever-increasing demand for energy security. Although the primary source of
energy on earth is derived from the sun, the fundamental steps for energy conversion,
such as the transfer of charge, chemical reactions, transformation of molecular structure,
etc., occur at the nanoscale. Development of nanotechnology has the potential to
revolutionize the approaches to energy production. Some of the promising new areas
for the use of nanotechnology in this field are: use of nanomaterials to extract hydrogen
from water, to harvest energy from the sun and biomass, to store energy as hydrogen fuel
cells, batteries and capacitors. Nanomaterials are also being used as advanced catalysts
for energy conversion. Nanomaterials will also impact efficient utilization of energy for
industries such as transportation, power generation and utilization, water management
and purification and environmental cleanup. A number of studies are underway to deploy
nanotechnology to meet future energy needs.
Catalysis One of the most lucrative areas for a nanotechnologist is catalysis. Chemical catalysis
benefits significantly from nanoparticles, due to the extremely large surface-to-volume ratio.
It is easy to understand from geometrical principles that the surface area to volume ratio is
inversely proportional to the size of a particle. A variety of chemical reactions take place on
the surface of a catalyst, and hence the larger the surface area, the more active the catalyst.
Nanoscale catalysts thus open the way for numerous process innovations to make many
chemical processes more efficient. The application potential of nanoparticles in catalysis
ranges from fuel cells to catalytic converters and photocatalytic devices. Nanoparticles can be
used as catalysts in
automobile catalytic converters for the removal of noxious and toxic gases such as
carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide
power generation equipment to prevent environmental pollution arising from burning
gasoline and coal
Filtration Nanochemistry also finds immense use in wastewater treatment and air purification
devices. One class of filtration techniques is based on the use of membranes with appropriatelysized pores, through which the liquid is allowed to pass. Nanoporous membranes used in
nanofiltration have extremely small pores of less than 10 nm. Nanofiltration is used mainly
for the removal of ions or the separation of different fluids. Ultrafiltration is used to remove
particles with size between 10 nm and 100 nm. Renal dialysis is an important application
of ultrafiltration. Magnetic nanoparticles offer an effective and reliable method to remove
heavy metal contaminants from wastewater by the use of magnetic separation techniques.
Nanoscale particles increase the efficiency to adsorb contaminants.
Elimination of pollutants Nanoscale materials can be used effectively in soil/sediment and
water remediation. For sites where refractory organic contamination has penetrated deeply
into the soil, it would be cost effective to develop remediation technologies that do not
require excavation. The use of zero-valent iron particles has been shown to be effective in
penetrating the required distances, and oxidizing selected organic contaminants. Research
is underway to examine the fate of those iron particles to make sure they do not cause
ancillary problems.
Sensors Sensors made of nanocrystalline materials are extremely sensitive to a change in
their environment. Some of the applications for sensors made of nanocrystalline materials are
smoke detectors, ice detectors on aircraft wings and automobile engine performance sensors.
Food Food packaging can be improved by placing anti-microbial agents directly on the surface
of the coated nanocomposite film. The incorporation of nanoscale clay particles in a polymer
matrix can result in lower oxygen and water permeation with better recyclability. This can
protect food from drying and spoilage (incurred by oxygen access). Silver has been used as
an anti-microbial agent for centuries. Recently, nanoscale silver has been introduced in antimicrobial containers to keep food fresh for longer.
Consumer products Nanotechnology is impacting the field of consumer goods, by providing
products with novel functions ranging from easy-to-clean to scratch-resistant coatings. The
most prominent application of nanotechnology in the household is self-cleaning or easy-toclean ceramic or glass surfaces. Nano-ceramic particles have improved the smoothness and
heat resistance of common household equipment such as the flat iron and cooking pans.
Sports In the field of sports, nanotechnology is promising to enhance the life and performance
of sports gadgets. Nanotechnology has been employed to produce tennis balls that last longer,
rackets that are stronger and bowling balls that are harder. Nano-ski wax is easier to apply and
more effective than standard wax. Nanotechnology enhanced golf balls can correct their own
flight path so that they fly straighter than conventional balls.
22
Textiles There are several applications of nanotechnology in textiles and fabrics, ranging from
anti-microbial, hydrophobic and self-cleaning applications. When the fabric is mixed with
a hydrophobic material, it repels water and is also stain resistant. In the monsoon season,
for example, drying such clothes will be much easier, and these clothes will be much more
comfortable to wear. Nanoparticles have been incorporated into products such as nylon,
polypropylene and other polymers to impart long-term anti-microbial characteristics even
under harsh environmental conditions or after extensive thermal cycling. Nano-socks with
nano-silver dispersions are odourless and also possess anti-microbial properties. The demand
for minimizing or eliminating microbial growth on a variety of textile-based substrates has
increased in healthcare, home furnishings, filtration and apparel sectors, among others. Nanocameras mixed with nano-displays create an invisibility coating, which is useful for making
camouflage clothing for the military.
The above are only a few applications of nanomaterials. Many new applications are being
discovered every day and many more are yet to be discovered.
1.6
NATURE: THE BEST NANOTECHNOLOGIST
Nature is perhaps the foremost inspiration for nanoscientists and nanotechnologists. Over
millions of years, many nanoparticles and devices have been perfected by nature through
the process of evolution. Mere observation of the natural phenomena around us can reveal
new directions and insights in nearly all domains of science and technology, and particularly
nanoscience and nanotechnology.
The cell membranes, and several other functional organelles within the biological cell
of living beings, are in fact of nanometric size (Fig. 1.19). Proteins and enzymes together
account for all the metabolic activities in the bodyan excellent illustration of the power of
nanostructures. We are all aware that life on earth could not have been sustained without the
life-saving phenomenon of photosynthesis that enables plant species to convert solar energy
into biochemical energy forms. Photosynthesis is enabled in plants by nanoscale molecular
machinery, consisting of pigment molecules like chlorophyll arranged inside stacked structures
called thylakoid disks housed inside micrometre-sized chloroplast cells.
Have you ever wondered at the engineering skills of a web-spinning spider (Fig. 1.20)?
The web is made up of nanofibres that are light and insoluble in water, but in terms of specific
strength, they are stronger than steel. These webs that can withstand environmental effects
such as rain, wind and sunlight are a marvel of nature. The spider has sufficient supply of
raw materials to spin the web over great distances relative to its body size. The speed with
which the spider is able to cast its net in an organized fashion under ambient conditions is
intriguing. Yet another example of a nanostructure developed by nature is the ability of a
gecko to walk across a ceiling against gravity. The self-cleaning nature of a lotus leaf comes
from the nanospikes present on its surface; it helps the water droplets and dust particles
(Fig. 1.21; see Plate 3) roll off with ease. Water striders (Fig. 1.22) are able to walk on the
surface of water without getting wet because of the nano-grooves present in the microhairs
of their legs.
Fig. 1.19 Nanotechnology in nature. Biological features such as DNA, cells and membranes are
of nanoscale.
Fig. 1.20 Spiders web: It is not only aesthetically pleasing but is also a biological wonder as
the fibres of the web are the strongest known fibresuntil the carbon nanotubes were discovered.
(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: SpiderWeb.jpg).
24
Fig. 1.22 Water striders: Nano-grooves on microhairs are responsible for their ability to move on water without
getting wet. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Amenbo_06f5520sx.jpg).
We are familiar with the soft chalk used to write on blackboards. It is composed of loosely
agglomerated calcium carbonate powder. Nature, however, has a method to make the same
calcium carbonate agglomerates hard and toughby synthesizing them in nanocrystalline form.
The abalone, a mollusc, has a tough shell made of essentially the same stuff that is used to make
chalk pieces. However, the nanocrystalline nature resists crack propagation and instead promotes
crack deflection along the grain boundaries. Cracks have to essentially traverse larger cumulative
length scales, which requires more energy and thereby enhances the toughness of the shells.
The sophisticated and efficient sensory systems in living species are perhaps some of the
greatest scientific and engineering marvels perfected by nature by evolution over millions of years.
They are also a knowledge resource and strong motivators for nanotechnologists attempting to
develop smart sensors. Biological sensory systems are extremely sensitive and are only limited
by quantum effects. The ability of our body to monitor body temperature and regulate it by
means of controlled metabolic activity, with the help of nanomolecular proteins, is remarkable
and intriguing. Scientists are already working on developing an electronic tongue and electronic
nose, based on assembling a number of nanosensors, with each sensor having a specific role.
In the current age of communications, there is a continuous demand to enhance information
storage capacity in electronic devices. Nature has perfected DNA, a nanomolecule, that not
only stores but also manifests the entire personality of a species. Even more fascinating perhaps
is that, nature synthesizes these nanomolecule more efficiently and quickly under ambient
conditions. In contrast, all artificial nanomaterial synthesis methods adopted by us today are
based on high-energy processes, usually involving high temperature, electrical or other forms
of energy, high or very low pressures, etc. Hence, there is so much more to learn from nature,
even in fundamental aspects of synthesis and functioning of nanomaterials.
1.7
CHALLENGES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS
With so many achievements already realised, it is perhaps pertinent to ask Where is

nanotechnology heading? It is envisaged that nanotechnology will lead to tiny robotic devices,
utilizing nanoelectronics, sensors and MEMS/NEMS for in-vivo monitoring and diagnosis of
electro-optic deficiencies and malfunctions of human systems. Yet, the current applications of
nanotechnology are much more mundane: stain-resistant trousers, better sun creams, tennis
rackets reinforced with carbon nanotubes! There is a huge gap between what nanotechnology
is believed to have promised and what it has actually delivered so far.
In his book, Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, published in 1986,
Drexler imagined sophisticated nanoscale machines that could operate with atomic precision.
He envisaged a particular way of achieving nanotechnology, which involved using hard
materials like diamond to fabricate complex nanoscale structures by moving reactive molecular
fragments into position. His approach was essentially mechanical, whereby tiny gears and
bearings are integrated to make tiny robot factories, probes and vehicles.
Drexler postulated that since nanoscale machines are expected to be extensively employed
in biological systems and would be synthesized in significantly large quantities under ambient
conditions, it should be possible to discover the growth conditions to synthesize them for a
variety of other applications as well. The beauty of nanotechnology is that it is truly multidisciplinary, re-unifying the common threads between science, engineering and technology.
It is so vivid, with possibilities left only to the constraint of perhaps human imagination. With
a little exaggeration, it seems possible that materials with any desired physical, chemical or
electronic properties can be tailor-made by playing with the nano-dimensions.
The next generation is going to be directly or indirectly exposed to a variety of nano-products
ranging from cosmetics to sports, from medical to industrial, and also space applications. With
the advent of any new revolutionary technology with enormous potential for applications, it is
perhaps even more pertinent to assess the risks and challenges accompanying them. The effect of
nanoparticles on biological and ecological systems in large is a subject to be studied with the highest
priority. A new field, nano-toxicology, has evolved in order to probe this field. It is important to
qualify the application of nanomaterials for industrial and large-scale societal applications, not only
based on their properties but also based on their possible long-term side effects.
26
SUMMARY
The unique properties of nanomaterials are due to the presence of a high concentration
of defects.
The word nano refers to a Greek prex meaning dwarf or something very small.
It depicts one billionth (109) of a unit.
Nanomaterials refer to the class of materials with at least one of their dimensions in
the nanometric range. They can be metals, ceramics, polymers or composites.
Nanomaterials exhibit uniquely different physical, chemical and mechanical properties
compared to bulk materials.
A number of characterizing tools have been developed over the past three decades and
have helped in understanding the behaviour of nanomaterials and nanostructures.
Nanostructured materials may occur in several different geometric congurations
including wires, tubes, rods, horns, shells, pores, etc.
Over millions of years, a multitude of nanoparticles and devices have been perfected by
nature through the process of evolution.
The cell membranes, and several other functional organelles within the biological cell
of living beings are in fact of nanometric size.
It is envisaged that nanotechnology will lead to tiny robotic devices, utilizing nanoelectronics, sensors and MEMS for invivo monitoring and diagnosis of deciencies and
malfunctions of human systems.
Norio Taniguchi (191299) of Tokyo Science University coined the term

nanotechnology in 1974 to describe semiconductor processes such as thin
film deposition and ion beam milling, which exhibit control on the order
of a nanometre. He defined nanotechnology as that which consists of the
processing of separation, consolidation, and deformation of materials by
one atom or one molecule. The early work of Prof. Taniguchi was on abrasive
mechanisms during high precision machining of hard and brittle materials.
At Tokyo Science University, he pioneered the application of energy beam techniques to ultra
precision materials processing, which included electro discharge, microwave, electron beam,
photon (laser) and ion beams. Professor Taniguchi received Euspens 1st Lifetime Achievement
Award in 1999. The citation on Prof. Taniguchis award reads: In recognition of his unique and
outstanding contributions to research and development in the ultra precision materials processing
technologies and in 1974, being the first to formulate and use the term Nanotechnology. Through
his vision, writings and example of total dedication to his field of endeavour he has stimulated the
development of what will be one of the dominant technologies of the 21st Century.
CNR Rao is the President and Linus Pauling Research Professor of the Jawaharlal
Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore. He steers the
Nano Science and Technology Initiative (NSTI) of the Department of Science
and Technology, Government of India. Although Prof. Rao started his career
working on spectra and structure of molecules, his research interests have slowly
moved towards the synthezis and characterization of designer solids with novel
structures and properties. Several nanoparticles and nanoparticle assemblies,
open framework structures and porous solids have been synthesised by him exhibiting fascinating
scientific behaviour. He has authored nearly 1400 research papers and edited or written 40 books
in materials chemistry. The Einstein Gold Medal of UNESCO, Hughes Medal of the Royal Society,
and Somiya Award of the International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS), Dan
David Prize for materials research from Israel and the first India Science Prize are among the
recognitions that he has received.
Richard P Feynman (191888) was one of the greatest theoretical physicists of
the twentieth century. This quote of his is regarded as the start of nanotechnology,
The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility
of maneuvering things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it
is something, in principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done
because we are too big.
K Eric Drexler is the pioneer of productive nanosystems. He has authored the
book Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, which is possibly
the first book in this field. He has also written another book Nanosystems:
Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation, which has also become
very popular. He is currently Chief Technical Advisor of Nanorex, which is engaged
in developing software for the design and simulation of molecular machine
systems. He received his doctoral degree in the field of molecular nanotechnology
from MIT in 1991, which is the first PhD degree in this field.
Sumio Iijima discovered carbon nanotubes in 1991. He has been a Senior
Research Fellow at NEC Corporation since 1987 and a Professor of Materials
Science at Meijo University in Nagoya. He has the leading role in the International
Cooperative Research Project Nanotubulites of Japan Science and Technology
Corporation (ICORP/JST). He is also the Director of the Research Center for
Advanced Carbon Materials of National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science
and Technology (AIST).
28
Prominent individuals in nanoscience and technology

Richard P Feynman: First mentioned the concept of nano in a 1959 lecture
Norio Taniguchi: Defined the term nanotechnology
K Eric Drexler: Promoted technological significance
Sumio Iijima: Discovered nanotubes
Don Eigler: Studied manipulation of surface atoms and the effects on electron density of states
Richard Smalley: Co-discoverer of buckminsterfullerene
Harry Kroto: Co-discoverer of buckminsterfullerene
Erwin Mller: Invented the field ion microscope and the atom probe
Gerd Binnig: Co-inventor of the scanning tunnelling microscope
Heinrich Rohrer: Co-inventor of the scanning tunnelling microscope
Phaedon Avouris: Made the first electronic devices made of carbon nanotubes
Alex Zettl: Built the first molecular motor based on carbon nanotubes
PM Ajayan: Pioneer in nanotubes research
CNR Rao: Most prominent researcher and promoter of nanomaterials research in India
H Gleiter: First produced nanostrctured materials by inert gas condensation
Chapter 2:
Unique Properties of Nanomaterials 29
Chapter 2
Unique Properties of Nanomaterials

Learning objectives
Defects in nanocrystalline materials
Effect of grain size on physical properties (melting point, elastic constants, diffusivity,
magnetic, electrical, optical and thermal properties)
Effect of grain size on mechanical properties (hardness, yield strength, ductility, toughness
and creep)
Grain growth behaviour in nanomaterials
s we approach nanoscale dimensions, we move closer to the atomic or molecular scales.

Atoms are the building blocks of all matter. They can be assembled in many ways to
obtain the desired product. Both the chemistry and the geometric arrangement of atoms can
influence the properties of the material. Hence, if we have the ability to construct matter, atom
by atom, we would be able to perform wonders. For example, we know that both graphite and
diamond are made of pure carbon. Thus, in principle, if we are able to rearrange the atoms
(carbon) in graphite at our discretion, it would be possible to make diamond! Or, if we could
rearrange the atoms (silicon and oxygen) in sand (and add a few other trace elements), it
should be possible to make a computer chip! Engineering at the nano-level can bring about
large changes in the properties of the products. In Chapter 1, we saw how the high defect
concentration in nanomaterials results in novel and unique physical, chemical, elastic and
mechanical properties of this class of materials. A few of these are highlighted in this chapter.
2.1
MICROSTRUCTURE AND DEFECTS IN NANOCRYSTALLINE MATERIALS
In order to understand the novel properties of nanostructured materials, we need to understand

the structure and its interrelationship with properties. The microstructural features of
importance in nanomaterials include:
Grain size, distribution and morphology
The nature of grain boundaries and interphase interfaces
Nature of intragrain defects
Composition profiles across grains and interfaces
Residual impurities from processing
Crystal lattice imperfections, such as point, linear, planar and volume defects, lead to the
structure-sensitive properties of materials. The atomic structure of nanostructured materials
30
DEFECTS IN CRYSTALLINE MATERIALS

Crystals are three-dimensional, periodic arrangements of atoms/molecules in space.
Any imperfection leading to disruption of periodicity is referred to as a crystalline
defect. These defects are usually classified based on their dimensionality, namely,
point defects (0D), line defects (1D), surface defects (2D) and volume defects (3D).
Vacancies and substitutional and interstitial solutes are the common point defects
observed in metals and alloys. In case of ionic solids, Schottky (anioncation vacancy
pairs) and Frenkel (vacancy-interstitial pairs of the same ions) defects may also be
observed. Dislocations are the most commonly observed line defects and refer to a
missing plane of atoms. Among the surface defects, grain boundaries, twins, stacking
faults and free surfaces are the most common. Inclusions, voids and microcracks
constitute the volume defects.
Solvent atoms
Solute atoms
Cl
Na
(a) Interstital
(b) Substitutional
Common point defects
Dislocation
Schottky defect
Cl
Na
Frenkel defect
Twin boundary
Grain boundary
is unlike that seen in glass or conventional crystalline materials, because of the large volume
fraction of grain boundaries and interfaces. Hence, in nanocrystalline materials, a substantial
fraction of atoms lies at the grain boundaries and interfaces. It is not surprising that the
behaviour of nanocrystalline materials is decided to a large extent by these defects, and as
such, nanomaterials exhibit vastly different properties compared to bulk materials. The main
defect types observed in nanocrystals are vacancies, grain boundaries, dislocations, twins,
stacking faults and triple junctions.
Chapter 2:
2.1.1
Dislocations
Missing rows of atoms in a crystal are regions of high energy and stress due to disruption
of the atomic bonds in the plane. This provides a driving force for dislocations to be
annihilated at surfaces or grain boundaries to minimize the strain energy of the crystal.
In effect, this may be treated as equivalent to an attractive force exerted by the surface on
dislocations in the crystal. This force is inversely proportional to the distance of separation
and hence becomes negligible for dislocations farther than a critical distance. However, for
dislocations close to the surface or grain boundary, the attractive force can be large enough
to result in annihilation of dislocations. Hence, for a small distance from the surface and
grain boundaries, one would not expect to find any dislocations.
In order to treat this attractive force of surfaces and grain boundaries mathematically,
a virtual image-dislocation of opposite sign is imagined to be existing at the surface. This
problem can then be solved by considering the virtual force of attraction between the two
dislocations of opposite sign. The force exerted by this virtual imaginary image dislocation on
the dislocation defect in bulk is referred to as image force (Fimage).
Dislocations are, in general, stable in conventional microcrystalline materials, though
not thermodynamically stable defects. However, when the magnitude of the critical distance
becomes comparable with that of the grain size, as in nanomaterials, the stability of dislocations
is altered significantly. Hence, with decreasing grain size of nanograined materials, dislocation
stability is reduced, due to the large grain boundary area. It is well known that dislocation
mobility and interactions play a large role in determining the deformation and plastic flow
behaviour of conventional crystalline materials. Hence, it is expected that the deformation
behaviour of nanocrystalline materials is significantly different from that of conventional
microcrystalline materials.
The typical critical size for dislocation stability in various metals is given in Table 2.1.
The typical dislocation density in annealed crystalline materials is about 1010/cm. As the
grain size is reduced to about 10 nm, the dislocation density can reduce by 23 orders or more
and finally, below a critical grain size, dislocations are no longer stable, i.e., there will be no
dislocations in the nanocrystalline materials below the critical grain size. However, in contrast
to whiskers (single crystals without dislocations), nanomaterials have a large number of grain
boundaries as defects. Hence, the plastic deformation behaviour of the material cannot be
governed by dislocation mechanisms. This can result in significantly different mechanical
The condition for dislocation stability can be given by, Fimage bP

where b is Burgers vector and P is Peierls stress.
The critical size (dc) below which the image forces make the dislocations unstable is
given by dc = Gb/P
where G is the shear modulus.
32

Table 2.1
Dislocation stability in typical BCC and FCC metals
(in nm)
dc (sphere)
dc (cylinder)
Ni (FCC)
Fe (BCC)
16
10
3
2
properties in nanomaterials below the critical sizes. The effect of decreasing dislocation density
on the deformation mechanism is an area of significant scientific curiosity.
2.1.2
Twins, stacking faults and voids
Although thermodynamically metastable, planar defects are often observed, even after annealing,
in many faceted nanomaterials, including nanorods and nanowires. These planar defects include
twins and stacking faults (intrinsic or extrinsic), and are usually neglected by most analytical
models. For example, many bulk metals have the face-centred cubic structure, but nanocrystals
and nanorods of the same material often exhibit various structural modifications such as single
or multiple symmetric twinning, as well as five-fold cyclic twinning, resulting in decahedral and
truncated decahedral nanostructures below critical siges (see box). Figure 2.1 demonstrates the
nano-twins in nanocrystalline Cu particles that are embedded in an amorphous FeZrB alloy.
Twins are generally observed in crystals subjected to deformation under high strain rate or at low
temperatures. During crystallization of liquid metal, it is expected that volume misfit strains can
be easily accommodated in the liquid phase, and hence one does not anticipate the formation of
twins in the nucleating crystals. Thus, the origin of such twins during the growth of nanoparticles
from liquid is a subject of immense interest.
Voids in nanocrystallites may be situated
at either triple junctions or as large porosities
due to insufficient compaction and sintering of
nanocrystallites synthesized from the powder route.
Although both types of voids influence the behaviour
of the nanocrystallites, the former is structurally more
important. It is suggested that triple junction voids
arise as a result of relaxation of nanocrystalline grain
boundaries.
100 nm
Fig. 2.1 Twins in nanocrystalline Cu

particles embedded in amorphous Fe-Zr-B
alloy. The twins formation is possibly due
to strains developed at the amorphous Cu
interface during solidification.
(Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
2.1.3 Grain boundaries, triple junctions

and disclinations
A schematic representation of a hard-sphere model
of an equiaxed nanocrystalline metal was shown
in Chapter 1 (Fig. 1.9). Two types of atoms can be
distinguished: crystal atoms with nearest-neighbour
configurations corresponding to the lattice (black
circles) and boundary atoms with a variety of
Chapter 2:
MULTIPLY TWINNED NANOPARTICLES

Multiply twinned particles (MTP) with a pseudo five-fold symmetry are observed
frequently in nanocrystalline particles and thin films (deposited on crystalline
substrates) of cubic face-centred metals, diamond-type semiconductors (C, Si, Ge)
and alloys. MTP are formed by sequential cyclic five-fold twinning, with each twin
sharing a common twin plane boundary with the adjacent twin. It is known, for
example, that twinning in FCC occurs along the {111} plane. The angle between two
{111} planes is 70.53 degrees. Thus, repeated twinning five times will still not result
in 360 degrees, but will result in an annular gap of about 7.35 degrees. Thus, the fivefold symmetry formed from an FCC structure should have a distortion due to the
geometrical arrangements along the five-fold axis. This results in a typical rotational
defect, similar to disclination defects in such multiply twinned particles. The maximum
size of these particles without distortion has been reported to be ~ 40 nm because the
internal stresses of the crystals increase as they grow. The investigation of five-fold
7.35
7.35
(a)
[11
1]
70.53
1]
[11 [011]
f.c.c.
(b)
[11
2]
70.53
2]
[11
[011]b.c.c.
Schematic of five-fold twinned cubic lattice showing the annular mismatch created by
repetitive twinning.
twinned structures in synthetic nanoparticles and thin films started in the second half
of the 20th century. In 1957, Segall observed pentagonal grains of pyramidal shape in
cold rolled Cu upon thermal etching. This was followed in 1959 by the observation of
pentagonal whiskers (i.e., rod-like shapes) of Ni, Fe and Pt grown from the vapour phase
on W substrates by Melmed and Hayward. Subsequently, MTPs have been observed in
several metals, alloys and ceramic phases. Pseudo five-fold symmetry particles have
been seen in microcrystalline chemical vapour deposited (CVD) diamond films and
in various other nanoparticles of FCC, diamond cubic or BCC structure. MTPs of Ge
34
and SnO2 have been grown by physical vapour deposition processes. Nanocrystalline
MTPs of c-BN, TiN, Si, SiC, etc., have been synthesized by CVD.
Physical and chemical properties of materials assembled from five-fold twinned
nanoparticles may differ from materials consisting of untwinned nanoparticles in
a variety of aspects, according to their respective structural characteristics. These
differences concern properties sensitive to the surface energy, lattice symmetry,
internal structure and surface structure, and they may cause changes in melting point,
magnetic moment, electronic transition and chemical reactivity. For MTPs embedded
in a matrix of foreign material, the interface structure has to be considered, which via
particlematrix interaction may influence the elastic properties of the composite. The
appearance of spontaneous ferromagnetic order in Pd nanoparticles of about 6.8 nm
size has been explained by a transition from single crystalline to multiply twinned
structure with decreasing size.
interatomic spacings (white circles). Nanocrystalline materials typically contain a high number of
interfaces with random orientation relationships, and consequently, a substantial fraction of atoms
lies in the interfaces. Assuming that the grains have the shape of spheres or cubes, the volume
fraction of nanocrystalline materials associated with the boundaries (Vi) is estimated to be:
Vi = 3
d
where is the average interface thickness and d is the average grain diameter. Thus, the volume
fraction of interfaces can be as much as 60% for 5 nm grains, 30% for 10 nm grains, and about
3% for 100 nm grains, for a grain boundary thickness of 1 nm.
According to the phase mixture model, many properties of nanocrystalline materials can be
estimated by a simple rule of mixtures,
X = Vcr Xcr + Vic Xic
where subscripts cr and ic refer to the crystalline and intercrystalline components of
nanocrystalline materials, and X and V denote the property and volume fraction of the
respective components. Intercrystalline components include the grain boundaries, triple lines
and quadruple nodes. Taking a cubic unit cell or a regular polyhedron unit cell of nanocrystalline
materials, the volume fraction of each component can be expressed as follows:
Vcr =
(d 3)
d3
Chapter 2:
Vgb =
Vij
Vqn =
6 (d )2(/2)
d3
12 (d )(/2)2
d3
3
d3
where the subscripts cr, gb, tj and qn refer to crystallite, grain boundary, triple lines
and quadruple nodes, respectively; d and represent the grain size and grain boundary
thickness.
Figure 1.10 in the previous chapter represents the variation of volume fraction of
intercrystalline region with the grain size. When the grain size is smaller than about 20 nm,
the total volume of the intercrystalline region (grain boundary and triple junctions) becomes
significant. The density of grain boundaries in nanocrystals is very large (~ 1019 cm3) and
there is wide distribution of interatomic spacing at these grain boundaries.
It has been suggested that the triple junctions can be described based on the disclination
defect model. Disclinations (Fig. 2.2) are line defects characterised by a rotation vector in
contrast to the translational vector b for dislocations. For example, consider a solid rubber
ball. If you cut a slit in it of width only as thick as a blade and then try to forcefully bring
together the ends of the cut portion, the resultant defect is a dislocation. Instead, if you
cut a wedge in the ball and now try to bring the cut ends together, the resultant defect
is a disclination. Unlike dislocations, the elastic stress fields of disclinations diverge with
distance.
The triple junctions may be considered
to form a network of disclinations.
Theoretical calculations have shown that
triple junction energies are comparable to
dislocation energies, and that compensating
disclinations play a significant role in the
properties of nanocrystalline metals with
grain size less than about 10 nm. These
triple junctions are linear defects that
play a significant role in the mechanical,
thermodynamic and kinetic properties of
polycrystals. This role may be particularly
important in nanocrystalline materials,
where the grain boundaries are short
and contain a small number of structural
units.
Fig. 2.2 A schematic showing disclination.
36
2.2
EFFECT OF NANO-DIMENSIONS ON MATERIALS BEHAVIOUR
2.2.1
Elastic properties
The elastic modulus of a material is proportional to the bond strength between atoms or
molecules. The higher the bond strength, the higher will be the melting point and elastic
modulus. The second differential of the interatomic forcedistance curve at the position of
equilibrium separation distance is known to be proportional to the elastic modulus. The elastic
properties of crystalline materials are usually considered to be structure (microstructure)
independent. If the temperature is increased, the mean separation between atoms increases and
the elastic modulus decreases. A large increase in vacancy and other defect concentrations can
be treated as equivalent to higher apparent temperature. Increasing the defect concentration
is thus expected to decrease the elastic modulus. However, the effect of defects on the elastic
modulus is manifested only at significantly higher concentration of vacancies. Nanomaterials,
by virtue of their very high defect concentration, may have considerably lower elastic properties
in comparison to bulk materials.
The first measurements of the elastic constants and, in particular, of Youngs
modulus, E, of nanocrystalline materials were performed with samples prepared by the inert
gas condensation method. The elastic modulus of nanocrystalline compacts was found to be
30%50% lower than bulk values (Fig. 2.3). One of the first explanations proposed was that the
elastic moduli of the grain boundary regions are much smaller than the corresponding moduli
of the grain bulk region, due to weaker bonds and lower density of atoms.
In terms of the linear theory of elasticity for polycrystalline materials, the elastic constants
are expected to be reduced by a fraction determined by the volume fraction of the grain
boundaries,
C1 = (1 ) Co1 + Cgr1
Fig. 2.3 Schematic showing the ratio of

Youngs (E) and Shears (G) moduli of
nanocrystalline materials to that of
conventional grain size.
where Co is the grain bulk modulus, Cgr is the grain

boundary modulus; 3d/d is its relative volume
fraction, where d is the grain size and d is the grain
boundary width. This should lead to significant
changes only for sizes about or below 10 nm.
However, an anomalous elastic modulus reduction
was observed also for greater sizes, up to d = 200
nm. However, it was soon realised that the porosities
in the compact due to inadequate sintering can also
influence the measured elastic properties. It is well
known that elastic properties depend on the porosity
content (m) according to the formula:
E = Eo exp (m/ m)
Chapter 2:
where is a constant, while E and Eo correspond to the measured and reference elastic modulus
of the material, respectively. The effect of porosities on the elastic modulus is particularly
predominant in materials with grain size below ~ 20 nm. The presence of porosities can result
in a decrease in modulus of up to 20%25%, and hence the effect of the intrinsic nature of
nanocrystalline materials on the elastic modulus needs to be more carefully investigated.
By using a phase mixture model (consisting of a mixture of crystalline phase, intercrystalline
phases, and pores), it was suggested that the elastic modulus of nanocrystalline materials
should decrease with decreasing grain size. In contrast to nanograined materials, it has been
suggested that the elastic modulus of carbon nanotubes increases with decrease in tube
diameter. The increase of apparent elastic modulus for smaller diameters is attributed to the
surface tension effects.
2.2.2
Melting point
As mentioned in Section 2.2.1, the decrease in bonding energy due to enhanced surface and
grain boundary area in nanocrystalline materials can reduce the enthalpy of fusion and the
melting temperature. At the melting point of a material, the solid and liquid phases are in
equilibrium. For this to be thermodynamically possible, it is necessary that the chemical
potential of a component (i) is the same in both solid and liquid phases (il = is). However,
due to inherent internal stresses, the pressure of the solid is greater than that of the liquid.
Ps =
Pl + 2
r
where is the surface energy and r is the radius of the solid sphere. The chemical potential is
related to pressure by the following equation:
d = SdT + VdP
By substituting the pressure relationship into the above equation and recalling that at
equilibrium the chemical potential of the liquid is equal to that of the solid, assuming the
overall pressure change in the liquid is negligible, and noting that Sl Ss = Sm, the following
equation is derived:
SmdT =
2V dr
r2
It should be recognised that the bulk melting temperature is related by:

Sm =
Hm
Tm
38
Combining the above relations yields a relationship that describes the decrease in the
melting point of a substance as the radius decreases.
T =
2VTm
rHm
It can be seen that the change in melting temperature is inversely proportional to the radius
of the sphere. In other words, as the grain size is reduced, the melting point is lowered.
It has been observed that nano-CdS of diameter ~ 2.5 nm melts at 600 K, much
lower than the bulk melting point (1675 K). The single-walled carbon nanotube melts at
~ 1600 K, 0.42 times its bulk melting point (3800 K). A similar decrease in the melting
point has also been made in case of nano-Si with a concurrent increase in hardness.. At the
surface of a nanosolid, the atomic coordination number (CN) is much lower than the
standard atomic CN inside a bulk.
It is known that atoms in a solid vibrate about their mean position. The amplitude of the
vibrations increases with increasing temperature. When the vibration amplitude exceeds
a certain percentage of the bond length, melting begins at the surface and propagates
through the solid. Atoms at the surface and grain boundary are less constrained to vibrate
compared to atoms inside the crystal lattice. As the grain size decreases, the percentage
of atoms residing at surfaces and grain boundaries increases significantly. Hence, freestanding nanoparticles may show a lower melting point compared to bulk. A similar effect
has been reported on zinc nanowires embedded in holes in an anodic alumina membrane.
The melting point of zinc nanowires was found to decrease with decreasing diameter of
the nanowire.
In contrast to nanoclusters and nano-agglomerates, nanoparticles within a matrix may, in
fact, experience an enhancement in the melting temperature. The matrix exerts a pressure,
p, which can affect the melting temperature of the particles. This is described by:
p=
2V
3Vo
where is the shear modulus of the matrix, is a dimensionless factor that takes into
account the presence of other particles, V is the change in particle volume due to thermal
expansion, and Vo is the initial particle volume. From the ClausiusClapeyron equation
(dT/dP = V/S, where T is the transition temperature, P is the pressure, V and S are
the change in volume and entropy during transition), it is understood that the transition
temperature will increase with increase in pressure, if change in volume on melting is positive.
Hence, the melting point of nanoparticles embedded in a bulk matrix increases with decreasing
size of particulate as the pressure increases with decrease in particle size (Fig. 2.4). Researchers
at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
and Australian National University, Australia, have found that Ge nanocrystals embedded in
silica glass do not melt until temperatures are almost 200C above the melting point of bulk
Chapter 2:
Fig. 2.4 Schematic diagram showing melting of free-standing nanoparticles and that of nanoparticles
embedded in a higher melting matrix.
Ge, and resolidify only when the temperature is more than 200C below its bulk melting point.
Lead nanoparticles embedded in an Al matrix have also exhibited superheating.
It is fascinating to observe that the melting temperature does not continuously decrease with
decreasing grain size in nano-dimensions. In fact, as the cluster size is reduced below a critical
limit, the melting point of clusters is seen to increase above the bulk melting temperature of
the material, at least in some cases. It has been found that a solid containing about 10 atoms
of Ga or IV A elements (C, Si, Ge, Sn and Pb) melts at temperatures that are higher than the
melting point of the corresponding bulk solid (Tm,b). This is in contrast to the behaviour of
nanograined solids with grain size in the range of 1100 nm, where a universal decrease in
melting point is observed with the grain size. Compared to the melting point of bulk Ga, which
is about 303 K, clusters of Ga3940 melt at 550 K, while smaller clusters of Ga17 do not melt up
to 700 K. Consistent insight into the phenomenon of melting point oscillation (suppression
followed by elevation as the particle size is reduced from bulk to sub-nanometre size) over the
whole range of sizes remains a scientific challenge.
2.2.3
Diffusivity
Diffusion kinetics increases with increasing defect content of the material, like vacancy
concentration. Grain boundaries and dislocation cores provide easy diffusion paths compared
to bulk lattice, because the structure is more open/defective. Thus, fewer atomic bonds have
to be disrupted for diffusion along defect cores, resulting in lower activation energy paths.
The numerous interfaces in nanocrystalline materials provide a high density of short circuit
diffusion paths. Thus, nanocrystalline materials are expected to exhibit enhanced selfdiffusivity in comparison to single crystals or conventional polycrystals with the same chemical
composition. This idea was confirmed by self-diffusion measurements in nanocrystalline Cu.
The measured diffusivities in nanocrystalline Cu are about 1420 orders of magnitude higher
40
than lattice diffusion. It is also known to be about 24 orders of magnitude larger than grain
boundary self-diffusion.
It is known that the diffusion coefficient obeys an Arrhenius-type relation with temperature:
D = Do exp (Q/RT)
where Q is the activation energy for diffusion. The activation energy for lattice diffusion (Ql)
is higher than that along short circuit paths like dislocation cores (Qd), grain boundaries (Qgb)
and surfaces (Qs).
Ql > Qd > Qgb > Qs
If log (D) is plotted as a function of (1/T), the slope will be proportional to the activation
energy. Since the activation energy for grain boundary diffusion is much lower than
that of lattice diffusion, the slopes of the plot are smaller for grain boundary diffusion
(Fig. 2.5). For the same reason, the difference in the diffusion coefficients between the grain
boundary and lattice are much higher at lower temperatures. It can be inferred from the
figure that grain boundary diffusion will have a greater effect at lower temperatures. At higher
temperatures, the diffusion coefficients of lattice and grain boundary diffusion are nearly the
same and, considering the much lower volume
fraction of grain boundaries in conventional
materials, the effective diffusion coefficient
would be largely determined by the lattice
diffusion coefficient.
Since the effective diffusion coefficient
(Deff) is an average of diffusion along different
paths, it can be inferred that,
Deff = Dl + (/d) Dgb + f (Vd/d) Dp + f (Vs/d) Ds
Fig. 2.5 Schematic showing diffusivity in metals

along various diffusion paths. The higher diffusivity
along the short circuit paths, such as grain
boundaries and surfaces, is demonstrated in the
figure.
where Vd and Vs are volume fractions of

dislocation cores and surfaces in the material,
respectively, d is the grain size, and Dl, Dp,
Dgb and Ds are lattice, dislocation pipe, grain
boundary and surface diffusion coefficients,
respectively. is the grain boundary thickness
and is usually about 1 nm. For a grain of
about 1 m in diameter, it is obvious that the
second term in the above equation will be
significantly less than Dl, meaning that the
lattice diffusion coefficient will be nearly equal
to the effective diffusion coefficient. However,
as the grain sizes reduce to nano-dimensions,
Chapter 2:
the second term has a dominating effect.

Since grain boundary diffusion coefficients
are a few orders higher than lattice diffusion,
the effective diffusion coefficients of
nanocrystalline materials are higher than that
observed in coarse-grained materials. Table
2.2 demonstrates the enhanced diffusivities in
nanomaterials.
2.2.4
Table 2.2 Diffusivities in nanomaterials

(in m2/s at 300 K)
System
67Cu/Cu
Ag/Cu
Bulk
1039
1039
Glass
1036
Nano
1019
2 x 1019
Grain growth characteristics
Consider a sphere of radius r. Its surface area is proportional to the square of its radius, while
the volume is proportional to the cube of the radius. Thus, the ratio of the surface area to the
volume of a sphere, for example, can be seen to be inversely proportional to the radius. Thus,
the smaller the crystallite size, the larger is the surface area per unit volume. Nanocrystalline
materials have a significantly larger surface area per unit volume fraction of grain boundaries
compared to microcrystalline solids.
Grain boundaries are higher energy regions in materials. Thus, there is always a driving
force for reduction in the grain boundary surface area per unit volume. This can happen only
by coarsening of smaller grains involving migration of grain boundaries. Such a reduction in
grain boundary surface area per unit volume is the major driving force for grain coarsening
in nanocrystalline materials, in order to reduce the net energy of the system. However, grain
boundary mobility is predominantly a diffusion limited process and hence depends to a large
extent on composition and temperature, amongst other considerations. Grain growth has an
exponential dependence on the temperature as shown in the equation below:
rn = r0n + exp
Qgb
RT
where r is the radius of the crystal, r0 a material constant, Qgb is the activation energy for grain
boundary migration, and n is an exponent factor and is typically 2 for microcrystalline grains.
Although the above expression has been derived for microcrystalline solids, it has also been
found to be applicable to nanocrystalline materials. However, the activation energy for grain
growth in nanocrystalline solids is expected to be lower. In addition, in nanocrystallline solids,
owing to the higher driving force for grain growth (larger reduction in grain boundary surface
area per unit volume possible by growth of nanocrystalline grains), the exponent factor, n,
is normally much higher than 2. Both the above factors lead to enhanced grain coarsening
kinetics in nanocrystalline solids.
Thus, it can be seen that nanocrystalline solids cannot be stable at high normalized
temperatures (T/Tm) for any given material. If the nanocrystalline grains grow larger at
high temperatures, all the advantageous properties of nanomaterials envisaged cannot
be utilized in service. Thus, nanocrystalline solids are in general not suitable for high
42
temperature applications. However, there is progress in grain boundary engineering to

reduce grain coarsening kinetics of nanocrystalline materials. Grain boundary migration
can be reduced by pinning the grain boundaries either with secondary particles (Zener
pinning) or by vacancy clusters. Grain boundaries being higher energy sites, there is a
driving force for several secondary phases to be located there. Grain boundary migration
would thus incur an additional energy to break the bonding with such particles, acting as
a source of inhibition for grain growth. The effective pinning ability of secondary phases
is obviously dependent on both the volume fraction as well as the size of the particle.
It is clear that for effective Zener pinning, the particles should be stable at high
temperatures and should not undergo coarsening themselves. This can also be achieved by
having dispersoids of secondary phases like ceramics (that are insoluble in the matrix even
at elevated temperatures) decorating the grain boundaries of nanocrystalline materials. An
effective means of synthesizing such a solid is by powder metallurgy processes involving ball
milling and consolidation techniques. If the dispersoid phase is insoluble in the matrix, it is
obvious that the ceramic second phase would be both stable at high temperatures and will not
undergo coarsening of itself. Thus, such a technique can be an effective route for achieving
grain boundary pinning to enhance the service temperature applicability of nanomaterials.
Figure 2.6 (see Plate 4) demonstrates the Zener pinning effect of W on grain growth in CuW
nanocomposites. Copper nanograins do not significantly grow in the presence of tungsten
nanoparticles, in spite of heating it to 0.6 of its melting point.
There is another way of grain boundary engineering to restrict grain growth. This involves
enabling a grain boundary with a composition different from that of the bulk. Thus, grain
boundary migration will also have to simultaneously involve diffusion of all involved chemical
species to ensure the same composition of grain boundary. Such a solute drag effect can act
as a rate limiting step for grain boundary migration. A heterogeneous composition can be
obtained, for example, by grain boundary segregation effects. The solute drag effect of Cu in
Ag in controlling the grain coarsening tendency of nano-silver is demonstrated in Fig. 2.7.
In this case, nanoparticles of pure Ag obtained by inert gas condensation of Ag clusters on
a substrate grow significantly when heated to 600C. In contrast, when Cu (having a higher
melting point than Ag) is alloyed with Ag, the grain growth is significantly reduced at the same
temperature due to solute drag effect.
2.2.5
Enhanced solid solubility
The solubility of a solute A in a solvent B is controlled by the chemical potential, A, of A in

B. The chemical potential and hence the solubility of A in B may be enhanced (or reduced) in
nanocrystalline materials in comparison to single crystals or glasses with the same chemical
composition. The solubility of H in nanocrystalline Pd (at concentrations <103) is increased
by a factor of 10 to 100 relative to a Pd single crystal. Similar effects have been observed in Mg
and with the Mg-based alloys that have become popular for hydrogen storage applications.
Figure 2.8 shows a schematic of how the hydrogen adsorption increases with a decrease in
particle size. This result has significant technological importance.
Chapter 2:
(b)
(a)
d
pv
Cu
Ag
np
pv
Cu
200 nm
200 nm
Fig. 2.7 Grain growth restriction in AgCu nanoparticles: (a) Ag nanoparticles heated to 600oC and (b) AgCu
nanoparticles heated to 600oC. The figure clearly shows that alloying Ag with the higher melting Cu reduces the
diffusivity, which leads to grain growth inhibition due to solute drag effect in single-phase alloys. This is different
from the Zener pinning effects observed in two-phase alloys. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
A similar effect was observed for Bi in Cu. The

solubility of Bi in crystalline Cu is less than 104 at 100C.
In contrast, the solubility of Bi in nanocrystalline Cu is
about 4%, corresponding to a solubility enhancement by
about 10,000 times relative to crystalline Cu. It is found
that a diameter of 20 nm seems to be the threshold value
to observe significant extended solid solubility, i.e., the
solubility being greatly promoted with decreasing grain
Fig. 2.8 Schematic showing
size when the size of the matrix nanoparticles is less than
hydrogen adsorption in
20 nm. Figure 2.9 demonstrates this phenomenon in the
nanocrystalline material with
FeSi system. It can be clearly seen that the solubility of
decreasing grain size.
Si in Fe is almost negligible up to a crystallite size of Fe
of about 20 nm, below which there is a sudden dissolution of Si. The figure also shows
that this solubility can be correlated to the grain boundary volume in nanocrystalline
materials, which follows a similar trend. It has also been possible to alloy conventionally
immiscible systems by optimising the process conditions to achieve nanocrystalline grains.
Table 2.3 gives the extension of terminal solid solubility achieved on nanocrystallization
by mechanical alloying (high-energy ball milling technique).
2.2.6
Magnetic properties
The study of magnetic nanoparticles has seen a large research effort in recent years.
The main driving force for this increased interest is their application potential in vital areas
like ultrahigh density magnetic storage devices, magnetic random access memory (MRAM),
ferrofluids, spintronics, magnetic semiconductors, nanogranular magnetic materials, etc.
With this increased interest comes the realization that the shape and size of the nanoparticles
44
Table 2.3
Solvent
Ag
Al
Cd
Co
Cr
Cu
Fe
Mg
Mn
Nb
Ni
Ti
V
Zr
Extension of terminal solid solubility on nanocrystallization by mechanical alloying (MA)

Solute
Cu
Ni
Cr
Fe
Mg
Mn
Nb
Ti
Zr
Zn
C
Cr
V
Zr
Co
Cu
Co
Fe
Hg
Zn
Al
Cu
Mg
Si
Ti
Co
Al
Cu
Ni
Ag
Al
C
Nb
Al
Cu
Mg
Co
Al
Co
Solid solubility at room temperature (at.%)

Equilibrium
MA
0.3
0.7
0.0
0.0
2.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
9.1
0.0
9.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
30.0
18.5
0.0
0.0
9.0
0.0
4.0
21.5
0.0
7.0
2.0
10.0
0.0
6.0
36.0
0.0
2.9
7.0
0.5
0.0
100.0
3.8
5.0
4.5
23.0
18.5
2530
6.0
9.1
50.0
6.0
40.0
33.0
5.0
40.0
20.0
90.0
50.0
70.0
50.0
50.0
15.0
20.0
27.5
4.2
50.0
60.0
20.0
10.0
9.0
27.0
12.0
15.0
55.0
8.0
60.0
40.0
15.0
4.0
Chapter 2:
Fig. 2.9 Solubility of Si in Fe as a function of crystallite size of Fe. The figure demonstrates significantly higher
solubility of Si in nanocrystalline Fe below 20 nm. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
take centre stage in determining their magnetic properties. The strength of a magnet is
decided by its coercivity and saturation magnetization values. They increase when the grain
size decreases and the specific surface area per unit volume of the grains increases.
Soft magnetic nanocrystalline alloys
In conventional soft magnetic alloys, low coercivity has been achieved using coarse-grained
materials so that magnetic flux pinning at the grain boundaries is avoided. In nanocrystalline
materials, when the grain sizes are much smaller than the domain wall width, the magnetic
anisotropy is averaged over many grains and orientations and hence the coercivity is
significantly reduced and permeability is enhanced.
FeSiBNbCu amorphous alloys are found to transform to a BCC FeSi solid solution
with grain sizes of about 10 nm during annealing at temperatures above the crystallization
temperature. The presence of small amounts of Cu helps to increase the nucleation rate of
the BCC phase, while Nb retards grain growth. These Finemet alloys provide low core losses
(even lower than amorphous soft magnetic alloys such as CoFeSi-B), exhibit saturation
induction of about 1.2 T, and exhibit very good properties at high frequencies, comparable
to the best Co-based amorphous alloys. Though the Finemet-type nanocrystalline alloys
are superior in their magnetic properties, they exhibit lower saturation induction than Femetalloid amorphous alloys, mainly because of the lower Fe content to attain amorphization
and because of the addition of Nb and Cu (or other elements to control the nucleation and
growth kinetics).
46
To avoid this problem, Nanoperm alloys based on the FeZrB system have been developed.
These contain larger concentrations of Fe (83%89%) and have higher saturation induction
(1.61.7 T) compared to the Finemet alloys. The Nanoperm nanocrystalline alloys have very
low energy loss at power frequencies of 60 Hz, making them potentially interesting for electrical
power distribution transformers.
The small single-domain nanocrystalline Fe particles in the amorphous matrix
give these alloys their unique magnetic behaviour, the most dramatic being the lowest
energy losses (narrowest B/H hysteresis loop) of any high permeability. These alloys
exhibit nearly zero magnetostriction. These materials are made by crystallization of
rapidly solidified amorphous ribbons
Figure 2.10 shows amorphous melt
spun ribbons of Fe-Si-B-Nb-Cu alloy.
Figure 2.11 shows the transmission electron
microscopic images of melt spun and
annealed alloys showing the amorphous
and nanocrystalline structure, respectively.
The decrease in hysteresis loop size due
to nanocrystalline phase formation on
annealing is shown in Fig. 2.12.
Permanent magnetic
nanocrystalline materials
The nanoscale two-phase mixtures of a hard
magnetic phase and a soft magnetic phase
Fig. 2.10 Amorphous ribbon of FeSiBNbCu

alloy. (Courtesy: Bhaskar Majumdar, DMRL,
Hyderabad).
a
50 nm
Fe3Si (422)
Fe3Si (400)
Fe3Si(200)
Fe3Si(111)
Fe3Si(220)
+Amorphous
80 nm
Fig. 2.11 Bright field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images and corresponding selected area
diffraction (SAD) patterns of (a) as melt spun and (b) annealed (525C for 1 h) ribbons of FeSiBNbCu alloy.
(Courtesy: Bhaskar Majumdar, DMRL, Hyderabad).
Chapter 2:
Fig. 2.12 Hysteresis loops of the as-spun and annealed FeSiBNbCu ribbons.
(Courtesy: Bhaskar Majumdar, DMRL, Hyderabad).
can exhibit values of remanent magnetization, Mr, significantly greater than the isotropic
value of 0.5Ms. Enhancement of remanence in such a composite can be obtained when the
nanocrystalline grain size and the degree of coherence across interphase boundaries are
such that exchange coupling occurs between the two phases. Exchange coupling allows
crystallographically isotropic materials to exhibit remanence values approaching those
achieved after full alignment (Fig. 2.13). The Fe-rich compositions (e.g., Fe90Nd7B3) result
in a mixture of the hard Fe14Nd2B-phase and a soft Fe-phase, which increases the magnetic
induction. These two-phase nanoscale ferromagnetic alloys have been prepared by nonequilibrium methods such as melt spinning, mechanical alloying and sputter deposition.
Magnets made of nanocrystalline YSmCo grains possess unusual magnetic properties due
to their extremely large surface area. The magnetic properties of the Sm2Co17 hard magnet
can be significantly improved by developing nanocomposites with either Fe or FeCo alloy
Fig. 2.13
Schematic diagram explaining the principle of exchange coupling in magnetic nanocomposites.
48
soft magnet, which is clearly demonstrated in Fig. 2.14. Typical applications for these highpower rare earth magnets include quieter submarines, automobile alternators, land-based
power generators, and motors for ships, ultrasensitive analytical instruments and magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) in medical diagnostics.
Fig. 2.14 Improvement in magnetic properties in Sm2Co17FeCo nanocomposites in relation to bulk

microcrystalline composites. The improved magnetic properties can be attributed to exchange coupling between
the soft and hard magnetic phases in the nanocomposites. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
Fig. 2.15 Schematic diagram showing GMR

effect in magnetic ultrathin films.
Giant magnetoresistance (GMR)

The phenomenon of significant decrease in
electrical resistance when materials are exposed
to a magnetic field is known as giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect. This phenomenon is
usually observed in bulk composites consisting
of ferromagnetic and non-magnetic phases or
in thin film multilayers of these materials, as
shown in Fig. 2.15. A significant decrease in
resistance from the zero-field state is evident
in these materials when the external magnetic
field leads to adjacent ferromagnetic layers,
aligning in an antiparallel fashion due to weak
anti-ferromagnetic coupling between layers.
It was observed in both nanocrystalline thin
films and equiaxed granular nanocrystalline
materials.
Chapter 2:
In case of granular materials, GMR is observed when small ferromagnetic single-domain

particles with randomly oriented magnetic axes are embedded in a non-magnetic matrix.
The explanation for the GMR is spin-dependent scattering of the conduction electrons at the
ferromagnetic/non-magnetic interfaces and, to a lesser extent, within the magnetic grains.
The GMR is inversely proportional to the average particle diameter. The effect can be up to
100% in multiple stacks of ultrathin films. This effect was first observed in Fe/Cr multilayer
ultrathin films and is also commonly observed in Cu/Co nanocomposites. This effect has wide
application in magnetic reading heads for computer hard discs and in position sensors.
2.2.7
Electrical properties
Nanomaterials can hold considerably more energy than conventional coarse-grained

materials because of their large grain boundary (surface) area. They are materials in
which an optical absorption band can be introduced, or an existing band can be altered
by the passage of current through these materials, or by the application of an electric field.
Conventional and rechargeable batteries are used in many applications that need electrical
energy. The energy density (storage capacity) of these batteries is usually quite low, requiring
frequent recharging. Nanocrystalline materials are good candidates for separator plates in
batteries because they can hold considerably more energy than conventional ones. Nickel
metal hydride batteries made of nanocrystalline nickel and metal hydrides are envisioned
to require far less frequent recharging and to last much longer. The dielectric properties
are significantly enhanced by making these nanocrystalline. The dielectric constant of lead
zirconium titanate (PZT) can be increased to 35,000 when it is made in the nanocrystalline
state in comparison to a value of 2000 in the microcrystalline PZT (Fig. 2.16). When
ferroelectric and ferromagnetic phases are brought together in a nanocrystalline state, there
100 nm
Fig. 2.16 Exceptionally high dielectric constant in nanocrystalline PZT. The nanocrystalline PZT with an
average particle size of about 10 nm shows a dielectric constant of about 35,000 at Tc. In contrast, bulk PZT has
a dielectric constant of only about 1000 at the same temperature. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
50
can be high magneto-electric effect in the material, which is demonstrated in Fig. 2.17.
There are examples where the electrical nature of materials changes on nanocrystallization.
Figure 2.18 is an example for this behaviour; a metallic AlCuFe alloy is converted to
a semiconductor with a negative temperature coefficient of electrical resistivity in the
nanoquasicrystalline phase, the explanation for which is still inconclusive, providing scope
for further work.
2.2.8
Optical properties
Nanocrystalline systems have attracted much interest due to their novel optical properties,
which differ remarkably from bulk crystals. Key contributory factors include quantum
confinement of electrical carriers within nanoparticles, efficient energy and charge transfer
over nanoscale distances and, in many systems, a highly enhanced role of interfaces. The linear
and non-linear optical properties of such materials can be finely tailored by controlling the
crystal dimensions, and the chemistry of their surfaces. Fabrication technology becomes a key
factor for the applications.
BT
NF
BT
50 nm
Fig. 2.17 The high magneto-electric effect in nickel ferrite/nickel zinc ferritebarium titanate nanocomposite.
Chapter 2:
100 nm
Fig. 2.18 AlCuFe alloy being converted from metallic to semiconducting nature on nano-quasicrystallization.
(a) Bulk AlCuFe alloy, (b)(f): Different fractions of nano-quasicrystalline phase (Source: BS Murty, IIT
Madras).
Plasmons These are quasiparticles obtained by quantization of plasma oscillations, similar

to photons, which form by quantization of light and sound waves. Plasmons can couple with
a photon to create another quasiparticle called plasma polariton. Surface plasmons (SP) are
plasmons that are confined to surfaces and interact strongly with light resulting in a polariton.
SPs are responsible for the colour of nanomaterials. An SP is a natural oscillation of the electron
gas inside a given nanosphere. If the nanosphere is smaller than the wavelength of light, the
frequency of which is close to that of the SP, then the SP will absorb energy. The frequency of the
SP depends on the dielectric function of the nanomaterial, and the shape of the nanoparticles.
For spherical particles of gold, the frequency is about 0.58 of the bulk plasma frequency. Thus,
although the bulk plasma frequency is in the UV region, the SP frequency is in the visible range
(wavelength close to 520 nm). Suppose we have a suspension of nanoparticles in a host and a
wave of light is applied, the local electric field may be hugely enhanced near an SP resonance.
If so, one expects various non-linear susceptibilities, which depend on higher powers of the
electric field to be enhanced even more.
The ultrafast optical emission of nano-sized diamond crystallites has been detected under
the picosecond (ps) laser excitation of 300 nm through ultrafast fluorescence spectroscopy.
This optical emission and photoluminescence (PL), induced at a laser wavelength of 300 nm,
confines blue light. It has not been observed under the same experimental conditions from
samples of a natural single crystal. The PL phenomenon of nano-diamond can be understood
considering the effects of the surface states and the enlarged surface-to-volume ratios in
nanoscale materials.
52
Figure 2.19 (see Plate 4) shows the image of Don Quixote made with nanocrystalline VO2.
When the temperature is below 341 K, the material is transparent and the image is not visible.
When the temperature rises above this point, however, the material becomes reflective and the
image appears. Richard Haglund, the Vanderbilt physics professor, has clocked the transition
of VO2 nanoparticles from a transparent to a reflective mirror-like state, at less than 100
femtoseconds (a tenth of a trillionth of a second), leading to the worlds fastest optical shutter.
VO2 can switch from a transparent to a reflective state in less than the time taken by a beam of
light to travel a tenth of a millimeter. Phase transitions in solids generally occur at the speed of
sound in the materials; however, this transition in VO2 occurs 10 times faster. The reasons for
such a rapid change are not yet known.
2.2.9
Thermal properties
In general, increasing the number of grain boundaries will enhance phonon scattering at
the disordered boundaries, resulting in lower thermal conductivity. Thus, nanocrystalline
materials would be expected to have lower thermal conductivity compared to conventional
materials. However, as the grain sizes assume nanodimensions, their size becomes comparable
to the mean free paths of phonons that transport thermal energy. Thus, nanomaterials can
show widely different properties compared to coarse-grained materials, due to the photon
confinement and quantization effects of photon transport. It has been observed that in addition
to the grain size, the shape also has an influence on the thermal properties of nanomaterials.
For example, one-dimensional nanowires may offer ultralow thermal conductivities, quite
different from that of carbon nanotubes. In nanowires, quantum confinement of phonons in
1D can result in additional polarization modes compared to that observed in bulk solids. The
strong phononphonon interactions and enhanced scattering at grain boundaries result in a
significant reduction in thermal conductivity of nanostructures. Silicon nanowires are known
to exhibit thermal conductivity at least about two orders of magnitude smaller than that of bulk
silicon. In contrast, the tubular structures of carbon nanotubes result in an extremely high
(~ 6600 W/mK) thermal conductivity along the axial direction. However, high anisotropy
in their heat transport property is observed, making the thermal transport directiondependent.
In multilayered coatings, many collective modes of phonon transport may appear besides the
phonon modes in each single layer; when the phonon coherence length becomes comparable
to the thickness of each layer, the transport properties are significantly influenced. When
the mean free path of phonons spans multiple interfaces, the phonon dispersion relation is
modified, resulting in enhanced scattering due to decrease in phonon group velocity. Further,
if the multilayer is designed to have a superlattice structure, and alternate films have a large
mismatch in the phonon dispersion relations, it is possible that phonons in a certain frequency
range may not propagate to the neighbouring layers unless there are mode conversions at the
interface. Also, the presence of interface dislocations and defects can contribute to enhanced
boundary scattering. All these factors can contribute to the lower thermal conductivity of
multilayered nanostructured films.
Chapter 2:
The use of a nanofluid to enhance thermal transport is another promising application of

the thermal properties of nanomaterials. Nanofluids represent the class of liquids that have a
stable colloidal dispersion of nanoparticles distributed uniformly in the medium. It has been
observed that dispersion of a wide variety of nanoparticles of oxides, nitrides, metals, metal
carbides and nanofibres, such as single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes, can significantly
enhance the thermal conductivity of the fluid. To obtain stable colloidal suspensions, the
particle size should normally be in the range of 1100 nm and an anti-coagulant may also be
added to enhance the stability of the nanofluid. The idea of enhancing the thermal conductivity
of liquids using solid dispersions is not completely new. Maxwell proposed the possibility of
enhancing the thermal conductivity of fluids using particle dispersions as early as 1873. This
is because we know that solids in general have much higher thermal conductivity than liquids
and gases. For example, while air has a conductivity of the order of 0.03 W/mK, water has a
conductivity of the order of 0.6 W/mK, and metals like silver and copper have a conductivity
of 400 W/mK, while materials like carbon nanotubes (CNT) have extremely high conductivity
of 2300 W/mK.
Thus, it is obvious that thermal conductivity of a fluid can be enhanced by having particles of
better heat transport properties dispersed in it. However, in the early years of development of
particle dispersed fluids, microcrystalline dispersoid particles were used. These fluids suffered
from inferior stability of suspension, leading to their coagulation and precipitation. Erosion
of the walls of the pipes by the particles was also observed to be a major problem. With the
advent of techniques to synthesize nanoparticles with controlled grain size, nanofluids with
improved stability have been developed.
For dilute fluids with spherical dispersoids, the effective thermal conductivity (keff) of the
fluid is expected to follow the equation:
keff
km
=1+
3
[(kp + 2km)/(kp km) ]
where kp and km are the thermal conductivity of the particles and the medium, respectively,
and is the volume fraction of the particles. The relation suggests that the thermal conductivity
of a fluid will increase by about three times the effect expected from volume fraction effects.
However, it may be noted that this equation does not suggest the dependence of thermal
conductivity of the fluid on the particle size. This relation does not also predict particlespecific properties of the fluid. However, in practice, the thermal properties of nanofluids are
known to depend on particle size, volume fraction and the type of dispersoid employed.
The first heat transfer enhancement with nano-sized particles was reported by Masuda
and his group in Japan and they demonstrated that the thermal conductivity of ultrafine
suspensions of alumina, silica and other oxides in water increased by a substantial amount
(maximum of 30%) for a particle volume fraction of 4.3%. Choi and his group at the Argonne
National Laboratory proposed to construct a new class of engineered fluids with superior
heat transfer capabilities in 1995. Since then, a series of experiments have been performed
54
with nanofluids. Incidentally, the term nanofluid was first coined by Choi for denoting this
new class of engineered fluids. An approximately 20% improvement in effective thermal
conductivity has been reported when 5 vol.% CuO nanoparticles are added to water. The
effective thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol increased by 40% for a nanofluid containing
approximately 0.3 vol.% Cu nanoparticles of mean diameter <10 nm. High thermal
conductivities in nanofluids can be due to a number of factors such as Brownian motion of
the nanoparticles, molecular-level layering of the liquid at the liquid/particle interface, the
nature of heat transport in the nanoparticles and the effects of clustering of nanoparticles.
It is postulated that ballistic, rather than diffusive mechanisms account for the rapid heat
transport in nanofluids.
Apart from enhancing the thermal conductivity of the medium, the use of nanofluids
can also aid reduction in pumping power to attain equivalent heat transfer coefficient. An
increase in pumping power by a factor of 10 results in doubling of thermal conductivity of
conventional fluids. In contrast, nanofluids can achieve improved thermal transport properties
BALLISTIC AND DIFFUSIVE HEAT TRANSPORT

Heat transfer, in general, occurs by vibrations of atoms in solids. Based on quantum
mechanics, the vibrations in solids can be mathematically treated as a convolution of
phonons (normal modes) and photons (normal vibrations). Generally, heat transfer
occurs by diffusive mechanism, which follows Fouriers equation for conduction
and convection. However, when the particle size becomes comparable to the mean
free path of phonons, ballistic heat transfer mechanism becomes predominant. For
example, the mean free path of a phonon in a Cu particle ranges from 20 nm at 323 K
to 16 nm at 423 K. When the particle size becomes smaller than these values, ballistic
heat transport mechanism takes over. Under these circumstances, the heat flux would
be proportional to the fourth power of temperature rather than linear dependence
observed in diffusive heat transfer. This is depicted in the table given below, where q
is heat flux, k is thermal conductivity, l is the mean free path of a phonon and L is the
grain/particle size.
Transport type
Size scale
Governing equation
Diffusive
L >> l
q = kT
Schematic diagram
T2
x
L
T1
Ballistic
L=l
q = (T41 T42)
T2
x
L
T1
Chapter 2:
without enhancing the pumping power. Therefore, the potential savings in pumping power is
significant with nanofluids.
2.2.10
Mechanical properties
The mechanical behaviour of nanocrystalline materials is being widely researched, because

of their radically different properties. The tensile, work hardening, creep, fatigue and
deformation behaviour of nanocrystalline materials are significantly different from that of
their bulk counterparts due to the complex interaction of the defect structures. The major
factors contributing to the difference in the mechanical behaviour of nanostructured materials
are the following:
1. Very high fraction of atoms residing at grain boundaries and triple junctions exert a strong
influence on the behaviour of these defects on application of stress. The influence of grain
size on dislocation stability, as discussed in an earlier section, also has significant influence
on dislocation dynamics for material design and mechanical properties of materials. Since
dislocation interactions are the predominant deformation mechanisms that influence
the mechanical property of coarse-grained materials, the plastic deformation mode of
nanomaterials could be significantly different.
2. Due to the above reasons, alternate deformation mechanisms like grain boundary
migration/sliding, crack growth, etc. become important.
3. The porosity level in nanomaterials is strongly dependent on the processing technique
and can also be significant, for example, in the case of mechanically alloyed specimens.
Even after agglomeration, the pore size can be smaller than or equal to grain size.
The presence of porosity can have a significant effect on the mechanical behaviour of
nanomaterials.
4. Finally, there can be segregation of different solutes at the grain boundaries in nanomaterials,
which can influence the mechanical properties.
Some of the peculiar mechanical properties that were first observed for nanostructured
materials are:
Elastic moduli were found to be 30%50% lower than in conventional grain size
materials.
Hardness and strength were found to be very high, with hardness values for nanocrystalline
pure metals (~10 nm grain size) up to seven times higher than those for conventional
coarse-grained (>1 m) metals; in general, tensile and compressive strengths in nearly all
materials show significantly high values at the nanometre scale.
Nanoscale multilayers made of metallic or ceramic materials exhibited ultrahigh hardness.
The HallPetch slope is negative below a critical grain size, showing that hardness decreases
with decrease in grain size in the nanoscale grain size regime.
Ductility (possibly superplastic behaviour) is observed at low temperature in brittle
ceramics or intermetallics with nanoscale grain size, possibly due to diffusional deformation
mechanismsan area to be explored.
56
Hardness and strength

The hardness and strength of conventional grain size materials (grain diameter d >1 m) have
been known to be a function of the grain size. It is known in general that grain boundaries
act as barriers to dislocation motion and can thereby strengthen a material. With decreasing
grain size, the surface area of grain boundaries per unit volume increases and therefore can
result in an increase in hardness and strength. For ductile polycrystalline materials, a semiempirical relationship, called the HallPetch equation, has been found to express the grain
size dependence of the flow stress at any plastic strain, up to ductile fracture. In terms of yield
stress, this expression can be written as
y = 0 + k d1/2
where y is the yield stress, 0 is a friction stress opposing dislocation motion, k is a constant
and is material dependent, and d is the grain diameter. The same behaviour has been found to
hold for hardness, as shown below, and for wear resistance too.
H = H0 + k d1/2
This equation holds true for grains larger than about a micrometre. It is known that the
yield stressgrain size exponent for relatively large grains appears to be very close to 0.5 and
generally this trend continues until the very fine grain regime (~100 nm) is reached. For instance,
for nanophase Cu (d = 6 nm), the hardness is five times greater than that in the corresponding
bulk metal (d = 100 m). This behaviour substantially derives from the difficulty in creating
dislocations and from the existence of barriers to dislocation motion. Significant improvement
in the tensile strength of nano-palladium in comparison to micrograined palladium has also been
observed. In some cases, exceptionally high hardness has been observed in the nanocrystalline
state, for example, in Al-based nanocomposites, prepared by mechanical alloying, as shown in
Fig. 2.20. Copper-based nanocomposites have also shown very high hardness in comparison to
micro-composies (Fig. 2.21). In fact, in these Cu-based nanocomposites, the ratio of hardness
to electrical conductivity is three times that of oxygen-free high conductivity Cu-Aluminiumbased nanocomposites also show retention of their hardness at higher temperatures, up to 773 K,
in comparison to commercially available age hardened AlCu alloys, which lose their strength by
573 K (Fig. 2.22).
The mechanical behaviour is mainly determined by the type of bonding in the materials.
Metals with highly delocalized bonds are ductile and are thus usually soft; ionic solids are
more difficult to deform (due to charge neutrality); covalent solids have strong localised
bonds, so that ceramics and intermetallics are subject to brittle fracture. In a crystalline
structure, dislocations can be introduced and atomic planes can slide over one another. In the
nanophase, both these behaviours are altered. In nanophase metals, the hardness increases
with decreasing grain size because defects and dislocations are required for deformation to
occur, and they are almost absent in nanostructured materials, although regenerative sources
of dislocations exist. Therefore, the dislocations needed for easy deformation are frozen and
Chapter 2:
Fig. 2.20 Exceptionally high hardness of 12.4 GPa in Al-based nanocomposites. The nanocomposites contain
Al13Fe4/quasicrystalline nanoparticles embedded in ultrafine Al grains. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
Fig. 2.21 High hardness of Cu-based nanocomposites in comparison to micro-composies.

new ones are prevented from forming in nanomaterials.

However, in nanocrystalline materials, as the grain size is reduced below a critical limit,
the response tends to deviate from the HallPetch relation described earlier (Fig. 2.23). In
fact, a close analysis of experimental HallPetch data in a variety of materials has shown that
58
Fig. 2.22 The figure shows that the hardness is retained up to about 500C in AlTiCr nanocomposites
containing Al3Ti intermetallic nanoparticles. In contrast, the commercial AlCu alloy loses its strength completely
by 350C. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras)
although the plot of versus d1/2 forms a

continuous curve, three different regions
can be seen:
1. A region from single crystal to a grain
size of about a micrometre (m) where
the classical HallPetch description can
be used;
2. A region for grain sizes ranging from
about 1 m to about 30 nm where the
HallPetch relation roughly holds, but
deviates from the classical 0.5 exponent
to a value near zero;
Fig. 2.23 Schematic figure showing inverse
3.
A region beyond a very small critical
HallPetch effect below a critical grain size.
grain size where the HallPetch slope is
nearly zero with no increase in strength on decreasing grain size or where the strength
actually decreases with decreasing grain size.
It is known that below a critical grain size, the ratio of the volume fraction of triple junctions
to grain boundaries increases significantly. As the triple junctions are known to be weak
regions, it is expected that at this stage, the strength of the material decreases. Alternative
Chapter 2:
explanations are discussed below. However, the field is under active investigation and a clear
consensus is yet to be arrived at.
For large grain sizes, the dependence of stress can be rationalised in terms of a dislocation
pile-up model. In deriving the HallPetch relation, the role of grain boundaries as a barrier to
dislocation motion is considered in various models. In one type of model, the grain boundary acts
as a barrier to pile-up of dislocations, causing stresses to concentrate and activating dislocation
sources in the neighbouring grains, thus initiating slip from grain to grain. In the other type of
model, the grain boundaries are regarded as dislocation barriers limiting the mean free path of
the dislocations, thereby increasing strain hardening, resulting in a HallPetch-type relation.
However, in nanocrystals, the number of dislocations decreases as described in previous sections.
Lack of dislocation activity in the interior of the grains decreases the tendency for dislocation
pile-up and thereby results in the deviation from the HallPetch relation.
Clearly, at sufficiently small grain sizes, the HallPetch model, based upon dislocations
may not be operative, except possibly in the grain boundaries. It has been postulated that
at very small grain sizes, a new mechanism of deformation may operate, which is similar to
Coble creep or grain boundary diffusional creep occurring at room temperatures. Coble creep
causes homogeneous elongation of grains in the tensile direction. Chokshi and his group at
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, were the first to propose room temperature Coble creep
as the mechanism to explain the so-called inverse HallPetch effect seen in nanocrystalline
specimens. It should be noted that any artifacts of the specimen preparation methods can also
contribute to negative HallPetch slopes and this is even more true for nanomaterials. One
should therefore take great care during experimentation and interpretation of the mechanical
properties of nanomaterials.
Tensile ductility and strain hardening
For microcrystalline materials, it is known that a decrease in grain size not only increases the
strength but also the ductility. Grain size strengthening is perhaps the only mechanism that can
enhance the hardness as well as ductility/toughness of a material. With decrease in grain size,
crack deflections at grain junctions can result in enhanced constraint to crack propagation and
thereby increase the fracture toughness and ductility of the material. When GB/triple junction
migration is a more dominating mechanism of plastic deformation compared to dislocation,
particularly as the grain size approaches close to the limit of instability of dislocations, it can
result in early GB/triple junction crack interaction and crack propagation due to GB sliding even
at low temperatures. When the grain size is reduced to nanocrystalline dimensions, one would
expect an increase in the ductility of the material. However, the ductility of nanocrystalline
materials is often observed to be reduced compared to ultrafine grained materials. Koch
identified three major sources of limited ductility in nanocrystalline materials:
artifacts from processing (e.g., pores)
tensile instability
crack nucleation or shear instability
Nanocrystalline bulk specimens synthesized for tensile testing usually contain a large
fraction of porosities and other artifacts due to the synthesis technique. It is difficult to prepare
60
bulk nanostructured materials free from such artifacts through consolidation. Theoretical and
experimental studies suggest the existence of three regimes:
Grain size d > 1 m regime in which unit dislocations and work hardening control
plasticity;
Smallest grain size d < 10 nm regime, where limited intragranular dislocation activity
occurs and grain boundary shear is believed to be the mechanism of deformation;
Intermediate grain size regime (10 nm to 1 m), which is less understood.
Nanocrystalline and ultrafine grained materials cannot generally sustain uniform
tensile elongation. They do not show strain hardening after an initial stage of rapid strain
hardening over a small plastic strain regime (1%3%), which is different from the response
of coarse-grained polycrystalline metal. This is because the dislocation density saturates
in nanocrystalline materials due to both dynamic recovery as well as annihilation at grain
boundaries. After large additional strains, work hardening is observed in these materials.
Room temperature dynamic recovery is also common in nanocrystalline samples. An
increase as well as a decrease in strain rate sensitivity with decreasing grain size in metals
has been reported by different research groups. Iron, which is normally strain rate sensitive,
with a strain rate exponent m of the order of 0.04, goes down in value to 0.004 when the
grain size is 80 nm.
Creep and superplastic behaviour
If creep is determined mainly by conservative dislocation motion, i.e., motion along the
glide planes of the dislocations, the creep behaviour of nanocrystalline materials is better
than that of materials with conventional grain sizes. However, this occurs only at relatively
high stress, close to the yield stress of the material, where the situation approaches that of a
tensile test. At lower stress and higher temperatures, however, where the main mechanism
governing creep is diffusion, creep generally occurs faster in materials with grain sizes in the
nanometre range, i.e., where more high diffusivity paths are present.
The creep behaviour of nanocrystalline materials, however, cannot always be explained only
on the basis of enhanced grain boundary diffusion. In fact, the creep rates of nanocrystalline
materials are often lower than that predicted by the diffusion mechanisms along the grain
boundaries alone. For example, doping a titanium oxide ceramic with yttrium oxide prevents
grain growth during the test. According to a recent study, the creep rates of doped titanium
oxide, at temperatures which are normally quite low for that material (973 and 1073 K), are
lower than those of the non-doped one, i.e., with non-stabilised grains. At first glance, this is
contrary to expectations.
Creep in nanophase materials is expected to occur quickly because of the larger volume
fraction of grain boundaries and the short diffusion distances. Diffusion along the grain
interfaces is rapid in nanophase metals, which promotes sintering and neck formation and
hence enhanced creep rates are observed even close to room temperature. Creep rates may be
influenced by the level of porosity in nanophase samples, because free surfaces tend to increase
diffusion rates relative to grain boundary rates. Creep behaviour in nanophase ceramics can be
understood using the AshbyVerral model, which is based on the principle of grain boundary
Chapter 2:
sliding with diffusional flow. If a compressive stress is applied to a system of equiaxed grains,
there is diffusional flow in the boundary regions. Therefore, changes in the external shape
occur; but the grains remain equiaxed and maintain their size and orientation, sliding over
one another by diffusional accommodation at the interfaces. When a crack is opened at an
interface, diffusion can contribute to fill it. The Karch model relates the strain/creep rate to
grain boundary diffusion
d
= D
dt
kT
b 3
d
where is the applied stress, is the atomic volume, d is the grain size, b is Burgers
vector, k is the Boltzmann constant, and T is the grain boundary diffusion coefficient.
When the grain size is decreased from 1 m to 10 nm, d/dt is increased by 106 or more.
Eventually, exceptional ductility due to diffusional creep in nanocrystalline brittle ceramics
or intermetallics at temperatures less than 0.5 Tm has not been realised, while effective
enhanced ductility has been obtained at somewhat higher temperatures, and an improvement
of creep properties by lower activation temperature for superplasticity and a higher strain
rate regime.
The ductilebrittle transition temperature in conventional mild steel can be lowered by about
300 K by reducing the grain size by a factor of 5. The brittleness can be defined in terms of the strain
rate sensitivity, m, as given below, and its values are 0 (perfectly brittle) and 1 (perfectly ductile).
d m
= k dt
Some polycrystalline materials are able to exhibit very large tensile deformations
without necking or fracture. Elongations of 100%1000% are considered the defining
feature of this phenomenon. As grain size decreases, it is found that the temperature at
which superplasticity occurs is lowered, and the strain rate for its occurrence is increased.
Superplastic behaviour might be observed in nanocrystalline materials at temperatures
much lower than 0.5Tm, but instead have shown creep rates comparable to or lower than
those in coarse-grained samples of the same material. Therefore, a little enhancement
in ductility or superplastic behaviour has been observed for nanocrystalline materials
at temperatures <0.5Tm. This provided evidence for the enhancement of superplastic
behaviour in nanocrystalline materials at temperatures >0.5Tm. Superplasticity has been
observed at somewhat lower temperatures and at higher strain rates in nanocrystalline
materials. The evidence for tensile superplasticity is limited and observed typically at
temperatures greater than 0.5Tm and in materials that exhibit superplasticity in coarser
grain sizes (110 m).
Superplasticity means the capability of polycrystalline materials to exhibit very large
tensile deformations without showing fracture or necking. It is observed only above a
certain critical temperature in the materials that present this behaviour and also when they
62
are coarse-grained. These activation temperatures are usually higher than 0.5Tm, where Tm
is the melting temperature. When the grain size is decreased, it is found that the threshold
temperature can be lowered; an increase in the strain rate for the occurrence of superplasticity
is observed. It was believed that creep rates could be enhanced by many orders of magnitude
by reducing the grain size below 100 nm, and that superplastic behaviour could be observed
in nanocrystalline materials at temperatures much below 0.5Tm. Superplasticity has been
observed at lower temperatures and at higher strain rates in nanocrystalline materials than
in coarse-grained materials. It must be observed that tensile superplasticity is limited to
materials that already exhibit superplasticity in coarser grain sizes (110 m), e.g., for ZrO2
and TiO2 , m = 0.02 at 300 K for d = 100 nm, but m increases almost exponentially below 50
nm for both the oxides.
Fracture and toughness
In practical applications of materials, a significant limitation is represented by the fracture
strength, and not by the yield strength. A material can yield and with this mechanism sustain
itself against an imposed stress. This is possible because of behaviour dislocations and grain
boundaries, which prolong plasticity. However, a material possessing elevated strength can
also fail suddenly in a brittle way, with very little plasticity. This is a problem for applications
in the real world.
The results of the bending test for compacted NiP showed that by decreasing the grain
size, an enhancement of the fracture stress and the strain-to-fracture can be realised. For
microstructured materials, improvements in toughness and a lower brittle-to-ductile
transition temperature are obtained by decreasing the grain size. This is also true for
nanomaterials. However, in brittle intermetallics such as TiAl (grain size ~ 100 nm to 70 m),
the toughness was found to decrease with decreasing grain size, as intragranular cracking
gave way to intergranular fracture. Mechanical failure, which limits ductility, can be viewed
as a competition between dislocations and nucleation or propagation of cracks, depending
on the grain size. However, the large increase in yield stress observed in nanomaterials
suggests that fracture stress can be lower than the yield stress and therefore result in nil
ductility.
Corrosion properties
Several reports suggest that the high density of grain boundaries in nanocrystalline alloys
is responsible for their significantly changed properties. The corrosion investigations of
nanocrystalline materials showed a more intensive active anodic dissolution, compared
with conventional materials. This difference in behaviour can be explained by the small
grain size, which results in a larger fraction of high-energy grain boundary defects in
the material. Such high-energy grain boundary sites act as preferred anodic dissolution
sites and can thus result in increased corrosion rates of nanocrystalline alloys. However,
Chapter 2:
higher defect densities are not always disadvantageous. Grain boundaries being easy
diffusion paths can facilitate enhanced surface diffusion coefficients, resulting in the
early formation of a well-adherent and dense oxide layer, thereby passivating the surface.
Some authors showed that the grain size does not affect the thickness of the passive film.
Electrochemical polarization tests on nanocrystalline Ni (grain sizes of 500 and 20 nm)
indicated that they exhibit higher passive current densities than their coarser-grained
conventional Ni counterparts.
XPS investigations of the passive film on these materials showed no difference in the
thickness of the passive film between the nanocrystalline material and conventional material.
These passive films on the nanocrystalline specimens were, however, more defective than
those on conventional Ni. The defect density of the film was found to increase with decreasing
grain size, which in turn allowed for easier Ni cation diffusion through more defective film,
leading to higher current densities in the passive potential range for the nanocrystalline
specimens. It was also observed that when the grain size is in the nanoscale range, the number
of atoms at the grain boundaries becomes comparable to the number of atoms inside the
grains. The amount of impurities per unit grain boundary is therefore lower in nanomaterials
than larger-grained materials with the same bulk impurity concentration, because the grain
boundary area increases. This higher purity of the grain boundaries has been associated
with more uniform corrosion morphology and higher intergranular corrosion resistance for
nanomaterials as compared to larger-grained materials. One more factor which affects the
corrosion behaviour of nanocrystalline material is the porosity of the coating. If the coating is
less porous in nature, it will show high corrosion resistance. Contribution of triple junctions
to the structure and properties of nanocrystalline materials may also affect the corrosion
properties of these nanocrystalline materials (Table 2.4). Copper-based nanocomposites
show significantly better corrosion resistance when compared to the microcomposites, as
shown in Table 2.5.
Table 2.4
Corrosion behaviour of nanomaterials
Characteristic
Beneficial effects
Deleterious effects
Enhanced diffusion
Faster surface diffusion of ions to enhance

kinetics of passive film formation
Faster grain boundary diffusion can aid healing
of passive film in service
Faster diffusion can result in

higher corrosion currents
Lower dilution effects
Increased anodic sites for

nucleation of corrosion damage
Rapid grain growth limits high
temperature application
Stability of passive film

Effect of large grain
boundary area
High temperature effect
Better thermal shock resistance
Porous oxide film
64
Table 2.5
Corrosion resistance of Cu-based nanocomposites in relation to micro-composies
Vol.% / Wt.% of dispersoids
Corrosion rate (mpy)

Micro
Nano
Fraction decrease wrt.

microcomposite
CuAl2O3
5.0/2.3
10.0 /4.7
20.0/10.0
76
176
288
17
77
130
4.4
2.3
2.2
CuW
2.4/5.0
11.6/20.0
19.8/30.0
90
122
246
5
7
33
18
17
7
CuTa
2.8/5.0
13.3/20.0
22.9/30.0
80
99
141
4
5
7
20
20
20
SUMMARY
The unique properties of nanomaterials arise from their small size and structural
features such as large fraction of grain boundaries, triple junctions, etc.
Initially, it was thought that the grain boundaries in nanomaterials are gas-like;
recently, there has been signicant improvement in the understanding of the nature of
grain boundaries in these materials.
A number of unanswered questions remain on the extent of defects such as dislocations,
disclinations, etc., which inuence the properties of these materials signicantly.
The processing routes adopted to synthesize nanomaterials can signicantly inuence
the grain boundary structure and the concentration of other defects in these materials,
which in turn can inuence their properties.
Chapter 2:
Herbert Gleiter received his PhD from the Department of Physics, University
of Stuttgart, Germany, in 1966, and worked as a professor in the Departments
of Materials at Bochum University and Saarland University, successively. He
is a faculty member at both Hamburg University and ETH Zurich. Professor
Gleiter conducted research as Visiting Professor at Technion University, at
Bell Laboratories, University of Wisconsin, at Monash University, at Tohoku
University, at Beijing University and at the University of New South Wales. In
1987, he founded the Institute of New Materials at Saarland University, at which
he worked as a director. In 1994, he was appointed a member of the Executive
Committee of the Karlsruhe Research Centre in Germany. From 1998, he has been with Karlsruhe
Institute of Nano-Materials, which was founded by him together with Nobel Prize Winner
Prof. Jean-Marie Lehn and Prof. Fenske. It is a premier institute in nanomaterials technology
research in Germany.
Twenty years ago, Professor Gleiter put forward a new idea for the structure of nanomaterials,
and initiated a new realm of materials science research. He is an academician of Germany
Leopoldina Academy of Science, and a foreign member of the US Academies of Sciences and
Engineering. Prof. Gleiter has published more than 350 papers on Nature and Science and seven
monographs. He has been awarded the Gold Medal by the European Association of Materials, the
Leibniz Prize by the Germany National Foundation of Science, the Vinci Excellence Award by the
Hennessy Vuitton Foundation, the Max Planck Research Prize by the Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation, the Heyn Prize by the German Institute of Material Science, the TMS Prize by the
American Institute of Mineral Metal and Material, the Annual Prize by the Japan Institute of
Metals, and several others.
66
Chapter 3
Synthesis Routes
Learning objectives
Different routes for the synthesis of nanoparticles and nanocrystalline materials
Different routes for the consolidation of nanoparticles and nanocrystalline materials
here are different ways of classifying the synthesis routes for nanostructured materials.
One of them is based on the starting state of material, namely, gas, liquid and solid.
Techniques such as vapour condensation [physical vapour deposition (PVD) and chemical
vapour deposition (CVD) and variants of these techniques] use the gaseous state of matter
as the starting material for synthesizing nanoparticles. Techniques such as solgel, chemical
and electrochemical (electrolytic) deposition and rapid solidification processing use liquids as
the starting material. Severe plastic deformation processes such as high-energy ball milling,
equichannel angular extrusion, etc., and nano-lithography, start with solids for synthesizing
nanocrystalline materials.
However, the most popular way of classifying the synthesis routes is based on how the
nanostructures are built, and such an approach leads to two routes, namely, the bottom-up
and the top-down approaches. In the bottom-up approach, individual atoms and molecules
are brought together or self-assembled to form nanostructured materials in at least one
dimension. All the techniques that start with liquid and gas as the starting material fall
into this category. In the second approach (top-down approach), a microcrystalline material
is fragmented to yield a nanocrystalline material. All the solid state routes fall into this
category.
Usually, the bottom-up techniques can give very fine nanostructures of individual
nanoparticles, nanoshells, etc., with narrow size distributions, if the process parameters
are effectively controlled. The top-down techniques do not usually lead to individual
nanoparticles; however, they can produce bulk nanostructured materials. Many of the
bottom-up approaches have difficulties in scale up, while the top-down approaches can
be easily scaled up. Thus, one can see that both these approaches are complementary to
each other, depending on the requirement of a particular application. The most prominent
techniques to synthesize nanostructured materials are described.

Chapter 3:
3.1
3.1.1
Synthesis Routes 67
BOTTOM-UP APPROACHES
Physical vapour deposition (PVD)
PVD is a versatile synthesis method and is capable of preparing thin film materials with control
at the nanometre scale by careful monitoring of the processing conditions. PVD involves the
generation of vapour phase either via evaporation, sputtering, laser ablation or by using an
ion beam. In evaporation, atoms are removed from the source, usually by heating it above its
melting point. On the other hand, in sputtering, atoms are ejected from the target surface by the
impact of energetic ions. Thermal evaporation has a limitation in multicomponent materials
since one of the metallic elements typically evaporates before the other, due to the differences
in boiling point and vapour pressure of the evaporating species. On the contrary, sputtering
is capable of depositing high melting point materials such as refractory metals and ceramics,
which are difficult to convert to nanomaterials by evaporation. Sputtering can result in better
stoichiometric control of the film compared to evaporation techniques. Sputter-grown films
usually have higher density than those obtained by evaporation as the sputtered atoms have
more energy than the evaporated atoms. Sputtered films are more prone to contamination
than evaporated films due to the lower purity of the sputtering target materials.
Inert gas condensation
(IGC) combined with thermal evaporation is commonly used to synthesise metallic and
metal oxide nanopowders with a well-defined and narrow size distribution. This technique
was originally introduced by Ganqvist and Buhrman in 1976 and later developed by Gleiter
in 1981. In this process, a metal is evaporated inside an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber
filled with inert gas, typically helium (Fig. 3.1). The vapourised species then loses energy
Fig. 3.1
Schematic inert gas condensation unit for the synthesis of nanocrystalline particles.
68
via collisions with helium molecules. As collisions limit the mean free path, supersaturation
can be achieved above the vapour source. At high supersaturation, the vapours rapidly form
large numbers of clusters that grow via coalescence and agglomeration. The clusters in the
condensing gas are transported by convective flow to a vertical cold finger surface filled
with liquid nitrogen. The removal of particles from the cold finger is carried out by a scraper
assembly. They are collected via a funnel and transported to an in situ compaction device
or coated with a surfactant agent that prevents them from agglomeration. The scraping and
consolidation of particles are carried out under UHV conditions to prevent oxidation of the
metallic nanoparticles. The size, morphology and yield of the clusters in gas condensation are
dependent on three fundamental parameters:
Rate of supply of atoms to the region of supersaturation where condensation occurs
Rate of energy removal from the hot atoms via the condensing gas medium
Rate of removal of clusters once nucleated from the supersaturated region
Particle nucleation, coalescence and growth during condensation also play key roles in
forming small particles in large numbers.
As the yield of inert gas deposition is rather low, Bigot and co-workers developed a process
wherein the metallic vapours condensed into a cryogenic medium to produce metallic
nanocrystals. The main advantage of this technique is that it exhibits a higher production
rate of about 60 g/h and a yield of 75%. Rapid overheating of the metal via radio frequency
(RF) induction technique produces a high vapour pressure and substantial evaporation rate.
The reactor is supplied continuously with cryogenic liquid, and nanoparticles are formed
by rapid condensation of the supersaturated metal vapour. The condensation region, where
the particles are formed by the nucleation, growth and coalescence processes, features a
high temperature gradienttypically from 2200 K at the metallic surface to 77 K in the
cryogenic medium. The low temperature of the surrounding medium produces a high rate
of nucleation and rapid cooling of the as-formed particles limits crystal growth. Liquid
argon is used for the synthesis of Al nanoparticles to prevent the formation of aluminium
nitrides. Liquid nitrogen has been used for making Cu and Fe nanopowders. This technique
yields Cu nanoparticles of spherical shape with their size distribution following a log-normal
function peaking at 25 nm. The aluminium nanoparticles produced are also spherical, with
size less than 70 nm.
IGC using a direct current (DC) or RF magnetron sputtering source has been used
to prepare refractory metal and ceramic nanoparticles. The gas pressure, sputter power
and source substrate distance are crucial process parameters during sputtering and gas
condensation. A careful selection of these parameters will lead to the successful formation
of nanoparticles rather than the formation of a granular film. The reported particle size
is strongly dependent on argon pressure and for Mo, it decreases from 12 nm at 0.4 mbar
to 5 nm at 0.8 mbar. Figure 3.2a shows nanocrystalline AgCu deposit obtained by the
IGC technique. The nanocrystalline nature of the AgCu particles is clearly evident from
the diffraction rings observed in the selected area electron diffraction pattern of Fig. 3.2b.
Figures 3.2c3.2f show the TEM micrographs of the deposit heated in situ to 200, 300, 400
and 600C, respectively, in the TEM for understanding the grain growth behaviour of the
Synthesis Routes 69
Chapter 3:
a
pv
Cu
Ag
np
pv
Cu
200 nm
200 nm
e
200 nm
200 nm
200 nm
Fig. 3.2 AgCu nanoparticles(a) and (b)synthesised by IGC and subjected to heating to (c) 200, (d) 300,
(e) 400 and (f) 600C. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
nanocrystalline deposit. The figure clearly indicates that nanocrystalline nature is retained
in the deposit even after heating it to 600C, due to the solute drag effect from the Cu present
in Ag.
Laser ablation
It is generally known that laser ablation can provide better control of the evaporation process
by congruent evaporation of constituent elements of multicomponent materials in a very short
period of time. In this technique, an intense pulsed laser beam irradiates the target of interest,
thereby vaporising atoms and clusters from the target. The total mass ablated from the target
per laser pulse is usually referred to as the ablation rate. Laser ablation in combination with
IGC is an attractive route to synthesize larger amounts of the multicomponent nanocrystalline
materials. A typical laser ablation set up is shown in Fig. 3.3. In the process, atoms ablated by
laser pulse tend to collide with helium gas, losing their kinetic energy rapidly. They eventually
condense to form a cloud consisting of fine nanocrystalline clusters. The production rate of
nanoparticles in this technique varies with helium gas pressure and laser pulse energy. Several
workers have employed laser ablation and gas condensation to produce nanoparticles of
metals, metal oxides and metal carbides.
70
50 nm
Fig. 3.3 Schematic of a laser ablation chamber equipped with a

rotating target holder.
Fig. 3.4 Nanoparticles of Al synthesized

by wire explosion technique.
(Source: R Sarathi, IIT Madras)
Wire explosion
Wire explosion technique is similar to physical vapour deposition. A fine wire of a metal is
exploded by applying a very high voltage. The gas of atoms generated by this explosion is
allowed to condense in the chamber to yield nanoparticles. This technique can lead to the
formation of not only metallic nanoparticles but also a variety of oxides, nitrides, etc. by using
different environments in the chamber. A typical example of nanoparticles generated by this
technique is shown in Fig. 3.4.
3.1.2
Chemical vapour deposition
Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) is a process where one or more gaseous adsorption species
react or decompose on a hot surface to form stable solid products. The main steps that occur
in the CVD process can be summarized as follows:
1. Transport of reacting gaseous species to the surface
2. Adsorption of the species on the surface
3. Heterogeneous surface reaction catalysed by the surface
4. Surface diffusion of the species to growth sites
5. Nucleation and growth of the film
6. Desorption of gaseous reaction products and transportation of reaction products away
from the surface
CVD is a more complicated method than PVD for the formation of thin films and coatings.
It exhibits several distinct advantages, such as the capability to produce highly pure and
dense films or fine particles at reasonably high deposition rates, and the capability of coating
complex-shaped components uniformly due to its nonline-of-sight nature. A variety of
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 71
metallic, ceramic and semiconducting thin films are being deposited by CVD. Depending on
the activation sources for the chemical reactions, the deposition process can be categorized
into thermally activated, laser-assisted and plasma-assisted CVD.
Thermally activated CVD
This is the conventional CVD technique where the resistive heating of hot wall reactors
gives sufficiently high temperatures for the dissociation of gaseous species. This leads to the
heating of the entire substrate to a high temperature before the desired reaction is achieved. It
precludes the use of substrates with melting points much lower than the reaction temperature.
Hot tungsten filament is also used to heat the reacting gases in the vicinity of the substrate.
Recently, hot filament CVD was used to grow one-dimensional SiC nanorods. Due to high
hardness, high thermal stability, wide band gap and high electron mobility, SiC nanorods are
potential materials for structural and electronic applications. Further, the Youngs modulus
of the nanorod can reach 600 GPa, which is close to the theoretically predicted value for
[111]-oriented SiC. In this CVD process, a silicon wafer was initially immersed in aqueous
Fe(NO3)3 solution to remove the contaminants before transferring it into the reactor chamber.
Carbon, silicon and silicon dioxide powders, compacted in the form of a plate, are used as
the silicon and carbon sources. The chamber was filled with hydrogen gas and a tungsten
filament was used to activate the hydrogen gas. The filament and substrate temperatures used
are 2570 and 1373 K, respectively. The hot filament causes dissociation of molecular hydrogen
to atomic hydrogen. The Fe(NO3)3 particles on the Si wafer surface were reduced by high
concentration of atomic hydrogen to iron nanoparticles, which acted as a catalyst. In order to
form hydrocarbon and silicon monoxide radicals, the silicon and carbon sources are thermally
activated by hot filaments. The rods are straight with diameters of 2070 nm and lengths of
about 1 mm. Iron catalyst particles can be seen at the tips of the nanorods. HRTEM images
revealed that the nanorods grew along the [100] direction. An electron bright field image of
gold nanorods is shown in Fig. 3.5.
Plasma-enhanced CVD
This has a distinct advantage over thermal CVD due to its lower deposition temperature. The
plasma is generated by various energy resources such as DC, RF, microwave and electron
cyclotron resonance microwave (ECR-MW) radiation. In DC plasma, the reacting gases are
ionised and dissociated by an electrical discharge, generating plasma consisting of electrons
and ions. Microwave plasma is attractive because the excitation microwave frequency
(2.45 GHz) can oscillate electrons. Thus, high ionization fractions are generated as electrons
collide with gas atoms and molecules. SiC films have been deposited on silicon substrates
by RF plasma-enhanced CVD using a gaseous mixture of SiCl4, CH4, H2 and Ar. Recently,
microwave plasma-enhanced CVD (MW-CVD) has been used to grow one-dimensional
carbon nanotubes at a low temperature range of 600800C. Cold cathodes in field emission
displays need well-aligned carbon nanotube arrays. The MW-CVD method has the advantage
of achieving good alignment and selective growth on various substrates.
Conventional CVD of hydrocarbons over metal catalyst has been a typical method to
produce various forms of carbon fibres, filaments and multiwalled nanotubes. In this process,
72
on cSi
on aSiO2
Fig. 3.5 Transmission electron micrograph of gold

nanorods, along with a small fraction of impurities.
(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
Au_nr_mhore.jpg.).
Fig. 3.6 GaN nanowires deposited by

CVD on crystalline Si and amorphous silica.
(Source: P Shankar, Saveetha University).
hydrocarbon molecules are absorbed and decomposed on transition metal (Fe, Ni, Co)
particles. The carbon atoms diffuse into the interior of the catalyst to form a metalcarbon
solid-state reaction. The precipitation of carbon from the supersaturated catalyst particle
gives rise to carbon tube structure. Figure 3.6 shows GaN nanowires deposited by CVD on
crystalline Si and amorphous silica.
Laser CVD is associated with the deposition of chemical vapours using a laser beam generated
from sources like CO2, Nd:YAG and Excimer. This process yields good quality films at lower
temperatures with better control on composition. For example, a silicon nitride film could be
deposited at 200C using laser CVD, whereas it is deposited at 850C and 450C by thermally
activated CVD and plasma-enhanced CVD, respectively. In the case of nanoparticles, tungsten
powder of 54 nm could be synthesised from WF6/H2/M (M = Ar, Kr, Ne, Xe) gas mixtures
irradiated with an ArF Excimer laser. Moreover, ceramic SiCN nanometric powders can be
obtained from laser-induced gas phase reactions of SiH4, amines and NH3. The incorporation
of SiCN powders with sizes of 2530 nm into aluminum improves its tensile and creep
properties considerably. The box below describes a technique (molecular beam epitaxy) for
precise formation of nanostructured thin films. There have also been attempts by people to
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 73
MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY (MBE)

MBE is a special case of evaporation for single crystal film growth, with highly controlled evaporation of a variety of sources in ultrahigh vacuum of about 1010 torr.
Besides the ultrahigh vacuum system, the MBE system usually consists of real-time
structural and chemical characterisation capability, including reflection high energy
electron diffraction (RHEED), x-ray photoelectric spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger
electron spectroscopy (AES). Other analytic instruments may also be attached to the
deposition chamber or to a separate analytic chamber, from which the grown films
can be transferred to and from the growth chamber without exposure to the ambient
atmosphere.
In MBE, the evaporated atoms or molecules from one or more sources do
not interact with each other in the vapour phase under such low pressure.
Although some gaseous sources are used in MBE, most molecular beams are generated by heating solid materials placed in source cells, which are referred to as effusion
cells or Knudsen cells. The source materials are most commonly raised to the desired
temperatures by resistive heating. The mean free path of atoms or molecules (100 m)
far exceeds the distance between the source and the substrate (typically 30 cm) inside
the deposition chamber. The atoms or molecules striking the single crystal substrate
result in the formation of the desired epitaxial film. The extremely clean environment,
the slow growth rate and independent control of the evaporation of individual sources
enable the precise fabrication of nanostructures and nanomaterials as a single atomic
layer. The ultrahigh vacuum environment ensures the absence of impurity or contamination, and thus a highly pure film can be readily obtained. Individually controlled evaporation of sources permits the precise control of chemical composition of the
deposit at any given time. The slow growth rate ensures sufficient surface diffusion
and relaxation so that the formation of any crystal defect is kept minimal.
ATOM MANIPULATION
In addition to imaging surface topography at atomic resolution, scanning tunnelling
microscopy (STM) has the ability to carry out precise and controlled manipulation of
atoms, molecules and nanostructures. The usual technique to manipulate atoms is to
increase the current above a certain atom, which reduces the tipatom distance, move
the tip with the atom to a desired position, and finally to reduce the current again
in order to decouple the atom and tip. The first demonstration of this technique was
performed by Eigler and Schweizer (1990), who used Xe atoms on an Ni (110) surface
to write the three letters IBM on the atomic scale. Currently, many laboratories are
able to move different kinds of atoms and molecules on different surfaces with high
74
precision. Controlled motion, pushing, pulling and sliding of the molecules depends
on the tunnelling current, the distance and the particular combination of molecule
and substrate. It is believed that the electric field between tip and molecule is the
strongest force moving the molecules, but other mechanisms such as electromigration
caused by the high current density or modifications of the surface potential due to the
presence of the tip may also play an important role.
manipulate atoms and arrange them the way we want as has been dreamt by Feynman. These
efforts are described in the box above (atom manipulation).
3.1.3
Spray conversion processing
This route involves the atomization of chemical precursors into aerosol droplets that are
dispersed throughout a gas medium. The aerosols are then transported into a heated
reactor where the solution is evaporated to form ultrafine particles or thin films. This is an
inexpensive technique as various low cost chemical solutions are available. Various aerosol
generatorsincluding pressure, electrostatic and ultrasonic atomisershave been used
for atomization purposes. These atomizers affect the droplet size, rate of atomization and
droplet velocity. The most commonly used aerosol processing method is spray pyrolysis. In
the process, aqueous solution is atomized in a series of reactors where the aerosol droplets
undergo evaporation and solute condensation within the droplet; drying and thermolysis is
followed by sintering. Nanoparticles can be prepared directly, synthesized from droplets or
by liberating individual crystallites comprising the spray pyrolysis-derived particles from the
thermolysis stage. Spray pyrolysis can be used to prepare several metal oxide nanoparticles
such as ZnO, ZrO2 and Al2O3.
Combustion flame spraying
Another type of gas condensation technique that uses liquid chemical precursors as the
starting material is combustion flame spraying. The advantages of this process are low cost
and high production rates. In the combustion flame spraying process, burning a fueloxygen
mixture with a spray torch or flat-flame burner generates a flame. Chemical precursors
are vapourised in the hot zone of the flame and pyrolysis occurs in the thin hot zone. The
interaction between the flame and droplets yields nanoparticles. The use of a low-pressure
chamber for the flat-flame burner precludes contamination and ensures the temperature
profile across the entire burner surface is uniform. Low-pressure combustion flame spraying
is often referred to as combustion flame chemical vapour condensation (CF-CVC). Solid,
liquid and gaseous precursors can be used in this technique. CVC is an alternative to the
inert gas phase condensation approach in which the evaporator in the IGC system is replaced
by other sources such as burning flame, hot wall furnace and microwave plasma. The major
advantage of plasma-assisted pyrolysis in contrast to thermal activation is the low reaction
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 75
temperature which reduces the tendency for agglomeration of nanoparticles. Combustion

flame spraying has been used to produce a variety of high purity and non-agglomerated
metal oxide nanoparticles such as TiO2, Al2O3, ZrO2, V2O5 and Y2O3ZrO2.
3.1.4
Solgel process
The solgel processing method has been in use for many years for producing metal oxide
and ceramic powders with high purity and high homogeneity. The solgel route offers a
degree of control of composition and structure at the molecular level. The process involves the
generation of a colloidal suspension (sol), which is subsequently converted to viscous gel and
solid material. Ebelman produced the first silica gel in 1846, and Cossa synthesized alumina
gel in 1870. Since then, aerogels of zirconia, silazane, borate and other ceramics have been
synthesized using the solgel technique.
In the process, reactive metal precursors were initially hydrolysed, followed by
condensation and polymerization reactions. Metal alkoxides are metalorganic compounds
with an organic ligand attached to a metal or metallic atom. They are the result of direct or
indirect reactions between a metal M and an alcohol ROH. Typical examples are methoxide
(OMe; MOCH3) and ethoxide (OEt; MOC2H5). During hydrolysis, the alkoxy group OR is
replaced by hydroxo ligands (OH), i.e.,
M(OR)z + H2O
M(OH)(OR)z1 + ROH
where R is an alkyl group, CnH2n+1. The mechanism of this reaction involves the addition of a
negatively charged HO group to the positively charged metal centre (M+) followed by the
removal of ROH.
The factors that influence the hydrolysis reaction are:
Nature of the alkyl group
Nature of the solvent
Concentration of each species in the solvent
Temperature
Water to alkoxide molar ratio
Presence of acid or base catalysts
Subsequent condensation eliminates either water or alcohol to produce metal oxide or
hydroxide linkages. In this process, two mononuclear complexes of M, each comprising only
one metal M, can react with one another to form a polynuclear complex consisting of two
metal atoms. Condensation occurs only when at least one hydroxo ligand is bonded to the
cation M, and is designated as M-OH for simplicity. Olation and oxolation reactions lead to
condensation. Olation is a reaction by which the hydroxo or ol bridge (MOHM) is formed
between two cations, while oxolation involves the formation of oxo bridges (MOM) between
two metal cations:
olation:
M OH + M OH2
M OH M + H2O
76
oxolation: M OH + H OM
M OH + ROM
M O M + H2O
M O M + ROH
The ol or oxo bridges between two metal atoms lead to the formation of condensed oxide or
hydroxide species. Under acid conditions, three-dimensional solid phase networks consisting
of extended linear MOM chain polymers are developed. Inorganic polymerization is
believed to occur in three stages during acid-catalysed condensation:
1. Polymerization of monomer units to form particles
2. Growth of particles
3. Linking of particles into chains, then solid networks that extend throughout the liquid
medium, thickening it to a gel
In acid solution, the sol-to-gel transition allows the solid phase to be shaped into films,
fibres and monoliths. For preparing coating films and fibres, the sol must exhibit spinnability.
It appears that only solutions containing long-chained polymers are spinnable. Films are
generally coated on the surface of the substrate via spin coating and dipping processes. Gel fibres
are made by fibre drawing from the viscous alkoxide solution at or near room temperature. In
contrast, on basic hydrolysis of metal alkoxides, a colloidal sol is generated. The gel is colloidal
when the solid network is made of round sol particles.
Removal of the solvents and appropriate drying are important steps to achieve gel
densification. When a solvent is evaporated from the gel under atmospheric conditions, capillary
pressure due to the interfacial tension of the solvent places a high stress on the gel network.
This leads to considerable shrinkage and fracture of the gel during drying. The resultant hard,
glassy and porous product is called a xerogel. When the liquid within the gel is removed above
its critical temperature and pressure (hypercritical) in an autoclave, the capillary pressure can
be eliminated. The product thus obtained is referred to as an aerogel. An aerogel is generally
amorphous and exhibits several unique properties such as high surface areas and porosities,
and low densities and conductivities.
The most commonly studied metal alkoxide is silicon tetraethyl orthosilicate [TEOS;
Si(OC2H5)4]. The TEOS precursor can react readily with water via the following reaction:
Si(OR)4 + H2O
Si(OR)3(OH) + ROH
As the hydrolysis of silicon alkoxides is very slow, the conversion of metal precursor
molecules into trialkoxy silanol, Si(OR)3(OH) proceeds more rapidly by adding acid or base
catalysts. Depending on the amount of water and catalyst present, hydrolysis may proceed
partially, in which the metal alkoxides convert into Si(OR)4n(OH)n, or may go to completion
in which all OR groups of alkoxides are replaced by OH:
Si(OR)4 + 4H2O
Si(OH)4 + 4ROH
Subsequent condensation reaction sequences produce cluster species with SiOSi

(siloxane) bonds and water or alcohol as the by-products:
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 77
(OR)3Si OH + HO Si(OR)3
(OR)3 Si O Si(OR)3 + H2O
(OR)3 Si OR + HO Si (OR)3
(OR)3 Si O Si(OR)3 + ROH
In silica aerogels, particles of 1100 nm are arranged in a highly cross-linked silica solid
network. In a recent study, colloidal silica particles were synthesized from hydrolysed TEOS,
ethanol (C2H5OH) and de-ionised water using ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) as a catalyst.
Silica nanoparticles can also be prepared simply via thermal decomposition, e.g., oxidation
of TEOS or rice husk in a reactor, and the CF-CVC route as mentioned previously. Thermal
decomposition of rice husk appears to be more cost effective due to global availability of cheap
rice husk. Another process involves the precipitation of silica particles from the silicate solution
and buffering with sulphuric acid.
Alkoxides of transition metals (e.g., titanium, zirconium) are highly reactive towards water.
This implies that the rate of hydrolysis and condensation is very high, and thus it is difficult
to form a stable sol of titania (TiO2). Titania exists in three main crystallographic structures,
namely, rutile, anatase and brookite. Among these, rutile is the only stable phase. Many acid
catalysts such as nitric acid, hydrochloric acid and acetic acid have been added to lower the
reaction rates. Apart from these acids, acetylacetone (C5H8O2) can also moderate the reaction
rate. It is added as a chelating agent to decrease the reactivity of titanium alkoxides and to
form stable colloidal sols of 5 nm. Under more controllable hydrolysis and condensation
reactions, smaller particle sizes with more unique properties can be achieved. For example,
TiO2 aerogel nanocrystals can be obtained by supercritical evacuation of solvent from gels
prepared through HCl-controlled hydrolysis condensation reactions of titanium isopropoxide
in isopropanol. HCl catalyst favours the synthesis of titania powders with smaller grain size
compared to acetylacetone catalyst under the same heat treatment conditions. Further, anatase
crystallites are more stable if HCl is used as catalyst, while the pure rutile phase can be more
easily obtained if acetylacetone is used as a catalyst. Figures 3.7a and 3.7b show the TEM
micrographs of nanocrystalline titania prepared by the solgel route with a precursor to water
ratio of 1 and 4, respectively. Figures 3.7c and 3.7d indicate that the nanocrystallite titania does
not significantly grow on calcination up to about 500C. According to the literature, various
metal oxide nanocrystalline powders, e.g., SnO2, Ba2Ti2O5, PbTiO3, (Pb, La)(Zr, Sn, Ti)O3,
nanocomposite powders containing elemental particulates, e.g., nano-Ni/SiO2, FeAl2O3 and
oxide nanocomposites, e.g., Fe2O3SiO2, NiOSiO2, and 3Al2O32SiO2, have been synthesized
using the solgel process.
The solgel process has been useful for synthesizing only metal oxides as a result of the
presence of metaloxygen bonds in the alkoxide precursor, and the resulting gels are essentially
metal hydroxides or oxides. This process has distinct advantages over other techniques for
preparing metal oxide nanoparticles. These include the formation of high purity powders as
a result of homogeneous mixing of the raw materials on the molecular level, and the largescale industrial production of nanopowders. The disadvantage of the process is the high cost
of alkoxide precursors. In some cases, the solgel route can also be used to prepare non-oxide
ceramic powders such as -SiC and ferroelectrics like (Pb, La)(Zr, Sn, Ti)O3 (PLZST). In the
78
(a)
(c)
(b)
(d)
Fig. 3.7 TEM micrographs of nano titania (a) as-prepared (bright field image) with precursor to water ratio of 1,
(b) as-prepared (dark field image) with precursor to water ratio of 4, (c) after calcination at 400C for 2 h (bright
field image) with precursor to water ratio of 4 and (d) Variation of the crystallite size of the anatase and rutile
phases with calcination temperature with precursor to water ratio of 4. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
former case, heat treatment of the gel product at 1500C in argon atmosphere resulted in
0.6 mm spherical agglomerates consisting primarily of particles of 40 nm in diameter. Recently,
-SiC nanopowders of 1330 nm were synthesized by the chemical vapour reaction of the
SiH4C2H4H2 system in the temperature range of 1423 K and 1673 K; the products were free
from agglomeration. -SiC powders can be made available at relatively low cost by the process
of pyrolising rice husks at 12001500C. The disadvantage is the larger size of -SiC powders
produced by this process, i.e., within micrometre range. It is worth noting that transition metal
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 79
nanorods can be made by reacting carbon nanotubes with volatile metal oxides or halides.
Thus, -SiC nanorods can be produced from reactions of carbon nanotubes with SiO or SiI
reactants. The preferred growth direction of these nanorods is [111], though rods with [100]
growth are also observed at low reaction temperatures.
The anti-ferroelectric ceramics are promising candidates for new ceramic actuators because
of their unique characteristics of big and isotropic strain changes under applied electric field, as
well as shape memory effects. Nano-sized ceramics prepared by the solgel method are usually
more homogeneous and reactive than those fabricated by conventional solid-state reactions
since the mixing of the reagents occurs on a finer scale. The lower processing temperature is also
helpful in minimising the PbO loss. One of the problems in lead-based complex perovskites is
the evaporation of PbO at high temperatures, leading to undesirable phases. Solgel derived
powders of single perovskite phase can be used to produce bulk ceramic samples after sintering
at various temperatures.
3.1.5
Wet chemical synthesis
Solution-based processing routes used for the synthesis of nanoparticles include precipitation
of solids from a supersaturated solution, homogeneous liquid phase chemical reduction and
ultrasonic decomposition of chemical precursors. These processes are attractive due to their
simplicity, versatility and availability of low cost precursors. Inorganic salt compounds used in
the wet chemical synthesis routes are more versatile and economical than alkoxides employed
in the solgel process. A typical example is the formation of nanocrystalline titania powders
via hydrolysis of TiCl4 at lower temperatures:
TiCl4 + 2H2O
TiO2 + 4HCl
Once the solution becomes saturated, crystallization of titania takes place either through
homogeneous or heterogeneous nucleation. In the latter case, crystal seeds are added to the
solutions to promote the crystallization of titania nanoparticles.
Salt reduction is one of the most commonly adopted methods to generate the metal colloid
particles. The process involves the dissolution of metal salts in aqueous or non-aqueous
environments followed by the reduction of metal cations to the zero-valent state. The nature
of the metal salts determines the kind of reducing agent to be applied. To produce transition
metal nanoparticles, group 6 metal chlorides such as CrCl3, MoCl3 and WCl4 are reduced with
NaBEt3 in toluene solution at room temperature to form metal colloids of high yield. A typical
reaction for forming metal powders is given as:
MClx + xNaBEt3
1 x
M + xNaCl + xBEt3 +
H2
2
( )
where x = 3 for M = Cr and Mo; x = 4 for M = W. However, the reduction of the chromium,
molybdenum and tungsten halides with either LiBEt3H or NaBEt3 in tetrahydrofuran (THF)
solution generates the corresponding metal carbides (M2C) rather than the metals. In another
80
experiment, nanostructured Fe50Ni50 alloy has been synthesized by ultra-rapid autocatalytic

chemical reduction of the corresponding transition metal ions in alkaline aqueous solution
with hydrazine hydrate (N2H4H2O) at 353 K. The alloy powder is composed of spherical
particles with 96 nm mean size diameter.
Metal nanoparticles can also be generated via ultrasonic and thermal decomposition
of metal salts or chemical precursors. Recently, ultrasonic waves were employed to
stimulate the chemical reactions of inorganic salts. Sonication of argon-saturated
aqueous solutions of NaAuCl and PdCl2 results in the formation of noble metal AuPd
alloy nanoparticles. Power ultrasonic waves can stimulate certain novel chemical
processes due to the formation of localised hot spots in the liquid of extremely high
temperatures ( 3000 K) and high pressures ( 1000 atm). The main event in the
process is the nucleation, growth and collapse of cavitation bubbles formed in the liquid.
The cooling achieved during the cavitation collapse is estimated to be greater than
2 109 K. This process is commonly referred to as the sonochemical method. Transition
metal nanoparticles can be produced via sonication of their respective chemical precursors.
For example, Ni(CO)4 has been sonicated under argon atmosphere to obtain amorphous
nickel. Nanostructured -Fe is usually synthesized either via sonication or thermal
decomposition of Fe(CO)5 solution. One disadvantage of the sonication process is the
difficulty in controlling the resulting particle size and distribution due to the agglomeration
of particles into a porous coral-like microstructure.
A number of traditional and herbal methods of materials processing could also possibly
lead to nanostructure formation. The box overleaf gives the highlights of these routes.
3.1.6
Self-assembly
Self-assembly is a nanofabrication technique that involves aggregation of colloidal

nanoparticles into the final desired structure. This aggregation can be either spontaneous
(entropic) and due to the thermodynamic minima (energy minimization) energy minimization
constraints, or chemical and due to the complementary binding of organic molecules and
supramolecules (molecular self-assembly). Molecular self-assembly is one of the most
important techniques used in biology for the development of complex functional structures.
Since these techniques require that the target structures be thermodynamically stable, they
tend to produce structures that are relatively defect-free and self-healing. Self-assembly is by
no means limited to molecules or the nano-domain and can be carried out on just about
any scale, making it a powerful bottom-up assembly and manufacturing method (multi-scale
ordering). Another attractive feature of this technique relates to the possibility of combining
the self-assembly properties of organic molecules with the electronic, magnetic and photonic
properties of inorganic components.
The central theme behind the self-assembly process is spontaneous (physical) or chemical
aggregation of colloidal nano-particles. Spontaneous self-assembly exploits the tendency
of mono-dispersed nano- or submicro-colloidal spheres to organise into a face-centred
cubic (FCC) lattice. The force driving this process is the desire of the system to achieve a
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 81
INDIAN TRADITIONAL METHODS OF NANOSTRUCTURE SYNTHESIS

Science and technology had significantly advanced in India in ancient times. Grant
Duff, British Historian of India, observed Many of the advances in the sciences that
we consider today to have been made in Europe were in fact made in India centuries
ago. One such Indian heritage in materials science is the rustless wonder, the Delhi
Iron pillar, which has been standing for 1600 years without getting corroded. Another
example of Indian excellence is Wootz steel, which is an extremely strong steel
developed in India around 300 bc. This steel has been extensively used for making
swords as it could cut a metal helmet into two pieces (popularly known as Damascus
steel). Recently (Nature, 2006) Pauflers group from Technical University Dresden,
Germany, reported the presence of carbon nanotubes and nanowires in Damascus
steel. Similarly, it is also possible to produce carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles from
Carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles by the herbal route
200 nm
200 nm
Copper nanoparticles by the herbal route
100 nm
Energy (keV)
(Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras)
82
various vegetable oils, as shown in the images below. Such nanostructures appear to
have been traditionally prepared in India.
Recently a Sanskrit scholar, Dr ABS Sastry, demonstrated the formation of copper
nanoparticles by a simple chemical displacement reaction, where traditional herbs have
been successfully used to cap the nanoparticles and prevent them from agglomeration.
The transmission electron bright field image confirms the nanocrystalline nature of
these copper particles. The energy dispersive x-ray spectrum from these individual
nanoparticles confirms that they are pure copper.
thermodynamically stable state (minimum free energy). In addition to spontaneous thermal

self-assembly, gravitational, convective and electro-hydrodynamic forces can also be used
to induce aggregation into complex 3D structures. Chemical self-assembly requires the
attachment of a single molecular organic layer (self-assembled monolayer, or SAM) to the
colloidal particles (organic or inorganic) and subsequent self-assembly of these components
into a complex structure using molecular recognition and binding.
Physical self-assembly
This method is driven by entropy that relies on the spontaneous organisation of colloidal
particles into a relatively stable structure through non-covalent interactions. For example,
Fig. 3.8 shows quinacridone molecules adsorbed on a graphite surface. The organic
semiconductor molecules self-assemble into nanochains via hydrogen bonds. Natural assembly
of on-chip silicon photonic band gap crystals, which are capable of reflecting the light arriving
from any direction in a certain wavelength range, are also examples of this process. In this
method, a thin layer of silica colloidal spheres is assembled on a silicon substrate. This is
Fig. 3.8 Scanning tunnelling microscope image of quinacridone molecules adsorbed on a graphite surface.
The organic semiconductor molecules self-assembled into nanochains via hydrogen bonds.
(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Selfassembly_Organic_Semiconductor_Trixler_LMU.jpg.).
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 83
achieved by placing a silicon wafer vertically in a vial containing an ethanolic suspension of

silica spheres. A temperature gradient across the vial aids the flow of silica spheres. Once such
a template is prepared, LPCVD can be used to fill the interstitial spaces with Si, so that the high
refractive index of silicon provides the necessary band gap.
One can also deposit colloidal particles in a patterned substrate (template-assisted selfassembly, TASA). This method is based on the principle that when an aqueous dispersion
of colloidal particles is allowed to de-wet from a solid surface that is already patterned, the
colloidal particles are trapped by the recessed regions and assemble into aggregates of shapes
and sizes determined by the geometric confinement provided by the template. The patterned
arrays of templates can be fabricated using conventional contact mode photolithography,
which gives control over the shape and dimensions of the templates, thereby allowing the
assembly of complex structures from colloidal particles. This method can be used to fabricate
a variety of polygonal and polyhedral aggregates that are difficult to generate.
Chemical self-assembly
Organic and supramolecular (SAM) molecules play a critical role in colloidal particle selfassembly. SAMs are robust organic molecules that are chemically adsorbed onto solid substrates.
Most often, they have a hydrophilic (polar) head that can be bonded to various solid surfaces and
a long, hydrophobic (non-polar) tail that extends outward. SAMs are formed by the immersion
of a substrate in a dilute solution of the molecule in an organic solvent. The resulting film is a
dense organization of molecules arranged to expose the end group. The durability of a SAM is
highly dependent on the effectiveness of the anchoring to the surface of the substrate. SAMs have
been widely studied, because the end group can be functionalised to form precisely arranged
molecular arrays for various applications ranging from simple, ultra-thin insulators and
lubricants to complex biological sensors. Chemical self-assembly uses organic or supramolecular
SAMs as the binding and recognition sites for fabricating complex 3D structures from colloidal
nanoparticles. Most commonly used organic monolayers include:
Organosilicon compounds on glass and native surface oxide layer of silicon
Alkanethiols, dialkyl disulfides and dialkyl sulfides on gold
Fatty acids on alumina and other metal oxides
DNA
Octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) is the most common organosilane used in the formation
of SAMs, mainly because it is simple, readily available and forms good, dense layers.
Alkyltrichlorosilane monolayers can be prepared on clean silicon wafers with a surface of
SiO2 (with almost 5 1014 SiOH groups/cm2). Since the silicon chloride bond is susceptible
to hydrolysis, a limited amount of water has to be present in the system in order to obtain
good quality monolayers. Monolayers made of methyl- and vinyl-terminated alkylsilanes are
autophobic to the hydrocarbon solution and hence emerge uniformly dry from the solution,
whereas monolayers made of ester-terminated alkylsilanes emerge wet from the solution used
in their formation. The disadvantage of this method is that if the alkyltrichlorosilane in the
solvent adhering to the substrate is exposed to water, a cloudy film is deposited on the surface
due to the formation of a gel of polymeric siloxane.
84
Another important organic SAM system is the alkanethiols X(CH2)nSH, where X is the
end group) on gold. A major advantage of using gold as the substrate material is that it does
not have a stable oxide, and can thus be handled in ambient conditions. When a fresh, clean,
hydrophilic gold substrate is immersed (several minutes to several hours) in a dilute solution
(103 M) of the organic sulphur compound (alkanethiols) in an inorganic solvent, a closepacked, oriented monolayer can be obtained. Sulphur is used as the head group, because
of its strong interaction with gold substrate (44 kcal/mol), resulting in the formation of a
close-packed, ordered monolayer. The end group of alkanethiol can be modified to render
hydrophobic or hydrophilic properties to the adsorbed layer.
Another method for depositing alkanethiol SAM is soft lithography. This technique is based
on inking a PDMS stamp with alkanethiol and its subsequent transfer to planar and nonplanar substrates. Alkanethiol functionalised surfaces (planar, non-planar, spherical) can also
be used to self-assemble a variety of intricate 3D structures.
Carboxylic acid derivatives self-assemble on surfaces (e.g., glass, Al2O3 and Ag2O)
through an acidbase reaction, giving rise to monolayers of fatty acids. The time required
for the formation of a complete monolayer increases with decreased concentration. A higher
concentration of carboxylic acid is required to form a monolayer on gold compared to Al2O3.
This is due to differences in the affinity of the COOH groups (more affinity to Al2O3 and glass
than gold) and also the surface concentration of the salt forming oxides in the two substrates.
In the case of amorphous metal oxide surfaces, the chemisorption of alkanoic acids is not
unique. For example, on Ag2O the oxygen atoms bind to the substrate in a nearly symmetrical
manner, resulting in ordered monolayers with a chain tilt angle from the surface normally of
15 to 25. But on CuO and Al2O3, the oxygen atoms bind themselves symmetrically and the
chain tilt angle is close to 0. The structure of the monolayers is thus a balance of the various
interactions taking place in the polymer chains.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the framework on which all life is built, can be used to selfassemble nanomaterials into useful macroscopic aggregates that display a number of desired
physical properties. DNA has a double-helix structure with two strands coiled around each
other. When the two strands are uncoiled, singular strands of nucleotides are left. These
nucleotides consist of a sugar (pentose ring), a phosphate (PO4) and a nitrogenous base.
The order and architecture of these components are essential for the proper structure of a
nucleotide.
There are typically four nucleotides found in DNA: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine
(C) and thymine (T). A key property of the DNA structure is that the described nucleotides
bind specifically to another nucleotide when arranged in the two-strand double helix (A to
T and C to G). This specific bonding capability can be used to assemble nanophase materials
and nanostructures. For example, nucleotide functionalised nano-gold particles have been
assembled into complex 3D structures by attaching DNA strands to the gold via an enabler
or linker. In a separate work, DNA was used to assemble nanoparticles into macroscopic
materials. This method uses alkane dithiol as the linker molecule to connect the DNA template
to the nanoparticle. The thiol groups covalently attach themselves to the colloidal particles,
leading to aggregate structures.
Chapter 3:
3.2
3.2.1
Synthesis Routes 85
TOP-DOWN APPROACHES
Mechanical alloying
The mechanical alloying (MA)/milling process was originally developed by Benjamin of the
International Nickel Company for the production of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS)
superalloys. It is now a widely used process for the fabrication of nanocrystalline powders.
The possible spectrum of the uses of MA are shown schematically in Fig. 3.9. Recently,
nanocrystalline high-entropy solid solutions with high hardness have been synthesized in
multicomponent equiatomic alloys by MA.
Mechanical alloying or milling is usually carried out in high-energy mills such as vibratory
mills (Spex 8000 mixer/mill), planetary mills (Fritsch and Retsch) and attritor mills (Szegvari
attritor and Simoloyer). The vibratory mill has one vial, containing the sample and grinding
balls and vibrates in all three directions. Because of the amplitude (about 50 mm) and speed
(about 1200 rpm), the ball velocities are high (in the order of 5 m/s) and consequently the force
of the balls impact is unusually high. Another popular mill for conducting MA experiments is
the planetary ball mill. In this mill, the vials rotate around their own axes and at the same time
around the axis of a disc on which they are mounted. The centrifugal force produced by the vials
rotating around their own axes and that produced by the rotating support disk together act on
the vial contents, consisting of material to be ground and the grinding balls. Since the vials and
the supporting disc rotate in opposite directions, the centrifugal forces alternately act in opposite
directions. Due to this, the balls run down the inside wall of the vial. This is followed by the
material being ground and grinding balls being lifted off and travelling freely through the inner
chamber of the vial and colliding against the opposing inside wall. Grinding vials and balls are
available in eight different materialsagate, silicon nitride, sintered corundum, zirconia, chrome
steel, CrNi steel, tungsten carbide and plastic polyamide.
An attritor ball mill consists of a stationary vertical drum in which a vertical shaft rotates
with a series of horizontal impellers attached to it. Set progressively at right angles to each other,
the impellers, through their rotation, energise the ball charge, causing powder size reduction
Fig. 3.9 Attributes of mechanical alloying or high-energy ball milling.
86
due to the impact between balls, between balls and the container wall, and between balls,
the agitator shaft and impellers. Particle size reduction also occurs partially by interparticle
collisions and by ball sliding on the walls of the vials. Attritors are the mills in which large
quantities of powder (from about 0.5 to 40 kg) can be milled at a time. The most recent of
the ball mills is the horizontal attritor (Simoloyer) that can be operated in dry processing at
high relative velocity of the grinding media (up to 14 m/s) under controlled condition like
vacuum or inert gas and in closed circuits. In these mills, the grinding media is accelerated
by a horizontally arranged rotor inside the grinding vessel. These mills have the advantage
of highest relative velocity of grinding media, which leads to high level of kinetic energy
transfer, an intensive grinding effect and short processing times. The short processing times
and collision-based grinding process results in low contamination levels. The simoloyers are
available with 0.5- to 990-litre grinding chamber capacity, which makes it very convenient to
scale-up the laboratory experiments to commercial production plants.
The mechanism of nanocrystallization during high-energy ball milling was first proposed
by H.J. Fecht in 1983. He summarised the phenomenon of the development of nanocrystalline
microstructure into three stages;
Stage 1: Localization of deformation into shear bands with high dislocation density.
Stage 2: Dislocation, annihilation and recombination to form nanometre-scale subgrains,
which extend throughout the sample with further milling.
Stage 3: Transformation of subgrain boundary structure to randomly oriented highangle grain boundaries. Superplastic deformation processes such as grain boundary sliding
causes self-organisation into a random nanocrystalline state.
During high-energy milling, the powder particles are repeatedly flattened, cold welded,
fractured and re-welded. Whenever balls collide, some amount of powder is trapped in between
them. The impact from the balls causes plastic deformation of the powder particles, causing
work hardening and fracture. The new surfaces formed by the fracture of the particles weld
together. The composite particles at this stage have a characteristic layered structure consisting
2 m
(a)
(b)
Fig. 3.10 (a) Secondary electron image and (b) backscattered electron image of layered structure observed
during initial stages of high-energy ball milling of Ti and Al powder particles (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 87
of various combinations of the starting constituents and are shown in Figs. 3.10a and 3.10b
for the TiAl system. As deformation continues, the particles become work hardened and
fracture. When fracture predominates over cold welding, the particle size is refined.
The minimum grain size achievable by high-energy ball milling has been related to
several physical properties of elemental metals. It is reported that the minimum grain size,
dmin, is inversely proportional to the melting temperature for low melting FCC metals.
However, for HCP and BCC systems as well as FCC elements with melting temperature
above that of Pd (1555C), dmin appears to be insensitive to the melting point. For FCC
metals, an inverse relationship was also found between dmin and bulk modulus, and a direct
relationship between dmin and critical equilibrium distance between two edge dislocations.
The majority of nanocryztalline metals have been synthesised to understand the mechanism
of nanocrystallization and minimum grain size obtained by high-energy ball milling. Research
has also been focussed on the validity of the HallPetch relation, and mechanical and physical
properties of nanocrystalline metals. Fe, Cu, Ni, Pd, Cr, Nb, W, Hf, Ru, Zr, Co, Ag, Al, Si and
graphite are among the few mentioned. Fecht et al, presented the first systematic report on
the synthesis of nanocrystalline metals (Fe, Cr, Nb, W, Zr, Hf, Co and Ru) by high-energy
ball milling. It is postulated that the grain boundary energy of the ball-milled nanocrystalline
materials is higher than that of fully equilibrated grain boundaries.
An allotropic and polymorphic transformation induced by high-energy ball milling has
been widely studied. High-energy ball milling of elemental Nb to a crystallite size of below
10 nm resulted in an allotropic transformation of BCC-Nb to FCC-Nb. Similar allotropic
transformations such as HCP-Zr to FCC-Zr and HCP-Ti to FCC-Ti have been observed
during high-energy ball milling by Manna and his group at IIT, Kharagpur. FCC to HCP
transformation in Ni during high-energy ball milling was found to be aided by the addition of
small amounts of Si and Al, which when dissolved in Ni can make it harder. A harder material
can become nanocrystalline much more easily during high-energy ball milling due to extensive
fracture when compared to a ductile material. Thus, the critical grain size of about 10 nm for
the FCC to HCP transition in Ni could be achieved early during milling. It has been argued
that the structural instability due to plastic strain, increasing lattice expansion and negative
hydrostatic pressure was responsible for such transformations. Polymorphic transformations
were also observed during high-energy ball milling of the Ti50Zr50 binary alloy. Transformation
of quasicrystalline phase to crystalline BCC phase has also been observed in the AlCuFe
and AlCuCo systems. It was even observed in a number of systems such as TiAl, TiNi,
TiCu, FeSi, etc., that nanocrystalline alloys below a certain critical size of about 10 nm (and
above a critical lattice strain) can get structurally destabilised and become amorphous due to
the large defect concentration.
Nanocrystallization by high-energy ball milling has also been demonstrated to help in
extending the solid solubility of different solute elements into various solvent elements, as
discussed in the previous chapter. This is basically due to the large fraction of grain boundaries
in these nanocrystalline materials, which can accommodate large solute fractions.
Many ordered intermetallic compounds show high yield strength up to high temperatures
and have the advantage of lower density compared to commercial superalloys. However,
88
these advantages are hampered due to their brittleness at low temperatures. It has been
shown that the nanocrystalline intermetallics have improved formability. This finding
has created an interest in the synthesis of several nanocrystalline aluminides, silicides
and other intermetallics through MA. Interestingly, it has been observed that the phase
fields of intermetallics can be significantly enhanced in the nanocrystalline state. In case of
nanocrystalline NiAl synthesized by MA, the phase field NiAl has been extended from 45
55 at.%Ni in the conventional microcrystalline state to 2565 at.%Ni in the nanocrystalline
state. Similarly, studies on the NiSi, FeSi, NiAl, AlCu systems have indicated that only
congruent melting compounds (which are expected to have lower surface energies) are
expected to be stable in the nanocrystalline state.
It has also been observed that polymorphic transitions can be induced in intermetallics in the
nanocrystalline state. Nayak and Murty synthesized the nanocrystalline L12Al3Ti intermetallic
compound with the crystallite size less than 15 nm by MA of Al67M8Ti25 (M = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co,
Ni and Cu), while Al3Ti usually has a DO23 structure. Among all the elements studied, Cu
appears to be the best to stabilize L12Al3Ti. Another interesting observation was that the L12
Al3Ti phase formed at an Al crystallite size of 15 nm. Similarly, L12Al3(Ti, Zr) compounds
have formed at an Al crystallite size of about 20 nm, irrespective of the composition, as shown
in Fig. 3.11. These observations clearly indicate that nanocrystallization is a prerequisite for
the formation of intermetallic compounds. Figures 3.12a and 3.12b show the TEM dark field
image and corresponding SAD pattern, respectively, obtained from nanocrystalline Al3Zr.
Fig. 3.11 Crystallite size of Al and intermetallic as a function of composition. Nanocrystalline intermetallic
compound formation was observed when the crystallite size of Al was below 24 nm. The dotted line demarcates
the phase field of mixture of elements and intermetallic compound. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 89
In situ nanocomposite formation by MA has found significant interest due to their potential
application. It has been shown by Naser and his co-workers that no grain growth occurs in
the matrix close to its melting point when Cu and Mg are reinforced with nanocrystalline
Al2O3 by MA. In another interesting study, nanocomposites in the AlFe system have been
synthesized by MA, which have shown exceptionally high hardness of about 13 GPa with
densities very close to theoretical density. The very high hardness in these nanocomposites
has been attributed to the presence of nanocrystalline/quasicrystalline intermetallic phases.
Figure 3.13a shows the bright field image of nanocomposites in the Al20Fe alloy. Detailed
100 nm
Fig. 3.12 TEM dark field image and corresponding diffraction pattern of Li12Al3Ti intermetallic.
50 nm
(a)
(b)
Fig. 3.13 (a) TEM bright field image of images of nanocomposites in Al20Fe alloy after MA and subsequent
annealing at 673 K for 2 h and (b) high resolution image, showing lattice fringes from nano-quasicrystalline particles
in the Al matrix. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
90
high-resolution electron microscopy of these nanocrystalline intermetallics in this alloy

indicated the possible presence of nano-quasicrystalline phase in these alloys, as shown in
Fig. 3.13b.
Cu is a good electrical conductor; however, it has low strength due to which the life
of Cu conductors as electrodes and as electrical contacts is quite short. Increasing the
strength of Cu by using it in nanocrystalline form can improve the life of these conductors.
However, nanocrystalline pure Cu can have significant grain growth at high temperatures.
Cu-based nanocomposites such as CuW and CuTa would be the answer to this problem.
Figure 3.14a shows TEM evidence of the nanocrystalline nature of these Cu20wt.%Ta
nanocomposites. The AFM analysis of nanocomposites after sintering clearly showed that
W and Ta can restrict the grain growth in Cu and retain the nanocrystalline grains. Figure
3.14b represents a typical AFM image of Cu20wt.%W after sintering at 500C. This indicates
that even after sintering at about half the melting point of Cu, the nanocrystalline nature
is retained in these nanocomposites. Interestingly, the nanocomposites could be sintered
close to their theoretical densities at 500C, while the micro-composies had to be sintered
at temperatures close to the melting point of Cu for achieving similar densities as shown
in Figs. 3.15a and 3.15b. These metalmetal nanocomposites synthesized by high-energy
ball milling showed superior hardness and compressive strength without much reduction
in conductivity. The CuW nanocomposites showed ~ 2.6 times higher hardness than
microcomposites of similar composition. A similar observation is also made with CuTa
nanocomposites. Figure 3.16a shows the compressive strength of the CuTa nanocomposites
and microcomposites. The figure also shows the strength contribution (according to
HallPetch equation) of the nanocrystalline grains. The CuTa nanocomposites exhibited
3.6 to 5 times higher compressive strength than the microcrystalline composites of similar
composition. The compressive strength of CuTa nanocomposite is 4.5 to 7 times higher
300
200
100
80 nm
(a)
100
200
300
(b)
Fig. 3.14 (a) TEM image of Cu-20wt.%W ball-milled powders after 20 h of ball milling; (b) AFM analysis revealed
nanograins in Cu-20wt.%W nanocomposites after sintering at 500C for 2 h. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
Chapter 3:
(a)
Synthesis Routes 91
(b)
Fig. 3.15 Variation of density of CuTa (a) nanocomposites and (b) microcomposites as a function of sintering
temperature. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
than that of microcrystalline Cu, as shown in Table 3.3. The resistivity values of CuTa
nanocomposites (Fig. 3.16b) indicate that the major contribution of resistivity is due to
Ta rather than fine grain size. Figure 3.17 shows the hardness to resistivity ratio of CuTa
nanocomposites normalized with that of the oxygen-free high conductivity (OFHC) Cu,
which clearly indicates that the hardness on nanocomposites is three times higher than that
of OFHC Cu for similar resistivity.
Fig. 3.16 (a) Compressive strength and (b) electrical resistivity of CuTa nanocomposites synthesized by
high-energy ball milling. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
92
Table 3.3
Compressive strength of Cu matrix nanocomposites
Vol. % / wt. %
of dispersoids
Nanocomposite
(MPa)
Microcomposite
(MPa)
Increase
wrt
microcomposite
Increase wrt
microcrystalline
Cu (130 MPa)
CuAl2O3
5.0/2.3
10.0/4.7
20.0/10.0
501
633
853
182
221
275
2.8
2.9
3.1
3.9
4.9
6.6
CuW
2.4/5.0
11.6/20.0
16.5/30.0
536
770
853
168
229
284
3.2
3.4
3.0
4.1
5.9
6.6
CuTa
2.7/5.0
11.8/20.0
18.7/30.0
586
870
930
164
174
185
3.6
5.0
5.0
4.5
6.7
7.1
Fig. 3.17 Hardness to resistivity ratio of CuTa nanocomposites normalized with oxygen-free high conductivity
(OFHC) Cu. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
3.2.2
Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP)
The principle of ECAP [or equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE)] is illustrated schematically
in Fig. 3.18. For the die shown in the illustration, the internal channel is bent through an
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 93
abrupt angle, , equal to 90, and there is an

additional angle, , equal to 0 in Fig. 3.19, which
represents the outer arc of curvature where the
two channels intersect. In this process, a rod-like
sample is pressed through the die using a plunger.
Shear deformation occurs as the sample passes
through the die. Despite the introduction of an
intense strain as the sample passes through the
shear plane, the sample ultimately emerges from
the die without experiencing any change in the
cross-sectional dimensions.
Researchers all over the world are now studying
the ECAE process as it is easy to install and does
not require special equipment in the laboratories,
except for the dies and a press machine. The ECAE
process has been applied to various kinds of metals
Fig. 3.18 Schematic illustration of ECAP
and alloys and has succeeded in producing ultrafine
facility.
grain (UFG) microstructures (Fig. 3.19). However,
the major materials used are light metals like Al- and Mg-alloys and the trials for steels are
limited. This is presumably because large force is required to put the materials through the
channel die, overcoming large flow stress and frictional stress. The hydrostatic compressive
stress field in the ECAE process is an advantageous point to prevent fracture of the materials.
However, cracking due to shear localization has been reported in less workable materials such
as TiAlV alloy.
Though the ECAE can fabricate bulk materials, the typical size of the samples is small.
Further, the ECAE is principally not a continuous process but a batch process. A few
experiments to make the ECAE continuous have been attempted (Fig. 3.20). Saito and
1 m
10 m
(a)
Fig. 3.19 Microstructure of (a) annealed CP aluminum and (b) after ECAP.
(Source: Uday Chekkingal, IIT Madras).
(b)
94
his co-workers developed the conshearing process for continuous ECAE of sheet metals
(Fig. 3.20a). They equipped the ECAE die at the end of the satellite mill they previously invented.
The satellite mill is the special rolling mill which can maintain the rotating speed of all the
satellite rolls constant. As a result, compression force along the rolling direction (RD) appears
in the materials between adjacent satellite rolls. Folding of the materials is prevented by the
guide shoe equipped between the satellite rolls. The compression force in the satellite mill was
used to put the sheet into the ECAE die. The conshearing was applied to obtain aluminium
of commercial purity up to four cycles and succeeded in fabricating sound sheets, but UFG
microstructures have not been obtained. Because they used sheet material, it was probably not
effective to impose ideal shear strain owing to the bending and bending-back deformation and
friction. Further, it is difficult to make the channel angle 90 in this configuration (they used
125). On the other hand, the processed materials showed unique textures.
Lee and co-workers developed another continuous ECAE process, named the dissimilar
channel angular pressing (DCAP) process, which is principally the same as conshearing
(Fig. 3.20b). They used a conventional two-high mill, but the surface of the lower roll was
mechanically roughened in order to feed the material into the ECAE die. As a result, the surface
quality of the specimens would be worse than the conventionally rolled materials. Strips of
1.55 20 1000 mm were processed by the continuous confined strip shearing process and
the UFGs similar to those obtained in the conventional ECAE have been reported in 1050-Al,
though the difficulties and the disadvantages are not obvious from the limited publications
currently available. The channel angle was varied from 100 to 140, and it was found that the
critical strain to form the UFGs increases by increasing the angle.
3.2.3
High-pressure torsion (HPT)
A method for fabrication of disc-type bulk nanostructured samples using high-pressure torsion
is shown in Fig. 3.21. In HPT, the sample disk is strained in torsion under the applied pressure
(P) of several GPa between two anvils. A lower holder rotates and surface friction forces the
ingot to deform by shear. Due to the specific geometric shape of the sample, the main volume
of the material is strained in conditions of quasihydrostatic compression under the applied
Fig. 3.20
Principle of (a) conshearing and (b) dissimilar channel angular pressing process.
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 95
pressure and the pressure of sample outer layers. As a result, in spite of large strain values, the
deformed sample is not destroyed. Various strains can be achieved by rotating the lower anvil
through a defined angle. The shear strain may be simply estimated as,
=
2RN
d
where R is the distance from the sample centre, N is the number of anvil rotations and d is the
thickness of the sample. In this method of microstructure refinement, the simple shear stress
conditions are realised at relatively low temperatures under high applied pressure (515 GPa).
The samples fabricated by severe torsion straining are usually disc-shaped, with a diameter
of 10 to 20 mm and thickness 0.20.5 mm. A significant change in the microstructure is
observed already after deformation by 1/2 rotation, but for formation of the homogeneous
nanostructure, as a rule, several rotations are required.
Using high-pressure torsion, the first nanocrystalline structures were developed in single
crystals of Ni and Cu. It was found that the mean grain size had gradually decreased with
increasing shear strain and had finally stabilized at the level of ~ 100 nm. Further experiments
with initially coarse grained Cu, Ni, Fe, Cr and Ti revealed that strong grain refinement can
be achieved in all these metals after 35 revolutions, whereupon the mean grain size usually
reaches the steady state value of 100200 nm, depending on the material (Table 3.4). Slightly
smaller grain size has been reported for single phase matrix Fe and Al alloys and significantly
smaller grain size, down to 10 nm, can be obtained for some
multiphase alloys and intermetallic compounds.
Recent investigations also showed that severe torsion
straining can be used successfully not only for the
refinement of a microstructure but also for the consolidation
of powders. It was revealed that during torsion straining
at room temperature, high pressures equal to several
GPa can provide a rather high density close to 100% in
the processed disc-type nanostructured samples. For
fabrication of such samples via severe torsion straining
Table 3.4
Grain size of various kinds of HPT processed metals
Metal
Details of HPT processing
Ni
Cu
Cu
Fe
Fe
Cr
Mo
Ti
P = 6 GPA, = 300, RT
P = 5 GPA, = 300, RT
P = 8 GPA, = 250, RT
P = 5 GPA, = 600, RT
P = 5 GPA, = 420, RT
P = 7.8 GPA, = 120, T = 623 K
P = 6 GPA, = 300, T = 623 K
P = 5 GPA, = 600, RT
Grain size (nm)

170
200
200
100
127
500
190
120
Fig. 3.21 Principle of high

pressure torsion.
96
consolidation, not only conventional powders but also powders subjected to ball milling
can be used. The HPT consolidation of nanostructured Ni powder prepared by ball milling
can be given as an example. The conducted investigations showed that the density of the
fabricated powders is close to 95% of the theoretical density of the bulk coarse-grained
Ni. TEM examinations showed the absence of porosity with a mean grain size of about
20 nm. It is also very interesting that the value of microhardness of the Ni samples fabricated
by HPT consolidation is as high as 8.6 GPa.
3.2.4
Accumulative roll bonding (ARB)
Accumulative roll bonding is the only SPD process using rolling deformation itself
(Fig. 3.22). Rolling is the most advantageous metal working process for continuous
production of plates, sheets and bars. However, the total reduction applied to the materials
is substantially limited because of the decrease in the cross-sectional dimension of the
materials with increasing reduction. In the ARB process, a 50% rolled sheet is cut into two,
stacked to the initial thickness, and then rolled again. As is evident, the rolling in the ARB is
not only a deformation process but also a bonding process (roll bonding). To achieve good
bonding, the surface of the materials is degreased and wire brushed before stacking, and the
roll bonding is sometimes carried out at elevated temperatures below the recrystallization
temperature of the materials. Repeating this ARB process a number of times can lead to very
large plastic strain in the materials.
It has been observed that achieving good bonding is the critical step in the ARB process.
Surface treatment is indispensable for achieving good bonding. Furthermore, there is a
critical rolling reduction in one-pass roll bonding, below which it is difficult to achieve
sufficient bonding. Though the critical reduction depends on the materials and the processing
temperatures, more than 35% reduction by one pass is necessary in general, so that the
Fig. 3.22
Principle of accumulative roll bonding.
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 97
rolling force is large in comparison with conventional rolling. Except for the necessity of
large enough capacity of the rolling mill which can realise one-pass heavy roll bonding,
there are no special requirement in the equipments for the ARB. A serious problem in
the ARB process is fracture of the materials. Since a large amount of total plastic strain is
accumulated in the materials, the rolling is not a hydrostatic process; edge-cracks sometimes
appear in the sheets, especially at higher cycles. In certain kinds of materials, such as AlMg
alloy, the edge cracks largely propagate into the centre of the sheets. In that case, it becomes
impossible to proceed to the subsequent cycles. With ductile materials, for example, pure
aluminum and iron, the UFG sheets with dimension 1 50 300 mm are fabricated without
cracking by the ARB process.
Irrespective of the kind of material studied, the average grain diameter of UFG materials
is around 500 nm. The UFGs are surrounded by clear but irregular-shaped boundaries; the
number of dislocations inside the grains seems small. These features are similar to those
observed in materials that have been heavily deformed by other SPD processes. The most
characteristic feature of the UFGs in the ARB-processed materials is the elongated morphology.
Measurements clearly confirm that the elongated UFGs are not subgrains, but are grains
surrounded by high-angle grain boundaries.
ARB-processed materials with elongated UFG structures exhibit very high strength.
The grain size and the tensile strength of the various UFG materials fabricated by ARB are
summarised in Table 3.5. In most cases, the mean grain thickness of the pancake-shaped
UFGs or the ultrafine lamellar structures are 100 ~ 200 nm. Materials with higher purity tend
to show larger grain size. ARB at lower temperature results in smaller grain size within the
similar materials. UFG materials exhibit tensile strength which is two to four times higher
than that of the starting materials with conventional grain sizes. On the other hand, ARBprocessed materials have limited tensile elongation owing to early plastic instability.
Table 3.5
Grain size and tensile strength of various ARB-processed metals and alloys
Materials
(wt.%)
ARB process
4N-Al
100-Al (99%Al)
5052-Al (Al2.4Mg)
5083-Al (Al4.5Mg-0.6Mn)
6061-Al (Al1.1Mg0.6Si)
7075 l (Al5.6Zn2.6Mg1.7Cu)
OFHC-Cu
Cu0.27Co0.09P
Ni
IF steel
0.041P-IF
SS400 steel (Fe0.13C0.37Mn)
Fe36 Ni
7 cycles RT
8 cycles RT
4 cycles RT
7 cycles at 100C
8 cycles RT
5 cycles at 250C
6 cycles RT
8 cycles at 200C
5 cycles RT
7 cycles at 500C
5 cycles at 400C
5 cycles RT
7 cycles at 500C
Grain size
(nm)
Tensile strength
(MPa)
670
210
260
80
100
300
260
150
140
210
180
110
87
125
310
388
530
357
376
520
470
885
870
820
1030
780
98
3.2.5
Nanolithography
STM-based nanolithography This has been exploited for local oxidation and passivation,
localized chemical vapour deposition, electrodeposition, mechanical contact of the
tip with the surface, and deformation of the surface by electrical pulses. Patterns
with a minimal size from 1020 nm to 1 nm in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) have been
demonstrated. Nanometre-sized holes can be formed using low energy electrons from
a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) tip when a pulsed electric voltage is applied in
the presence of sufficient gas molecules between the substrate and the tip. For example,
holes that are 7 nm deep and 6 nm wide on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG)
substrate were formed in nitrogen at a pressure of 25 bar by applying a 7 V pulse to the
tip for 130 mins, with the distance between the tip and the substrate being 0.61 nm.
A possible mechanism is that the electric field induces the ionisation of gas molecules
near the STM tip, and accelerates the ions towards the substrate. Ions bombard the
substrate and, consequently, nanometre-sized holes are created. A certain electric field
is required to generate field emitted electrons. The diameter of an electron beam ejected
from an STM tip is dependent on the applied bias voltage and the diameter of the tip.
At low bias (<12 V), the diameter of the ejected electron beam remains almost constant;
however, the beam diameter changes significantly with bias voltage and the diameter of
the tip.
Nanostructures can be created using field evaporation by applying bias pulses to the
STM tipsample tunnelling junction. For example, nanodots, nanolines, and nanocorrals of
gold on a clean stepped Si (111) surface were fabricated by applying a series of bias pulses
(< 10 V and 30 s) to an STM gold tip at UHV (a base pressure of 10-10 mbar). Nanodots with
diameter as small as a few nanometres can be realised. By decreasing the distance between
adjacent nanodots, it was possible to create continuous nanolines, a few nanometres wide
and over a few hundred nanometres long. A nanocoral of diameter about 40 nm, formed
by many Au nanodots, each with diameter of a few nanometres, was also created on the
Si (111) surface.
AFM-based nanolithography Direct contacting, writing or scratching is referred to as a
mechanical action of the AFM tip that is used as a sharply pointed tool in order to produce fine
grooves on sample surfaces. Although direct scratching creates grooves with high precision, low
quality results are often obtained due to tip wear during the process. An alternative approach
is to combine scratching on a soft resist polymer layer, such as PMMA or polycarbonate, as
a mask for the etching process and subsequent etching to transfer the pattern to the sample
surface. This method ensures reduced tip damage, but also precludes an accurate alignment to
the structures underneath. A two-layer mask has been investigated as a further improvement.
For example, a mask coating consisting of a thin layer of polycarbonate of 50100 m and
a film of an easy-to-deform and fusible metal such as indium or tin was used to create
50 nmwide structures. Figure 3.23 is a typical layout of the sample and process steps with
AFM lithography.
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 99
Dip-pen nanolithography In dip-pen nanolithography (DPN), the tip of an AFM operated

in air is inked with a chemical of interest and brought into contact with a surface. The ink
molecules flow from the tip onto the surface similar to a fountain pen. The water meniscus
that naturally forms between the tip and the surface enables the diffusion and transport of
the molecules, as shown in Fig. 3.24. Inking can be done by dipping the tip in a solution
containing a small concentration of the molecules, followed by a drying step (e.g., blowing dry
with compressed difluoroethane). Line widths down to 12 nm with spatial resolution of 5 nm
have been demonstrated with this technique. Species patterned with DPN include conducting
polymers, gold, dendrimers, DNA, organic dyes, antibodies and alkanethiols. Alkanethiols
have also been used as an organic monolayer mask to etch a gold layer, and subsequently etch
the exposed silicon substrate.
Fig. 3.23 Layout of the sample and the process steps with AFM lithography: (a) sample multilayer structure,
(b) thin mask patterning by AFM lithography, (c) polymer removal in plasma oxygen, (d) titanium stripe etching,
and (e) resulting electrodes after sacrificial layers removal.
Fig. 3.24
Schematic representation of the working principle of dip-pen nanolithography.
100
3.3
CONSOLIDATION OF NANOPOWDERS
The commercial application of nanomaterials beyond the boundaries of materials science

laboratories is possible only on successful consolidation of these materials into bulk-sized
components preserving the nanostructures. Due to the long duration of sintering at high
temperature that is involved in conventional consolidation techniques, it is difficult to retain
the nanograin-size due to grain growth in such techniques.
The density of the green compact depends on the frictional forces of the powder particles
that originate from electrostatic, van der Waals and surface adsorption forces. These forces
are significantly high in nanoparticles, forming hard agglomerates and inter-agglomerates,
which are relatively large. Further, nanoparticles contain a large number of pores which
require not only higher temperature but also prolonged sintering times for their successful
elimination; consequently, it becomes difficult to retain the grain size in the nanometre
domain. Large pores undergo poreboundary separation that restricts the attainment of full
density in the consolidated nanoparticles. During sintering of nanoparticles, pores smaller
than the critical size shrink, while larger pores undergo poreboundary separation. The
fraction of grain boundaries in nanomaterials is large compared to that in coarse-grained
materials. The density of the grain boundary regions is less than the grain interior due mainly
to the relaxation of atoms in the grain boundaries; they also contain other lattice defects.
Therefore, consolidated nanoparticles with retained nanostructure are expected to exhibit a
density lower than the theoretical density of the bulk counterpart.
There are numerous conflicting views on the sintering behaviour of nanoparticles.
Nanoparticles show depressed onset of sintering temperature to the range of 0.2 Tm0.3 Tm
compared to conventional powders that normally exhibit a range of 0.5 Tm0.8 Tm, where
Tm is the melting point (in K). CuTa nanocomposites have been consolidated to close to
theoretical densities at 500C, while the microcomposites in the same system need a sintering
temperature of 1000C (Fig. 3.15). Similarly, W, which is used in filaments, is usually sintered
at about 2800C due to its high melting point. However, nanocrystalline W could be sintered
to close to its theoretical density at 1500C itself leading to significant energy savings.
Figure. 3.25 shows the dilatometry results of microcrystalline W and nanocrystalline W
(50 mm) obtained by high-energy ball milling of W (50 mm) in Simoloyer for two hours.
Significant differences in sinterability are evident from the extent of consolidation observed
in the nanocrystalline W. Such results may possibly be attributed to significantly high
diffusivities due to large surface/grain boundary area and large defect densities.
Synthesis of nanoparticles of ceramic, metallic and their mixture has made substantial
progress in the last decade. However, retention of nanostructures in these materials after
consolidation into fully dense components is a challenge. A brief review of the various
consolidation processes is presented here.
3.3.1
Shockwave consolidation
Shock wave consolidation, also termed dynamic consolidation, is used to densify powdered
materials without inducing thermal activated microstructural and compositional changes
Chapter 3:
Synthesis Routes 101
Fig. 3.25 Improved sinterability of nanocrystalline W in comparison to microcrystalline W.

that are normal in conventional thermomechanical processing. Such densification is

possible because of the interparticle bonding due to localized melting at the interfaces
between the particles. High pressure and rapid loading rates that create high plastic
deformation finally lead to high shock initiated chemical reactions completely different
from the conventional ones. Metallic or alloy powders are usually processed through this
route due to the fact that plastic deformation in metal is comparatively easier than for
ceramics.
In this process, particles are enclosed in a steel block that looks similar to a cold compaction
chamber that is covered using a plate, on top of which a driver plate usually bears the brunt
of explosions and drives the shock wave towards the sample (Fig. 3.26). The driver plate is
usually made of highly conductive and ductile material. Explosives are packed on top of
this plate carefully and the spillage, if any, has to be removed. The detonator is set on top of
the explosive and the set up is ready for processing to start. Ammonium nitrate is usually
used as the explosive. Shock compaction of powders is a dynamic consolidation technique
which provides a viable method for densification of amorphous as well as ultrafine powders.
Fe-, Ni- and Ti-based alloys have been studied more often using this technique. Pure metals
and alloys with retained nanostructures can be consolidated using this technique. Some of
the systems that have been investigated are: Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9, Fe, FeAl, diamondSi, Al,
Pr2Fe14B/-Fe, Ti5Si3 and NiAl.
102
3.3.2 Hot isostatic pressing (HIP)

and cold isostatic pressing (CIP)
The process of using high hydrostatic
pressure and high temperature to
compress fine particles into coherent
parts is termed hot isostatic pressing
(HIPing). This process provides a
method for producing components
from diverse powdered materials,
including metals and ceramics. A
typical schematic of the HIPing
process is shown in Fig. 3.27. In this
process, the elemental blend is placed
in a container, usually a steel can.
The container is subjected to elevated
temperatures, and very high vacuum
to remove air and moisture from the
powder, after which it is sealed and
HIPed. The application of high inert gas
Fig. 3.26 Schematic of shock wave consolidation setup.
pressures and elevated temperatures
results in the removal of internal voids
and creates a strong bond throughout the material. The result is a clean homogeneous material
with a uniformly fine grain size and near 100% density.
In cold isostatic pressing (CIPing), pressure is applied from multiple directions to get
better uniformity of compaction, compared to uniaxial pressing. There are two methods in
isostatic pressing. In wet bag isostatic pressing, the powder is encased in a rubber sheath that is
immersed in a liquid that transmits the pressure uniformly to the powder. In dry bag isostatic
pressing, instead of immersing the tooling in a fluid, the tooling itself is built with internal
channels into which high pressure fluid is pumped.
Some of the material systems that have experimented with the HIPing process are TiC,
TiCN, SiC, Si3N4Y2O3Al2O3, Si3N4, intermetallic TiAl, TiAlSi, MgAl2O4, NiFe, Y2O3
dispersed steels, MgAl2O4 dispersed steels, Al and carbon nanotube reinforced Si3N4. There
have been instances where HIP is used as an add-on processing to CIP to increase the
densification and thereby mechanical properties, for example, consolidation of Fe. Using
CIP as a primary consolidation technique works well for a micron-sized particle whereas
a nanoparticle might need some kind of secondary consolidation process to form a bulk
part, as the nanoparticles are friable and can crumble even if crushed with a hand. The
only solution is to either use sintering after CIPing or to use HIPing. It has been found that
HIPing leads to better densification in less time compared to the time required for sintering
to achieve the same density.
Chapter 3:
Fig. 3.27
3.3.3
Schematic of a hot isostatic pressing setup.
Spark plasma sintering
With the growing need for processing and consolidating nanopowders, retaining the initial
microstructure in the fabricated component remains a challenge. Though the manufacture of
novel materials is limited to laboratory scale, vigorous demand in the market persists and is
driving the demand for new consolidation techniques apart from hot pressing, high temperature
extrusion and hot isostatic pressing. Since longer processing times at high temperatures often
result in extraneous grain growth, the new nanopowder processing technique, namely spark
plasma sintering (SPS), which has evolved in the last decade, overcomes these obstacles by
applying rapid heating to sintering temperatures, leading to rapid sintering of nanocomposites.
The attractive properties of nanopowders are well conserved by the fabrication of bulk
material through SPS. Consolidation of metals, composites, ceramics, intermetallics, cermets,
nanocomposites and carbon nanotube reinforced ceramics has been accomplished by spark
plasma sintering.
The schematic of a typical SPS apparatus is shown in Fig. 3.28. It consists of a graphite
die where powder is loaded and heated by passing an electric current. Hold time, ramp rate,
pulse duration, and pulse current and voltage can be set for controlling the temperature of the
sintering cycle. Change in temperature, pulse power (voltage/current), sintering displacement
104
Fig. 3.28
Schematic of SPS setup.
and sintering rate are recorded in situ during spark plasma sintering. Powder mixtures are
initially cold pressed ( 200 MPa) into a compact disc (with diameter around 2 cm and thickness
around 5 mm), followed by SPS processing to produce nano-consolidated nanocrystalline
composites. Typical SPS processing parameters include:
Applied pressure between 50 and 100MPa
Pulse duration of 10 ms with onoff cycle of 22.5 ms
Maximum pulse parameter of 10,000 A and 10 V
After applying the given pressure, samples are heated to the preset temperature (for a few
minutes) and are ramped rapidly (150500 K/min) to sintering temperatures with hold
time of 35 min to complete the sintering. Samples are usually cooled to below 100C within
5 minutes of the completion of sintering.
Densification of the green compact occurs in four stages: vacuum creation, pressure
application, resistance heating and cooling down as shown schematically in Fig. 3.29. SPS is
carried out in vacuum to account for removal of gases, and results in a densely consolidated
composite. Heating is accomplished by spark discharge between particles, which activates the
surface by removing surface oxide. This helps in heat and mass transfer between the purified
particles to carry heat and sinter them to full density. Initially, samples show an increase in
volume due to thermal expansion, followed by shrinkage occurring primarily during resistance
heating when the green discs are held at high temperatures and pressure. Onset of sintering
is dependent on the initial particle size, which decides the onset of shrinkage. It is generally
difficult to determine when the sintering process is complete; however, shrinkage of the
specimen could help in deducing the completion of SPS sintering. Some of the nanopowder
material systems that have been consolidated with SPS process are amorphous SiCN, NiTi
shape memory alloy, (Al12.5Cu)3Zr intermetallic, TiCN cermet, SiCZrO2Y2O3Al2O3
Chapter 3:
Fig. 3.29
Schematic of SPS sintering stages.
composites and CNT-Al2O3 composites. Figure 3.30 shows the TEM images of SPS consolidated
structural nanocomposites (NiAlAl2O3 and FeAlAl2O3), both of which demonstrate that
the nanocrystalline nature is retained after SPS.
Considering the rapid advancement in the field, it is a mammoth task to cover all the
techniques of synthesis and consolidation of nanoparticles and nanocrystalline materials that
are available, and the reader is encouraged to further explore this exciting world.
(a)
(b)
0.5 m
1000 nm
(c)
50 nm
Fig. 3.30 TEM images of SPS consolidated samples of (a) NiAlAl2O3 and (b) FeAlAl2O3 nanocomposites;
(c) Higher magnification image of a region in (b). (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
106
SUMMARY
Various techniques are available for the synthesis of nanoparticles and
nanostructured materials.
The techniques available can be grouped broadly into the top-down and bottomup approaches.
These techniques can also be classied, based on the state of the matter from
which the nanomaterials are synthesized.
In bottom-up techniques, nanoparticles are prepared from the vapour or liquid
phase, while in top-down approaches, they are made from solids.
The challenge in consolidation of nanoparticles is to retain the nanocrystallinity
after consolidation.
Among the various techniques of consolidation, spark plasma sintering is popular.
Chapter 4:
Application of Nanomaterials 107
Chapter 4
C
Applications of Nanomaterials
Learning objectives
Nano-electronic devices, MEMS, NEMS and sensors
Use of nanoscience in the medical, food and agriculture industries, automobile, textile,
water treatment and civil applications
Application of nanotechnology for strategic use in energy, space and defense
istorically, there are several recorded instances of technologies that have revolutionized
human civilization. From the invention of automobile wheels to the printing press,
technological revolutions have resulted in remarkable improvement in the quality of life and
have eventually led to societal transformations. With nanotechnology promising to impact
almost every sector (Fig. 4.1), it is popularly believed that this could be the next revolution.
Fig. 4.1 Application potential of nanotechnology in diverse fields.

108
Since nanomaterials possess unique chemical, physical and mechanical properties, they can
be used for a wide variety of applicationsfrom toothpaste to satellites. Nanotechnology is
being used in virtually all fields, from science to engineering, and health to medicine. Although
nanotechnology is still only in its infancy, the consumer world is already exploding with
nanotechnology enhanced products. The revolution in communications systems, represented
by the common sight of everyone, including the young and old, student and professional,
craftsman and scientist, holding a mobile telephone, is perhaps the most obvious evidence of
the potential of this new technological imperative. Nanomaterials are also used in cosmetics,
textiles, healthcare, tissue engineering, catalysis, functional coatings, medical diagnosis and
therapeutics, sensors and communication engineering, and water and air pollution treatment.
Chapter 1 gave a brief description of some of the applications of nanotechnology. This chapter
will provide a brief description of the applications of nanotechnology in a wide spectrum of
fields.
4.1
NANO-ELECTRONICS
Arguably, the most intangible impact of nanotechnology has been in the field of electronics
(Fig. 4.2). The last few decades have witnessed a dramatic decrease in feature size accompanied
by an enhancement in processing speed. Semiconductor electronics technology has seen a
revolutionary changethe transition from macroscopic to nanoscale transistors.
In 1897, JJ Thompson discovered electrons while working with vacuum tubes to investigate
the properties of cathode rays. The vacuum tubes were bulky components. In fact, the first
Nano-electronics, high-density
memory, high-speed computation
High-efficiency
display system
Nanocomposite
RF shielding
High-efficiency
chip cooling
Nanostructured battery,
flexible solar cell
Fig. 4.2 Possible impact of nanotechnology on electronic products.

(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VIA_Tablet_PC_Reference_Design.jpg)
Chapter 4:
computers to be built in the 1940s had over 10,000 vacuum tubes and occupied over 93 square
metres of space. The main limitation of vacuum tubes, apart from the huge space requirements,
was the associated high heat dissipation, poor efficiency, slow speed and poor reliability of
vacuum tube amplifiers.
Soon researchers turned to solid-state electronic materials to circumvent the limitations
of vacuum devices. The development of semiconductors and advances in their fabrication
techniques, including zone refining, doping by thermal diffusion and lithography, have been
the key to the large-scale development of novel electronic devices. In most applications, thermionic
devices (vacuum tubes) have been replaced by semiconductor devices. In semiconductor
devices, electronic conduction in the solid state is used as compared to conduction in the gaseous
state or thermionic emission in vacuum tubes. The invention of transistors in 1947 by John
Bardeen and Walter Brattain at Bell Laboratories heralded a greater revolution in electronics,
virtually redefining the lifestyle of many. This transistor was initially based on a point contact
configuration. Soon after, Shockley demonstrated the first field effect transistor (FET) based on
npn junctions that are used even today with suitable modifications.
The distinct advantage of transistors was that they could work as amplifiers and as switches.
They were also much smaller than vacuum tubes and consumed much less power. This enabled
the design of more complex digital circuits with higher switching speeds and efficiency.
However, it was soon realised that circuits based on individual transistors were large and
difficult to assemble. There was also significant time lag in response due to the long distances
the current had to travel. In order to increase the speed by reducing the delay time, there was
a need for miniaturization of electronic components and a technology for integrating a large
number of them with high precision to enable realization of sophisticated digital circuits.
This eventually led to the development of integrated circuits (IC). The first IC board was
manufactured in 1958 and 1959 by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments, and Robert Noyce at
Fig. 4.3
Schematic representation of Moores law on chip feature size.
110
Fairchild Camera. With this, people were able to make several transistors on the same
semiconductor. Not only transistors, but other electronic components such as resistors,
capacitors and diodes could also be made by the same process and with the same materials.
In 1965, Moore predicted that the number density of components that could be fabricated
on an integrated circuit at an affordable cost would roughly double every 18 months. The
simplest formulation of this law is that the number of transistors in an IC doubles every 18
months. This profound statement, now referred to as Moores law (Fig. 4.3), has been found
to hold true at least till date, i.e., for about four decades since its statement. The law itself
was not based on any derivation, but rather on statistical analysis and scientific intuition.
This miniaturization has also been associated with an increase in the efficiency, memory and
processing speed of digital devices. The cost per transistor has reduced, although the cost per
unit area has increased due to increase in processing costs.
4.1.1
Fundamentals of semiconductor devices
The electronic properties of semiconductor materials can be tailored significantly by careful

control of processing parameters and chemistry, by manipulating the addition of minor
impurities called dopants. This is perhaps the main motivator for the widespread application of
semiconductor materials in the electronics industry. The conductivity of a semiconductor can
be changed by electric field, light, pressure or heat, and hence they can be excellent sensors. The
charge carriers responsible for current conduction in a semiconductor can be either electrons
(negatively charged) or holes (positively charged). Doping a semiconductor (for example,
silicon) with small amounts of impurity atoms (for example, phosphorus or boron) greatly
increases the concentration of charge carriers and thereby changes its conductivity. Doped
semiconductors with excess holes are called p-type semiconductors, and those with excess
free electrons are called n-type semiconductors. These semiconductors are doped under
controlled conditions in a fabrication facility, usually referred to as fab. The pn junctions are
those where n-type and p-type semiconductors join together.
Conventional semiconductor devices

Diode The pn junction diode is made from a pn junction. The depletion zone formed at the
pn junction acts as a barrier for current conduction from the n-type region to the p-type
region. When the device is forward biased, current conduction across the junction occurs as
the p-side is at a higher electric potential compared to the n-side. However, on reverse biasing,
the depletion zone which acts as a barrier to conduction results in a small current value only.
Thus the characteristics of such a pn diode vary with the type of biasing. The behaviour of
semiconductor devices can also be modified by the external environment, such as exposure to
light, which increases the number of free carriers and hence the conductivity. Such diodes are
known as photodiodes. Compound semiconductor diodes can generate light, similar to lightemitting diodes and laser diodes.
Transistor Transistors are formed from two pn junctions, in either npn or pnp
configuration. The region between the junctions (base) is usually extremely narrow, with the
Chapter 4:
emitter and the collector acting as the terminals. The device characteristics can be changed by
injecting a small current through the junction between the base and the emitter, such that the
transistor can conduct current even though it is reverse biased. This increases the magnitude
of current flowing between the collector and emitter, and can be nicely controlled by the base
emitter current. The field effect transistor works on the principle that an electric field can
increase or decrease the conductivity of the semiconductor. Application of an electric field
leads to an increase in conductivity due to increase in the concentration of charge carriers.
There are typically two common methods to apply the field, namely, junction field effect
transistor (JFET) and metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET). The field
is applied by a reverse-biased pn junction in a JFET. Conversely, in MOSFET, the field is
generated using an electrode (gate) that is electrically isolated from the bulk material by using
an intermediate insulating oxide layer. Among the semiconductor devices, MOSFET is the
most widely usedn-channel (for electrons) and p-channel (for holes) are the two types of
MOSFETs.
Semiconductor device materials

Silicon (Si) is the most popular semiconducting material for device fabrication. This is because,
among all semiconducting materials, it is available in large quantities, its raw materials are
inexpensive and it is easy to process. Silicon is currently fabricated as wafers to sizes as large
as 300 mm. Though germanium (Ge) is also a widely used semiconductor material, it is not as
popular as Si due to its thermal sensitivity. Germanium is usually alloyed with silicon to make
high-speed SiGe devices. Although gallium arsenide (GaAs) can also be used in high-speed
devices, it cannot be manufactured into large sizes. Thus, mass production of GaAs devices is
significantly more expensive than that of silicon.
Silicon carbide (SiC) is used for blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) and is used in
semiconductor devices, which operate at high temperatures and in environments containing
ionising radiation. Indium compounds such as indium arsenide, indium antimonide and
indium phosphide are also used in LEDs. Selenium sulphide is being used for photovoltaic
solar cells.
Currently there are several components fabricated on a nanometre scale. Apart from
miniaturization of microelectronic components, development of nano-interconnects is also
a challenging area. Here, carbon nanotubes and self-assembled metallic or organic structures
are being investigated. Besides miniaturization of conventional FETs, the ability to synthesize
electronic materials on the nanoscale with required precision has also resulted in the
development of novel electronic devices with quantum mechanical behaviour. These include
molecular diodes, single electron devices and tunnelling devices.
4.1.2
Metal oxide semiconductor eld effect transistor (MOSFET)
Transistors can perform both as switches and as amplifiers. As switches, they can be
used as a two-state device, representing a binary 1 or 0 state in digital circuits. Currently,
MOSFETs are among the most popular type of transistors used. A field effect transistor
112
typically consists of three terminals referred to as source, drain and gate. In MOSFET, a
metal electrode separated from a semiconductor below by an insulating thin oxide barrier
functions as the gate (Fig. 4.4). At low voltages, not enough carrier charges are able to
build below the gate, i.e., between the source and the drain. However, as the gate voltage is
increased, more electrons are attracted below the gate and current flow between the source
and drain increases dramatically.
Although individual MOSFETs with gate length as low as 40 nm have been demonstrated,
their reliability and reproducibility for industrial-scale production is still uncertain. It is
expected that the minimum achievable gate length could be about 70 nm, setting the limit
perhaps for component density in ICs. A few constraints for further scaling down are listed
below:
Application of high (gate) bias voltage over short distances can lead to avalanche
breakdown;
As the number of components per unit area increases with miniaturization, the adverse
effects of heat dissipation of transistors on closely spaced components become a major
factor in the performance of the devices;
Effect of microscopic heterogeneities in dopant distribution can become more
predominant as device dimension decreases.
To overcome these limitations, solid-state quantum effect devices were synthesized.
4.1.3
Solid-state quantum effect devices
The physical dimension of quantum devices are such that there is confinement of electrons in
at least one of the axes. They can thus be classified into one of the three following categories:
Fig. 4.4
Schematic of MOSFET.
Chapter 4:
Quantum dots (QDs) These are dot-like islands of semiconductors with electron confinement
along all three directions. This results in zero classical degrees of freedom as electronic states
are quantised in all three dimensions.
Resonant tunnelling devices These are 2D quantum devices and consist of a long and narrow
semiconductor island, with electron confinement only in two directions. The wire/tube is too
long in at least one direction to display quantum properties along that axis. These devices have
one or two classical degrees of freedom. Depending on the applied bias between the source
and drain, a tunnelling current can be effected in a resonant tunnelling diode (RTD).
In contrast to RTDs, the resonant tunnelling transistors (RTT) work on a three-terminal
configuration, with the gate voltage deciding the current flowing through the device.In contrast
to conventional MOSFETs, which can perform only as two-state switches, RTTs and RTDs can
display multiple on-and-off states associated with multiple discrete quantum levels inside the
potential well on a very small or very narrow island. Hence, it would be possible to achieve
the same logic using fewer devices in the circuit. This can help decrease the problems caused
by heat dissipation associated with increasing component density. Hence, solid-state quantum
effect nano-electronic devices are likely to provide solutions to at least a few constraints posed
on miniaturization of microelectronic components. It is expected that the limit for Moores
law, which is based on the minimum feature size of conventional MOSFET (70 nm), can be
scaled down using solid-state quantum devices (25 nm).
Single electron transistors (SET) These devices are based on a metallic island structure with
three degrees of freedom. These can be contrasted to QDs, with zero degrees of freedom.
Although the physical size of the QD and SET can be similar (100 nm), QDs are quantised
since they are synthesized of semiconductors, while 100 nm is too large to observe quantisation
in metallic islands in SETs. SET devices possess a three-terminal configuration. Very small
variations in the charge of the gate, amounting to a difference of one single electron charge,
can result in the on-and-off switching function of SET; hence they are termed single electron
transistors.
Compared to conventional microelectronic devices, composed of Si, quantum devices
are fabricated from IIIV semiconducting materials (like GaAs and AlAs), by virtue of their
higher electron mobility and lower defect density at junctions.
4.1.4
Hybrid micronano-electronic resonant tunnelling transistors
Nanoscale RTTs tend to be difficult to fabricate with sufficient uniformity in large quantities
because of their relatively complex structure, small size and the sensitivity of the effects they
employ. However, attempts have been made to fabricate hybrids of solid-state quantum effect
devices combined with micron-scale transistors to optimise the benefits of such nanoscale
quantum devices. One such hybrid transistor-like device, the RTD-FET, is constructed by
building tiny, nanoscale quantum effect RTDs into the drain (or source) of a bulk-effect micronscale FET. Such a hybrid RTT can exhibit multistate switching behaviour of the type described
in the preceding section for purely nanoscale RTTs. For this reason, the hybrid device can
represent more logic states than a pure bulk-effect, microelectronic FET on the integrated circuit.
114
Thus, the density of the logic can be increased using the multistate switching characteristics of
hybrid micronano-electronic RTTs, without appreciably increasing the density of the devices
on an integrated circuit. Also, these hybrid RTTs share the advantages of low power and high
speed exhibited by the purely nano-electronic RTTs. Most importantly, fabricating circuits with
this relatively large, hybrid-type of three-terminal RTT are easier than fabricating circuits with
the much tinier, complex structures for purely nano-electronic RTTs.
4.1.5
Molecular electronic devices
Molecular electronic devices are usually synthesized from covalently bonded units that are
electrically isolated from a bulk substrate. The major advantage of these systems is that they can
be synthesized in billions through advanced chemical syntheses methods with a high degree
of reproducibility and control, to ensure fabrication of devices with similar performance.
Molecular devices can be classified into four major categories, namely:
1. Electric fieldcontrolled molecular switching devices
2. Electromechanical molecular electronic devices: These involve the application of electrical
or mechanical forces to move a switching molecule to turn the current on and off in the
device.
3. Photoactive/photochromic molecular switching devices: These devices rely on the optical
properties of a molecule to change their electron configuration, to enable the switching
action of the device.
4. Electrochemical molecular devices: These are based on electrochemical reactions to
enable the switching action of the device.
Individual molecular switching devices could be as small as 1.5 nm across, with densities
of approximately 1012 devices/cm2. It is postulated that this decrease in size could result in
memory capacities of terabytes on a chip and in excess of one trillion switching devices on a
single CPU chip. A primary advantage of molecular electronics is that molecules are natural
nanoscale structures that can be made absolutely identical in vast quantities (approximately
1023 at one time).
Novel semiconductor devices

An example of such novel devices is based on spintronics. The dependence of the resistance
of a material (due to the spin of the electrons) on an external field is called magnetoresistance. This effect can be significantly amplified (GMR: giant magneto-resistance) for
nano-sized objects: for example, when two ferromagnetic layers are separated by a nonmagnetic layer, which is several nanometres thick (for example, CoCuCo). The GMR
effect has led to an enormous increase in the data storage density of hard discs and has
made the gigabyte range possible. The so-called tunnelling magneto-resistance (TMR) is
very similar to GMR and is based on the spin-dependant tunnelling of electrons through
adjacent ferromagnetic layers. Both the GMR and the TMR effect can be used to create a
non-volatile main memory for computers, such as magnetic random access memory or
MRAM.
Chapter 4:
Spintronics Spintronics (spin-based electronics), also known as magneto-electronics, is

an emerging technology, which exploits the dual property of electrons, namely charge and
spin state. The difference in the electron spin direction manifests as a weak variation in the
magnetic energy state and is identified as the spin up and spin down states. Conventional
solid-state semiconductor devices function in a purely binary proposition, where an electrons
state or current represents only 0 or 1. Hence, a range of eight bits can represent every number
between 0 and 255, but only one number at a time. In contrast, spintronics quantum bits
(known as qubits) exploit the spin up and spin down states as superpositions of 0 or 1 with
entanglement, so a register consisting of two spintronics qubits will have eight possible states
instead of four.
Spintronic devices are used in mass storage devices. The storage capacity of hard drives
has been following Kryders law, which predicts doubling of the storage capacity almost
every year. Thus, the storage capacity of hard discs appears to grow faster than the number
of transistors in an integrated circuit as defined by Moores law (doubling every 18 months).
Present day hard disc drives use the spin effect, that is, the giant magneto-resistive effect.
A spintronic device can generate a current of spin-polarised electrons, which can be changed
based on the spin states.
Spin-polarised current can be easily generated, when current is sent through a ferromagnetic
material. This effect is used in giant magneto-resistance devices. A GMR device usually
has at least two layers of ferromagnetic materials that are separated by a spacer layer that
is non-magnetic. An electrical current will flow easily, if the two magnetization vectors of
the ferromagnetic layers are aligned, and if they are anti-parrallel, there will be resistance
in the system. GMR has two variants, namely, current-in-plane, with the electric current
flowing parallel to the layers and current-perpendicular-to-the-plane, with the current flowing
perpendicular to the layers.
Spin valve is the most successful spintronic device thus far. In this device, a layered structure
of thin films of magnetic materials is used, which leads to variation in electrical resistance
with change in the direction of applied magnetic field. In case of spin valves, magnetization
direction in one of the ferromagnetic layers is fixed, while that in the other layer is free to
rotate. The electrical resistance of the device is lowest when the free layer and the pinned layer
magnetization vectors are aligned. The electrical resistance of the device increases when the
free layer magnetization vector rotates anti-parallel to the pinned layer magnetization vector
due to magnetic field. The magnitude of the change is given by:
Anti-parallel resistance Parallel resistance
Parallel resistance =====
100%
This ratio is called the GMR ratio. GMR ratios as high as 200% have been realised in devices.
In contrast, the anisotropic magneto-resistance effect in single-layer materials is usually less
than 3%. Spin valves with magnetically soft free layers are very sensitive to weak fields, and
have replaced anisotropic magneto-resistance sensors in computer hard disc drive heads since
the late 1990s. MRAM devices also operate on spintronic principles.
116
4.1.6
Novel opto-electronic devices
In modern communication technology, traditional analogue electrical devices are being

increasingly replaced by optical or opto-electronic devices due to their enormous bandwidth
and capacity. Photonic crystals and quantum dots are good examples for this. Photonic crystals
are defined as materials in which the refractive index varies periodically, whose lattice constant
is half the wavelength of the light used. They are in one way similar to semiconductors and
have selectable band gap light or photons instead of electrons.
Quantum dot lasers

Quantum dots are nanoscale objects which can be used, among many other things, for the
construction of lasers. In a quantum dot laser, the emitted wavelength is a function of the
diameter of the dot. These are inexpensive in comparison to conventional laser diodes and
provide a higher beam quality.
Photonic crystals
Photonic crystals are periodic dielectric or metallo-dielectric (nano) structures that are
designed to affect the propagation of electromagnetic waves (EM) in the same way as the
periodic potential in a semiconductor crystal affects electron motion by defining allowed and
forbidden electronic energy bands.
If the photonic crystal has to operate in visible light, its periodicity should be half of the
wavelength of light. In order to make these in a simpler way, there have been attempts to
grow photonic crystals as self-assembled structures from colloidal crystals. Opal, a gemstone,
is a naturally occurring photonic crystal. The colours displayed by opal are due to Bragg
diffraction of light from the lattice planes, which is a photonic crystal phenomenon. Such
photonic crystals are also observed on the wings of some butterflies.
Photonic crystals can be used as optical materials for controlling the flow of light. Twodimensionally periodic photonic crystals have already reached a level where integrated device
applications are in sight, whereas their 3D counterparts are still far from commercialisation
but will offer additional advantages, possibly leading to new device concepts, when some
technological aspects such as manufacturability and principal difficulties such as disorder are
under control. The first commercial products involving two-dimensionally periodic photonic
crystals are already available in the form of photonic-crystal fibres, which use a nanoscale
structure to confine light with radically different characteristics compared to conventional
optical fibre for applications in non-linear devices, guiding exotic wavelengths, and so on.
Multilayer films (Bragg mirror) are perhaps the simplest forms of 1D photonic crystals
and have been extensively studied by Lord Rayleigh since 1887. It was shown that any such
1D system exhibits a band gap for the transmission of electromagnetic waves. 1D-periodic
systems are used in applications ranging from reflective coatings to distributed feedback (DFB)
lasers. 2D-periodic optical structures were not studied in depth until the 1980s. The interest in
two- and three-dimensionally periodic crystals with two- and three-dimensional band gaps is
quite high in recent years (Fig. 4.5). The applications include LEDs, optical fibres, nanoscopic
Chapter 4:
Fig. 4.5 Scheme describing different periodicity types in a photonic crystal.

(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dimensionphc.png).
lasers, ultra-white pigment, radio frequency antennas and reflectors, and photonic integrated
circuits.
Photonic crystal fibre (PCF): This is a new class of optical fibre based on the properties of
photonic crystals. Because of its ability to confine light in hollow cores or with confinement
characteristics not possible in conventional optical fibres, PCF is now being used in optical
communications, fibre lasers, non-linear devices, high-power transmission, highly sensitive
gas sensors and other areas. More specific categories of PCFs include photonic-band gap fibre
(PCFs that confine light by band gap effects), holey fibre (PCFs using air holes in their cross
sections), hole-assisted fibre (PCFs guiding light by a conventional higher-index core modified
by the presence of air holes), and Bragg fibre (photonic-band gap fibre formed by concentric
rings of multilayer film).
In general, such fibres have a cross section (normally uniform along the fibre length)
microstructured from two or more materials, most commonly arranged periodically over
much of the cross section, usually as a cladding surrounding a core (or several cores)
where light is confined. Such fibres are constructed by the same general principles as other
optical fibres: first, one constructs a preform on the scale of centimetres, and then heats the
preform and draws it down to a much smaller diameter (often nearly as small as a human
hair), shrinking the preform cross section but (usually) maintaining the same features. In this
way, kilometres of fibre can be produced from a single preform. Most photonic crystal fibres
have been fabricated in silica glass, but other glasses have also been used to obtain particular
optical properties (such as high optical non-linearity). There is also growing interest in making
them from polymers, where a wide variety of structures have been explored, including graded
index structures, ring-structured fibres and hollow core fibres. These polymer fibres have been
termed MPOF or microstructured polymer optical fibres.
Photonic crystal fibres can be divided into two modes of operation, according to their
mechanism for confinement. Those with a solid core, or a core with a higher average index
than the microstructured cladding, can operate on the same index-guiding principle as
118
conventional optical fibres; however, they can have a much higher effective-index contrast
between core and cladding, and therefore can have much stronger confinement for applications
in non-linear optical devices, polarization-maintaining fibres, etc. Alternatively, one can create
a photonic band gap fibre, in which the light is confined by a photonic band gap created by the
microstructured claddingsuch a band gap, properly designed, can confine light in a lowerindex core and even a hollow (air) core. Band gap fibres with hollow cores can potentially
circumvent limits imposed by available materialsfor example, to create fibres that guide light
in wavelengths for which transparent materials are not available. Another potential advantage
of a hollow core is that one can dynamically introduce materials into the core, such as a gas
that is to be analyzed for the presence of some substance.
4.2
MICRO- AND NANO-ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS (MEMS/NEMS)
Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are being used in a wide range of engineering

applications ranging from consumer products to defence systems, healthcare, automobile and
environmental monitoring. Application of MEMS is motivated by several factors including
their small size, reduced weight and power consumption, improved speed and precision, etc.
Fabrication of MEMS necessitates the development of production technologies capable of
precise dimensional control of fine features and those that are repeatable, reliable and not cost
prohibitive. The dimensional features of MEMS vary in the range of few micrometres to few
hundred micrometres. Microfabrication techniques are powerful tools for batch processing
and miniaturization of electromechanical devices and systems into a dimensional scale which
is not achievable by conventional machining techniques.
The electrical resistance of Si is a sensitive function of the external pressure and this effect
is called the piezoresistive effect. This makes Si a good sensor material to detect pressure
variations. Coupling silicon micromachining technology facilitates the fabrication of
miniaturized micro-sensors. The magnitude of variation in resistance with change in pressure
is dependent on several material and environmental factors like orientation of the crystal, type
and concentration of impurity and temperature. MEMS-based silicon sensors can be used in
the pressure range of 103 to 106 torr.
NEMS (nano-electromechanical systems) based force sensors, chemical sensors, biological
sensors and ultra-high frequency resonators, where structures of very small mass provide
essential functionality, have also been fabricated. NEMS can be fabricated either by top-down
or bottom-up processes. Presently, top-down methods using lithographic techniques are the
most common. Bottom-up approaches involve the fabrication of nanoscale devices in much
the same way as nature constructs objectsby sequential assembly using atomic and molecular
building blocks.
Fabrication of NEMS structures is not limited to Si. In fact, IIIV compounds such as gallium
arsenide (GaAs) make particularly good NEMS materials from a fabrication perspective
because thin epitaxial GaAs films can be grown on lattice-matched materials that can be used
as sacrificial release layers.
Chapter 4:
One of the main constraints in the wide-scale application of MEMS/NEMS is expected

to be in their packaging. Since each device will have a unique requirement for interacting/
protection from environment, it is difficult to standardize the packaging procedure. This lack
of standardization tends to drive up the costs associated with packaging, making MEMS less
competitive. In addition, it has to be ensured that the packaging mechanism does not interfere in
the sensing mechanism or will not result in variations in sensor sensitivity during performance
with time. Wafer-level packaging methods could hold the solution to this in the future.
4.3
NANOSENSORS
Nanosensors exhibit several distinct advantages over their micro scale and macroscale
counterparts as listed below:
Reduction in the overall size and weight of the associated system
Cost reduction
Mass production
Utilization of physical phenomena appearing on the nanoscale
Low power consumption
Certain applications require nanoscale systems for functional applications, for example,
implanted medical sensors must be in the nanoscale.
Enhanced sensitivity
Higher level of integration
Nanoscale sensors can be classified depending on the sensing application as physical,
chemical or biological nanosensors. Also, similar to the classification of sensors, nanoscale
sensors can also be classified according to the energy transduced (Table 4.1).
Other than these, nanosensors can also be classified according to:
Effect/transduction phenomena
Measurand
Material of the sensor element
Technological aspects
Table 4.1
Various nanosensors
S.No.
Type
Measured property
Mechanical
2
3
Thermal
Electrical
4
5
Magnetic
Optical
Chemical
Size, velocity, acceleration, mass flow, force, torque, pressure,

acoustic wave, piezoelectric, strain, stress
Temperature, specific heat, entropy, heat flow, flux
Voltage, current, resistance, impedance, inductance, capacitance, dielectric
constant, polarization, electric field, frequency, dipole moment
Field strength, flux density, magnetic moment, permeability
Intensity, frequency, phase, wavelength, polarization,
reflectance, transmittance, refractive index,
Composition, concentration, reaction rate, pH, oxidation/
reduction potential
120
In particular, nanosensors can be classified depending on the nanostructures employed,

such as, nanotubes, nanowires, nanoparticles, nanocomposites, quantum dots, embedded
nanostructures, etc. Though many varieties of sensors exist, no single sensor can effectively
sense all interested parameters in all possible environments. Therefore, building up of sensor
arrays to consolidate multiple properties in different environments is of current interest.
Sensor arrays contain different combinations of uni-and multi-functional sensors, to sense
multiple phenomenon at one time, like the human sensor system with eyes as the optical
sensor, nose as gas sensor, ear as the acoustic sensor and tongue as liquid chemical sensor.
This increases data acquisition and multiplication and is used in the chemical or biochemical
industries and so on.
Nanosensors and nano-enabled sensors have applications in many industries like
transportation, communications, building and facilities, medicine, safety and national
security, including both homeland defence and military operations. There are numerous
examples of nanowire sensors that are used, for example, to detect chemicals and biologics:
nanosensors are placed in blood cells to detect early radiation damage in astronauts, and
nanoshells are used to detect and destroy tumours.
4.3.1
Carbon nanotube-based sensors
The electronic properties of carbon nanotubes are such that they may be metallic or
semiconducting depending on their diameter and the arrangement of graphitic rings in the
walls. They also exhibit exceptional mechanical, thermal and chemical properties. Utilization
of these properties has led to the application of nanotubes as scanning probes, electron field
emission sources, actuators and nano-electronic devices.
Their nanometric dimensions, high aspect ratio, large surface area and unique thermal,
optical and electronic properties have promoted carbon nanotubes as one of the perfect
candidates for sensing applications. Nanotube-based physical sensors can measure pressure,
flow, temperature and the mass of an attached particle.
As discussed in Chapter 1, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated
a carbon nanotubebased nanobalance which can weigh sub-micron scale particles. By applying
an alternating voltage, they were able to create resonance in the nanotube with a specific frequency
which depends on the nanotube length, diameter, density and elastic properties. The mass of the
particle was calculated from changes in the resonance frequency that occur on placing the particle
over the carbon nanotube. Using this technique, the mass of a carbon sphere was determined to
be 22 femtogram, which is by far the smallest mass ever measured. This approach may lead to a
technique for the weight measurement of individual biomolecules. This femto balance can also
find application in weighing bio-organisms such as viruses.
Cleland and Roukes at the California Institute of Technology have reported the fabrication
and characterization of a working nanometre-scale mechanical electrometer. The device
has demonstrated a charge sensitivity below a single electron charge per unit bandwidth
(~0.1 electrons/Hz at 2.61 MHz) better than that of state-of-the-art semiconductor devices
and comparable with the charge detection capabilities of cryogenic single electron transistors.
Chapter 4:
Fig. 4.6 MEMS accelerometer fabricated using polymer composite.

(Source: V Ramgopal Rao, IIT Bombay)
Prof. Ramgopal Rao and his group at IIT Bombay have developed a MEMS-based accelerometer
using a polymer composite (Fig. 4.6), which can sense acceleration levels down to the 100 mg
range. A low-cost technique at temperatures below 100C has been used for the fabrication,
which allows easy integration with CMOS.
Single-walled carbon nanotubes have been shown to exhibit piezoresistive effect, i.e.
when they are bent or stretched, their electrical resistance changes. Based on this principle,
carbon nanotubebased pressure and strain sensors have been developed. The pressure sensor
consists of an ultrathin aluminium oxide membrane to which carbon nanotubes are attached.
To calibrate the device, the deformation of the membrane in response to applied pressure
was measured using white-light interferometry. They then monitored changes in nanotube
resistance as a function of strain. They could detect a change even for strains as small as a
hundredth of a percent, which in this case were induced by pressures of a few tens of kilopascals.
The sensing nanotube was in this case metallic so that the gauge factor was positive. It had a
value close to that of the best silicon devices.
Flow sensors have also been realised using SWNT. The SWNT bundles were packed
between two metal electrodes and it was observed that they produced electrical signals
in response to fluid flow. This is due to the direct scattering of the free carriers from the
fluctuating coulombic fields of the ions or polar molecules in the flowing liquid. It was found
through experiments that the ionic strength of the flowing liquid significantly affected the
induced voltage.
The electronic properties, such as the local density of states, of single-walled carbon
nanotubes are shown to be extremely sensitive to the chemical environment, because in this
case all the tube atoms are surface atoms. The electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power
also vary during exposure to several gas species and most of the nanotube-based chemical
sensors are developed based on this principle.
It has been observed that the electrical resistance of individual semiconducting
SWNTs changes by up to three orders of magnitude on exposure to NO2 or NH3
122
molecules at room temperature. Using this effect, a chemical sensor in which a

single semiconducting SWNT was placed in contact with titanium or gold metal
electrodes at the end has been fabricated. SWNT-based hydrogen sensors have
also been demonstrated by sputter-coated individual and bundled SWNTs with
Pd nanoparticles. The conductivity was found to decrease by 50% and 33% for the
individual and nanotube bundles respectively, on exposure to an air mixture containing
400 ppm of hydrogen. Oxygen sensors based on change in resistance and thermoelectric
power on exposure to oxygen have been reported. For biosensors, various ligands can be
connected to a nanotube transducer in order to recognise target molecules specifically. The
large surface areas available for molecule adsorption make carbon nanotubes a suitable
material for biosensors. Carbon nanotubebased sensors are a thousand times smaller
that microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors and consume less power. These
two important advantages will foster their use as implantable devices. Such biosensors
based on functionalized carbon nanotubes will provide high sensitivity, large linear range,
fast response, long life and low detection thresholds for different analytes.
4.3.2
Nanowire sensors
Nanowires are 1D structures a few nm in diameter and several microns in length and can
be developed from a variety or combination of materials. They exhibit unique electrical and
optical properties which can be exploited for sensing applications leading to ultrasensitive
nanosensors. Sensors based on nanowires of various materials have been reported for
biosensors, molecular detection, nano-connectors and gas sensors.
In general, the mechanism employed for inorganic nanowire sensors is field effect, which is
transduced using FET. The conductance of a nanowire FET can be varied by the voltage of an
applied gate. The molecules, and proteins, present on the surface of a nanowire influence the
conductance significantly. Nanowire sensors modified with different antibody receptors can
selectively recognize many different species in parallel and thereby enable high throughput
screening for diagnostics and drug discovery.
FET sensors based on nanowires are more sensitive then planar FET sensors since binding
to the surface of a nanowire leads to depletion or accumulation of carriers in the bulk of the
nanometre-diameter structure that increases the sensitivity to the point when detection of
single molecules might be possible.
4.3.3
Polymeric nanobres and nanocomposites
Sensors based on polymer structures have acquired great attention due to their unique
advantages. Conductive polymer-based sensors exhibit higher sensitivity and shorter response
time at room temperature over conventional sensors (usually made of metal oxides). Ease of
synthesis (by chemical and electrochemical techniques) and modification of the main chain
(by copolymerization and structural deviation) have resulted in enhanced application of
conductive polymers for sensor applications. Nanofibres and nanocomposites are the current
advanced polymer structures used for sensor applications.
Chapter 4:
Reduction in the diameter of polymer fibres to the nanoscale facilitates extremely good
properties due to increase in surface area to volume ratio. Superior mechanical properties like
stiffness and tensile strength compared to any other known form of material and flexibility in
surface functionality make polymer fibres potential candidate for many applications. Polymer
fibres can be coated with various synthesising techniques like electrospinning, template
synthesis, self-assembly and phase separation, etc. Though all these techniques can be used to
synthesize nano objects with complex architectures, electrospinning is the most preferred for
polymer nanofibres.
The electrostatic spinning technique was developed in the 1930s and it involves an
electro-static field to pull the fibres from the polymer solution. Electrospinning mainly
consists of a high-voltage power supply, a capillary tube with a needle having a small diameter
and a metal collector. High voltage supply to the electrodes with opposite polarity induces
charge at the capillary tube end containing polymer solution held by its surface tension force.
Increasing intensity of the electric field forms a Taylor cone (conical shape) at the capillary
tube end and further increase in the field causes ejection of the fluid from the capillary tube.
The instability in the discharged polymer solution causes elongation in the jet to make it
thin and long. Evaporation of the solvent results in the formation of a nanofibre of polymer.
Figure 4.7 shows a polymer nanofibre made by the electrospinning process.
Though the process is very simple, the preparation of polymer solution poses difficulties
while dissolving polymers in the solvent and this process also needs high DC voltages up to
10 kV. Even polymers dissolved in various solvents can be electro-spun. In case of polymers
with a high melting temperature, molten polymer itself can be introduced into the capillary
tube instead of the polymer solution, provided the whole setup is located inside a vacuum
chamber. Different nanocomposites have also been prepared by electrospinning of the
Fig. 4.7 Polymer nanofibres synthesized by electrospinning technique.

(Source: TS Sampath Kumar, IIT Madras)
124
solution mixture consisting of nanoscale organic or inorganic fillers added to the solvent.
The alignment of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was successfully achieved by
electrospinning and used as reinforcement for the polymer composites to achieve good
properties. Figure 4.8 shows the various applications of the polymer fibres prepared by
electrospinning.
Nanocomposites encompass a large variety of systems composed of dissimilar components
that are mixed at the nanometre scale. The behaviour of nanocomposites is dependent not
only on the properties of the components, but also on morphology and interactions between
the individual components, which can give rise to novel properties not exhibited by the parent
materials. The size reduction from micro-composie to nanocomposites yields an increase in
surface area which is utilised in sensing applications.
Polymer-based nanocomposites have been prepared by adding various inorganic compounds
in order to achieve better properties like modulus, strength, heat resistance and impact
resistance with decrease in dielectric constant and electrical conductivity. Reinforcement of
nanocomposites is the main application of nanofibres. Nanoscale filler dispersed polymer
nanocomposites with extraordinary properties have made them an alternative for traditional
polymers. In literature, authors observed an increase in tensile strength, chemical resistance
and heat resistance in layered silicate/polymer nanocomposites. Ferrites dispersed polymer
based magnetic materials are largely replacing traditional ones due to their lower cost, and
these materials are have great potential as microwave absorbers, sensors and in aerospace
applications. Recently, in colour printers and copiers, -Fe2O3/polymer nanocomposites are
being used as toner material and these are also used as contrast agents in NMR analysis and
Tissue engineering
Smart textiles
Nanosensors
PV and LCD devices
Liquid and gas filters
Fig. 4.8 Applications of electrospun ultra-nanofibres.
P
O
L
Y
M
E
R
N
A
N
O
F
I
B
R
E
S
Drug delivery
Cosmetics
Catalysts
Light-weight aero
materials
Chapter 4:
memory devices. Polymer core covered with magnetic materials are used as beads for gas
separation, pigments, catalysts, toners, flocculants, coatings for anticorrosion protection and
drug delivery.
Gases with an acid base or oxidising characteristics can be accurately sensed by conductive
polymers. Polymers with active functional groups and solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are
also used to detect such gases. Opto-chemical detection of HCl has been demonstrated using
mono substituted tetraphenylporphin polymer thin films, with a sensitivity up to sub ppm
level HCl using a polyhexylmethacrylate matrix.
4.3.4
Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles are clusters of atoms with sizes similar to the de Broglie wavelength associated
with valence electron. So they can be considered as quantum dots having size-dependent
discrete energy levels. Noble metal nanoparticle sensors work based on the high sensitivity
of the LSPR (localised surface plasmon resonance) spectrum towards change in the local
refractive index of nanoparticles when a foreign atom attaches to them. LSPR-based sensors
are gaining more attention as biosensors. Magnetic nanoparticles are also used for biomedical
applications by enriching the analytes to be detected with magnetic nanoparticles, either as
ferrites like MO.Fe2O3 (M= Ni, Zn, Mg, Mn and CO) or in the form of superparamagnetic
magnetite (Fe3O4), greigite (Fe3S4) and maghemite (-Fe2O3).
Particle sizedependent properties of noble metal nanoparticles and semiconductor
quantum dots have made them potential candidates for optical nanosensors. Quantum dots
(QDs) of nanocrystalline inorganic semiconductor materials are used as optical sensors based
on their fluorescence measurements. In these semiconductor nanocrystals, the band gap
can be tuned with the crystallite size; for instance, the smaller the size, the wider the energy
gap and the shorter the wave length of fluorescence. Therefore, all fluorescence colours in
the visible region can be obtained by optimizing the crystallite size during synthesis. QDs
functionalised with antibodies could be used for environmental purpose like detection of
pathogens (cholera toxin or ricin) in water. Intense absorption of visible/UV region observed
in smaller nanoparticles (diameters less than the de Broglie wavelength of electron) of noble
metals is unusual in bulk materials.
The use of chemical sensors for environment monitoring is of great importance.
Nanoparticles are also very well suited for chemical sensor applications because their large
surface area to volume ratio and physical properties often vary considerably in response to
changes in the chemical environment. Because nanoparticles can be made of structures just a
few atoms across, even a few molecules can trigger a response.
4.3.5
Plasmonic-based nanoprobes
The term plasmonics is derived from plasmons, which are the quanta associated with
longitudinal waves propagated in matter through the collective motion of large numbers
of electrons. When light is shined on there surfaces, conduction electrons are excited
causing excitation of surface plasmons. This can lead to electromagnetic enhancement for
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ultrasensitive detection such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and surfaceenhanced fluorescence (SEF).
Raman spectroscopy is widely used as an analytical tool. This is partly due to its non-destructive
nature and structural fingerprinting capability with very narrow and highly resolved bands (0.1
nm). The other advantages are rapid spectral measurement and easy sample preparation. Low
sensitivity and the requirement of powerful and expensive lasers for excitation are some of the
drawbacks of conventional Raman spectroscopy. It has been shown earlier in the 1970s that
the Raman signal is enhanced when molecules were adsorbed onto specific substrates, and this
effect is known as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. The localized fields
due to surface plasmon resonance and chemical effects were found to cause SERS enhancement.
Silver-coated active nanospheres are used for sensitive detection of a variety of compounds of
environmental and medical interest. SERS has also been used for gene probing, wherein selective
detection of HIV DNA and the cancer gene was demonstrated.
Due to their non-radioactive nature, there is strong interest in the development of
optical techniques for biomedical diagnostics, pathogen detection, gene identification, gene
mapping and DNA sequencing. One of the examples of molecular recognition events is the
hybridization of a nucleic acid to its target. This can lead to highly accurate complementary
DNA sequences.
4.3.6
Optical nanosensors
Fibre-optic sensors provide useful tools for remote in situ monitoring. Fibre-optic sensors can
be used for sensing intracellular/intercellular physiological and biological species. Scientists
have developed nanosensors for the in situ intracellular measurement of single cells using
antibody-based nanoprobes. Incubation of cells with fluorescent dyes or nanoparticles and
their interaction is commonly studied using microscopy techniques. During incubation of
a dye or nanoparticle into a cell, it is generally transported to intracellular sites. With optical
nanosensors, excitation light can be delivered to specific locations inside cells. In these
nanosensors, the monitoring process is almost non-invasive. Combined with the exquisite
molecular recognition of antibody probes, nanosensors could serve as powerful tools for
exploring biomolecular processes in sub-compartments of living cells. They have a great
potential to provide the necessary tools to investigate the multi-protein molecular machines
of complex living systems and the complex network that controls the assembly and operation
of these machines in a living cell. It is expected that nanosensors equipped with nanotool sets
will soon be developed for tracking, assembly and disassembly of multi-protein molecular
machines. Scientists have so far been investigating the genes and proteins by breaking the cell
apart and studying their individual components in vitro. It is expected that nanosensors would
permit research on entire networks of genes and proteins in the living cell in vivo.
4.3.7
SQUID-based magnetic nanosensors
Semiconductor quantum interference devices (SQUID) were first invented in 1964 which
involves obtaining small changes in current and magnetic fields as voltage at room temperature
Chapter 4:
by using semiconductivity (Josephson effect and quantum interference). To avoid the

interference of the ambient magnetic field, a separate pick-up loop (manually wound
superconducting material wire) is used and is connected to an input loop. Pick-up will have
some inductance (Lp) which is different from the inductance of both the input loop (Li) and
SQUID (L). Both the input loop and SQUID used to be shielded from the ambient magnetic
fields with a niobium canister.
This device produces measurable voltage corresponding to the magnetic field. Among
all the techniques available for measuring the magnetic field, SQUID is the most sensitive.
These are used in magnetocardiology, non-destructive evaluation, geophysics and
explosive detection. SQUID devices can be generally classified as radio frequency SQUIDS
(semiconductor loop interrupted with one Josephson junction) and direct current SQUIDS
(semiconductor loop interrupted with two Josephson junctions). However, in many
applications, Dc SQUIDs are more advantageous than Rf SQUIDs. SQUIDs can also be
classified as low-temperature SQUIDs (LTS) and high-temperature SQUIDs (HTS) based
on their operating temperatures.
High-temperatures SQUIDs were invented in 1986, allowing the operation of SQUIDS at
higher temperatures (operates at liquid nitrogen temperatures 77 K) whereas LTS operate at
liquid helium temperatures (4.2 K). LTS are mostly fabricated from metallic superconducting
materials and are generally isotropic with coherent lengths of few tens/hundreds of
inter-atomic distances. HTS are generally ceramic, anisotropic and fragile with small coherent
lengths. The isotropic nature and long coherent lengths of LTS allows them to form complex
3D and multi-layer structures such as axial gradiometers and enables them to operate
NbTi-based LTS in high fields. In case of HTS, it is not possible to make axial gradiometers
because of the smaller coherent lengths. Another advantage of LTS is that they are stable in
air whereas HTS will degrade with moisture. Even though HTS are not as sensitive as LTS,
the advantage of operating at liquid nitrogen temperatures made them obvious candidates
due to easy availability of liquid nitrogen when compared to liquid helium. The ability of
LTS to form complex 3D structures allows the detection circuit to reject the significant effect
of the external noise which leads to better sensitivity of LTS. Other advantage of Nb-based
LTS are that they are capable of operating in magnetic fields of tesla range which allows the
LTS microscope to measure susceptibility. The most commonly used SQUIDs are made up
of niobium (for LTs) and YBa2Cu3O7x (for HTs).
Since current is always associated with a magnetic field, all physiological organs are
associated with some magnetic field which enables SQUID to be used for the diagnosis of
biological organs like the heart, brain, lungs and muscles. Tiny magnetic fields generated by the
nerve current while controlling the physiological activities are monitored to identify abnormal
conditions due to diseases. These magnetic fields can range from a few fT (response from
brain) to a few nT (lung response). This makes SQUID the only technique with the capability
to measure it. Particularly low-temperature SQUID-based sensors are used for brain imaging.
The low response time of SQUID enables time-resolved studies on brain activity. SQUIDs
are also evolving as potential candidates for magneto-encephalography (MEG), magnetocardiogram (MCG) and for monitoring neural disorders.
128
The earths magnetic fields at frequencies ranging from 1 kHz to 104 Hz can be detected
with SQUIDs and can be classified as seismic (acoustic energy), gravity, electromagnetic,
radiometric, electric, etc., based on the method used to determine the geophysical magnetic
field. The electrical and electromagnetic methods are more sensitive towards the resistivity of
the subsurface materials in frequency ranges below 100 kHz. SQUIDs are sensitive to both
resistance and dielectric constant of subsurface materials above 100 kHz.
The skin depth limitation of eddy current testing means that SQUID sensors can be
used for the analysis of flaws in metallic materials due to its superior sensitivity and DC
response which allows higher depths. DC response of the SQUID sensors can measure
remnant magnetization without application of external magnetic field. Flaws and
perturbations can be detected irrespective of the magnetic field. SQUID sensors use the
advantage of magnetic sensing (i.e., the insulator covering of the materials to be tested
will be invisible for magnetic detection) to extend its applications in the area of stress and
corrosion detection in reinforced rods used in big constructions and aircraft runways.
An increase in the number of ageing aircraft would result in structural failure due to mechanical
effects or hidden corrosion effects. Addressing the problem with great sensitivity makes
SQUID-based systems a powerful tool for non-destructive testing. These sensors have also
been used as aircraft wheel testers to detect defects in wheels.
The short circuit in ICs appears as intense magnetic flux in a small region which could
be plotted by magnetic mapping using SQUID sensors. The advantage of SQUID-based
magnetometers is good resolution, and magnetic mapping can be done in the non-contact
mode without destroying the electric circuit.
4.3.8
Biosensors
Nanosensors are used in medicine in diagnosis and in aiding controlled drug delivery to
infected cells. Several biological nanosensors for cancer detection, blood glucose detection,
biotoxin detection, detection of specific DNA and identification of chromosomal defects have
been realised already.
Microcantilever-based cancer detection tools have also been developed. The microcantilevers
are coated with appropriate antibodies that can bind the prostate specific antigen (PSA) in
cancer containing blood. The antigenantibody adhesion will result in change in mass and
hence bending of the cantilever which can be optically detected. Such microcantilever-based
cancer detectors have been found to be more sensitive them other conventional biochemical
techniques available. Similar cancer detectors using resonant frequency shift of piezoelectric
nanomechanical microcantilever have also been demonstrated.
Using a similar principle of coating specific materials over microcantilevers, myoglobin
and glucose sensors have also been developed. Microcantilever-based biochips for detecting
biotoxins like anthrax and aflatoxin have been developed and can find possible application
in providing security against biological warfare and terrorist attacks. The gold side of a
biomaterial microcantilever (AuSi) is coated with a receptor that binds to specific biological
molecules.
Chapter 4:
4.3.9
Microcantilever-based sensors
Microcantilever-based sensors can be used for a wide range of applications ranging from
detection of chemicals to surface stresses. With advancement in the fabrication technologies
to produce microcantilevers in large numbers and at low cost, their commercial application is
gaining renewed interest in the field of chemical, physical and biological sensor development.
External environmental factors like adsorbed chemicals or stress can lead to change in the
resonance frequency, amplitude and deflection response of the microcantilever. Microcantilever
deflection can be measured by any of the following techniques: piezoresistive deflection
detection method, optical deflection detection method, capacitive deflection detection method,
interferometry deflection detection method, optical diffraction grating deflection detection
method or by the charge-coupled device (CCD) detection method.
Sensors based on microcantilevers primarily rely on detecting the changes in bending or
vibrational frequency to act as a physical, chemical or biological sensor. Silicon, silicon nitride
or silicon oxide are commonly used as commercial cantilevers. Cantilever arrays have also
been fabricated recently employing the latest integrated circuit (IC) and complementary metal
oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technologies.
It is possible to coat a thin layer of specific material over microcantilevers. These coatings
are chosen to provide selective adsorption capabilities to certain molecules. When these
molecules are adsorbed on a microcantilever, they change the vibrational frequency and the
deflection of the microcantilever. The magnitude of variation will provide an estimate of the
adsorbed mass. It has been demonstrated that microcantilever-based mass detection sensors
can measure a change of about 0.3 attograms (1 attogram = 1018 g). When the cantilevers
are coated with a certain receptor that can have specific binding to desired biomolecules like
proteins, it is possible to extend these sensors for biomedical application. Microcantileverbased sensors are being evaluated for screening diseases such as cancer and detecting specific
chemical and biological warfare agents.
The advantage of using microcantilever-based technology for biosensing applications
is that they are fast, easy-to-use, cheap and highly sensitive for detecting analytes. Usually,
measurement of trace elements requires sophisticated technologies like high-performance
liquid chromatography (HPLC), thin layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography
(GC), and gas liquid chromatography (GLC). In comparison, microcantilevers are less costly,
consume less power and space and have the advantage that they can detect even trace quantities
in ppb and parts per trillion concentration.
Diverse fields like biomedical analysis, cell incubation and environmental monitoring
require highly sensitive humidity sensors. It has been noted that there are various humidity
sensors like hygrometric, gravimetric, capacitive and optical humidity sensors available.
However, microcantilever humidity sensors find great interest where humidity measurement
is enabled by coating one side of the cantilever with materials like gelatin that have high
binding tendency with water vapour in the atmosphere. Deflection of the cantilever due to
adsorption of water vapour is measured and calibrated as a measure of the humidity in the
environment.
130
By employing bimetallic coatings over microcantilevers, it is possible to detect changes in

temperature and heat bend as a function of cantilever bending due to differential thermal
expansion coefficient. The extent of bending will increase with increase in temperature. It is
also possible to coat the cantilever with IR absorbing coatings to result in remote IR detection
capabilities. Temperature variations as small as 105 K have been detected using this technology.
Thus, these sensors can also find applications in microcalorimeters.
The vibration amplitude and frequency of the microcantilever is also a function of the
damping capacity of the environment. A viscous medium will lower the resonance frequency,
enabling the detection of viscosity variations using microcantilevers. It is possible to use
piezoelectric actuators to resonate the cantilevers for use as viscosity meters.
Micromechanical sensors coated with different materials can be used to detect
electromagnetic and nuclear radiation. When micromechanical sensors absorb radiation, they
bend and their resonance characteristics change. Optical radiation dosimeters are formed by
coating microcantilevers with optical cross-linking polymers. Similarly, cantilevers made of
materials which are sensitive to various nuclear particles or radiation can be used for nuclear
radiation dosimetry.
4.3.10
Electronic nose
A rapid sensory information and low-cost electronic instrument which can mimic the human
olfactory process is of great interest in food processing, volatile gas analysis, forensics and
environment monitoring. This electronic instrument mimics the human biological sensor
system by exhibiting a unique response to each odourant.
The electronic nose consists of a sample holder, an array of non-specific electrochemical
sensors and data collectors or signal processing in series. The array of chemical gas sensors
with a unique response profile or different sensitivity for each individual odour, records the
profile of all the sensors in the array used to characterize odour. The output from the electronic
nose gives the characteristics and concentration of the odour similar to the human sensing
system.
The analysis of an odour with the electronic nose involves the absorption of gas with an
odour by a vacuum pump which allows it to pass through an array of sensors. The molecules
with an odour are adsorbed by the sensors, generate a response profile that is recorded and
sent to signal processing unit. Finally a carrier gas is pumped over the array of sensors to
make them ready for the next analysis. Most commonly used sensor arrays for the electronic
nose are made of conducting polymers or metal oxide sensors; both give resistance when
exposed to volatile compounds. Commonly used and commercially available metal oxide
semiconductor sensors are based on oxides of tin, zinc, titanium, tungsten and iridium
doped with noble metal catalyst of platinum or palladium. This involves the deposition of the
volatile organic compounds on the semiconductor sensors in contact with two metals at 200
to 400C. The adsorption of the volatile compounds alters the resistance of the metals which
is the indication for identification of volatile compounds. The second category of sensors is
made of conductive polymers; the most commonly used is polypyrroles, thiophenes, indoles
and furans. The bonding of the volatile molecules to the polymer chains during exposure to
Chapter 4:
various chemical results changes the conductivity of these materials. The electronic nose has
been used to analyse the gas from spoilage microorganisms of milk and food items. The main
advantage of the electronic nose is its portability, user friendly operation, spead and reliability
compared to gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (latter used to take 20 to 100 minutes
to analyse once whereas the former takes a few seconds to minutes).
4.3.11
Electronic tongue
An electronic tongue is a multisensor system with an array of chemical sensors and a

pattern recognition device. In Japan, the electronic tongue is also known as the taste sensor
because of its analogy with the human sensor system. This electronic instrument is used
for liquid analysis and is similar to the electronic nose in analysis sequence but the latter
is used for chemical gas analysis. Various measurement techniques like potentiometric,
voltammetric, conductometric and spectrophotometric are commonly used in electronic
tongue for analysis. In potentiometric sensors, electronic tongues contain either arrays of
glass electrodes or a polymer membrane (vinyl chloride). Change in charges of these gives
an indication of ions or the taste of the beverages like tea, coffee and milk. A photometric
electronic tongue contains a charge-coupled device with a chemical indicator in a resin bead
used for the analysis of simple sugars at different pH values. Conductometric electronic
tongues measure conductivity to give the fat content of milk. Voltammetric tongues
measure current at constant voltages. This type has been used extensively because of its high
sensitivity, simplicity and robustness. It can be used to classify fruit juices, milk, etc. Though
the electronic tongue was initially used only for the analysis of liquids, it can also be used for
liquidsolid mixtures and homogenates.
4.4
NANOCATALYSTS
Chemical reactions are significantly enhanced by catalysts. Due to the large surface area-tovolume ratio, nanomaterials can be more efficient catalysts. Nanocatalysts can lead to cost
savings and can also have higher selectivity than conventional catalysts; this can reduce waste
and hence the environmental impact.
A catalyst is a substance that changes the rate of reaction without itself being consumed in
the reaction. When we say it is not consumed, it does not mean that the catalysts are not active
participants in the reaction; they are active. The catalyst usually reacts with the reactants to
form a stable complex:
Reactants + Catalyst
Complex
The complex rearranges to yield the products and regenerates the catalyst:
Complex
Products + Catalyst
Notice that the catalyst is regenerated at the end of the reaction, so there is no net
consumption of catalyst. A catalyst is considered to be active in any given chemical process if
it shows high conversion, is selective to the desired products, stable for a prolonged period of
132
time and has good mechanical strength. Of all the concerns, conversion and selectivity dictate
the fate of a catalyst, as they can significantly change the economics of the process. In general,
high conversion can be achieved if the catalyst species is not sintered during the reaction, and
selectivity is achieved from the specific crystal structure of the catalytically active metal or
metal oxide precursor. Hence, controlling the catalyst species at a molecular level is possible
if the catalysts are fabricated at the nanoscale. Particles of nano-size have definite crystal
structure, and hence the application of nanostructured materials as catalysts can drastically
change the conversion and selectivity in the chemical processes.
Particles in the 1100 nm range are opening up new vistas in surface chemistry, for two
reasons:
Huge surface area with many of the atoms on the surface, thus allowing good atom
economy in surfacegas, surfaceliquid and surfacesolid reactions.
Enhanced reactivity due to crystal shape. For example, the shape changes from
cubic to polyhedral, when the surface concentration of edges and corner sites goes up
considerably.
However, there are other features that can affect surface energy. As the crystal size becomes
smaller, anion/cation vacancies of the Frenkel or Schottky type become prevalent. Also, atoms
on the surface can be distorted in their bonding patterns. Nanostructured catalysts can be
divided into two classes:
Catalysts composed of nanoparticles supported on metal oxides or molecular sieves
High surface area nanocrystalline metal oxides as catalysts or catalysts supports
Since, the catalytic sites of metal catalysts are located on their surface, nanoparticles
with enhanced surface-to-volume ratio are expected to be very effective. Figure 4.9 shows
the dependence of the fraction of surface atoms on the radius of nanoparticles. The figure
shows that the smaller the size, the larger the ratio. Another characteristic property of
nanoparticles is the quantum size. Although the bulk metal has a band structure, the
Fig. 4.9
Schematic showing the influence of particle size on the fraction of atoms at the surface.
Chapter 4:
electronic energy levels of metal nanoparticleswith size of a few nanometresare rather

separated.
Metal nanoparticles with rather uniform size can be prepared by both physical and chemical
methods. In the physical method, or the top-down method, metal nanoparticles are prepared
by decomposition of bulk metal using mechanical force, vaporisation, laser abrasion, and so
on, which can provide higher energy to bulk metal than the bond energy of the metal. In the
chemical method, or the bottom-up method, the preparation process starts from reduction
of metal ions to metal atoms followed by aggregation, resulting in metal nanoparticles. Both
methods have their own advantages. However, chemical methods are considered to be better
from the viewpoint of reproducibility, homogeneity and mass production.
4.4.1
Gold nanoparticles
Gold nanoparticles have attracted attention as catalysts because of their wide application in
CO oxidation, epoxidation of propylene, water gas shift reaction, hydrogenation of unsaturated
hydrocarbons and liquid phase selective oxidation. It is well known that gold is a poor catalyst
in the bulk form, whereas gold nanoparticles supported on Fe2O3, Co3O4 and NiO showed
high catalytic activity for low temperature oxidation of carbon monoxide. CO oxidation is very
important in the purification of engine exhaust gases, hydrogen produced by steam, reforming
of methanal and hydrocarbons for polymer electrolyte fuel cells.
It has also been shown that in an Au/TiO2 catalyst, the change in turnover frequency
(TOF) of CO oxidation changes with the diameter of Au islands. Some have suggested that
this transition might be correlated to the high catalytic activity. Hayashi and co-workers
found that Au supported on TiO2 could catalyse epoxidation of propylene in the gas phase
containing O2 and H2. There are several factors that influence the catalytic activity of the
reaction. The most important is the method of preparation. Au/TiO2 was prepared by either
an impregnation method or a deposition precipitation method. The impregnation method
did not result in selective oxidation, but instead in complete oxidation to H2O and CO2;
whereas the direct precipitation method led to epoxidation with selectivity above 90%.
The difference in the structure of the catalysts prepared by different methods influences
the selectivity. The impregnation method produces large, spherical Au particles with
diameter of about several tens of nanometres, whereas, the direct precipitation method
results in small hemispherical Au particles, strongly contacted with TiO2 support. This
is a very interesting example of how the structure and size of nanoparticles affects the
selectivity of the reaction.
4.4.2
Magnetic nanoparticles
Magnetic nanoparticles are being used for a variety of applications such as catalysis, drug
delivery, etc. Silica and carbon are used to maintain the stability of these nanoparticles.
The nanoparticle surfaces are functionalised for catalytic activity with species such as
enzymes. The magnetic nanoparticle catalysts can be easily separated by an external magnetic
field.
134
4.4.3
Other nanocatalysts
Nanopowder catalysts with silica and platinum nanoparticles exhibit very strong catalytic
activity for hydrolysation reactions. Carboncarbon coupling reactions occur in a wide variety
of solvents using dendrimer-encapsulated metal nanoparticles. Titania-based nanocatalysts
are being increasingly used in photocatalysis. Photocatalytic reactions are of considerable
interest because of their applicability in the treatment of pollutants and wastes and in the
utilization of solar energy. TiO2 has high oxidising power that is capable of oxidising organic
carbonaceous substances to CO2 in the presence of water and oxygen. Nanocrystalline
alkaline earth metal oxides have attracted considerable attention as effective absorbents for
toxic substances such as NO2, SO2 and HCl. Nanocrystalline MgO particles act as an effective
catalyst for dehydrogenation.
4.5
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY
Some of the possible areas of application of nanoscience in agriculture and food processing
include:
Nano-porous zeolites for slow and efficient release of water and fertilisers for plants,
and nutrients and drugs for livestock
Nanocapsules for herbicide delivery
Nanosensors for soil quality and plant health monitoring
Nanocomposites for plastic film coatings used in food packaging
Antimicrobial nano-emulsions in the decontamination of food equipment, packaging
or food processing
Nanoscale biosensors for the detection and diagnosis of pathogens. A nano-bioluminescent
spray that reacts to pathogens by producing a visual glow has been developed. The product
can be applied on the contents of refrigerated freight containers to detect bacteria quickly
and economically. Another application for the spray might be to detect bioterrorism. This
can have a huge impact on food security and enhance food quality for all.
Development of nanobarcodes as identification tags for food and agricultural products.
Food supplements, colour additives and animal feeds
The use of nanosensors in food packaging and agricultural products can ensure that food
is free from contamination and provide safeguards against bioterrorism. Photocatalytic
degradation for wastewater treatment and as a disinfectant, particularly in fruit packaging, is
currently being studied. Nanocrystalline oxides of metals like Ti, Sn and Zn have been found
to be good photocatalytic materials in aiding disinfection of packed food and agricultural
products. The high surface area-to-volume ratio also becomes advantageous in the use of
nanomaterials for these purposes, compared to conventional materials. The photocatalytic
process releases excited electrons. These electrons can enter the bacteria adhering to the
nanoparticles, thereby resulting in disinfection.
Nanoparticles capable of biofluorescent recognition are being developed as beneficial
substitutes for organic dyes currently being used. The luminescence has been found to be more
Chapter 4:
efficient for fluorescent labelling using quantum than with organic dyes, since their emission
spectra are narrow, symmetric and tuneable, according to the particle size and material
composition of the QDs; they also exhibit good photostability.
Another interesting application is in the area of nano-modified seeds and fertilisers/pesticides.
Atomic engineering can modify the DNA of seeds to obtain the desired yield. Nano-modified
food products are being studied to enhance the nutritional content of the food, by using
nano-encapsulated nutrients, disabling fat and sugar molecules using nano-modification, and
adding taste boosters. This can make a huge difference to the fast food industryfood can be
less unhealthy and more attractive to customers. A major benefit of nanotechnology is likely
to be in the food packaging industry, where it can be used to increase the shelf life of food
products and for many other applications, as shown in Fig. 4.10.
4.6
COSMETICS AND CONSUMER GOODS
Nanomaterial-based cosmetic products are becoming increasingly popular. Currently, more

than a few hundred nanomaterial-based cosmetics, sunscreens, anti-ageing and personal care
products are commercially available.
4.6.1
Sunscreens
Sunscreens containing titanium dioxide or zinc oxide particles are commonly used to
prevent skin burn, since these materials have a good absorption coefficient for UV rays in
Nanosensors for
(a) soil condition monitoring,
(b) pathogen detection for food
preservation,
(c) temperature, moisture and time
monitoring of food
Food processing
Nano for food

and agriculture
Nano-capsules for highefficiency delivery of fertilisers

and pesticides to plants
Anti-microbial and anti-fungal coatings

for food preservation; barrier coatings
to prevent bio-spoilage and prevent
oxygen absorption
Fig. 4.10 Applications of nanotechnology in the agriculture and food sectors.
136
particular. These creams (based on microcrystalline particles) are usually white in colour and
are distinctly seen on application over the skin. However, the use of nanocrystalline titanium
dioxide and zinc oxide particles in these creams makes them transparent, resulting in the skin
being clear and visible even after application of the cream. The physical appearance is not
hampered by the application of these transparent creams. Hence, these nanoparticle-based
sunscreen creams are becoming increasingly popular. The use of nanoparticles also results in
(i) good spreading behaviour of the cream and (ii) more effective absorbtion, particularly in
the ultraviolet spectrum of light.
4.6.2
Personal care products
The use of nanomaterials imparts anti-bacterial and anti-odour functionality to powder,

gel, stick and spray underarm products. They also make them glide smoothly on the skin.
Nano-gold and nano-silver particles have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal characteristics.
They are hence used in many personal care products. Silver particles of size less than 10 nm
dispersed in soaps impart the double advantage of killing germs and increasing effectiveness in
removing dirt particles from the skin. Deodorants and antiperspirants based on nano-zinc
oxide particles are currently being developed. Silver-doped zinc oxide offers enhancement in
odour fighting and anti-bacterial properties.
4.6.3
Anti-ageing products
Traditionally, vitamin E has been regarded as an antioxidant against peroxyl radicals and
thereby reduces the ageing kinetics of biological cells. For decades, considerable effort has gone
into developing antioxidants that are more potent than the natural antioxidant -tocopherol,
the most potent form of vitamin E in terms of peroxyl radicalscavenging capability. Troloxfunctionalised gold nanoparticles showed eight times greater reactivity towards peroxyl
radicals, resulting in enhanced antioxidation capabilities. This represents a novel and versatile
way to make better antioxidants. Fullerene-based facial creams are also being developed to
effectively utilise the antioxidation property of C60. The purpose of these antioxidants is to
protect the hair and exposed skin from ageing.
4.6.4
Other uses
Creams dispersed with nanoparticles can spread more uniformly over the skin.
Nanotechnology is also being used to change the colour of contact lenses, more as a fashion
statement.
4.7
STRUCTURE AND ENGINEERING
Nano-enabled products are being developed for wide ranging applications in the construction
industry. A few of them are listed below:
Reinforcement of concrete with nanoparticles
Self-cleaning glass
Chapter 4:
Smog-eating concrete
Nano-enabled wood
Intelligent sensors to enhance the safety of buildings against natural and other calamities
(sensors to sniff toxic substances)
Fire-resistant coatings
UV/IR reflecting windows
The use of nano-silica in concrete has been reported to increase its mechanical strength
as it results in better packing density. Also, it decreases the kinetics of chemical degradation
of concrete by calcium silicate hydrate reaction and decreases water penetration in concrete,
leading to better life and durability. Concrete reinforced with nano-TiO2 or carbon nanotubes
has been found to have remarkable increase in strength and wear resistance. Similarly,
nanocomposite steel has been reported to have at least three times higher strength than
conventional steel.
Impregnation of nano-ZnO, -Ag or -TiO2 particles in wood can help to reduce their
biodeterioration. This could be a potential substitute for the current practice of using toxic
chemical treatment to prevent biodeterioration of wood. Wood itself is made of cellulose
nanofibrils and has about one-fourth the strength of the carbon nanotubes. Development
of a technology to extract these nanofibrils from wood can result in an economic substitute
for hard composite-based construction material, since they are expected to be 10100 times
cheaper than carbon nanotubes. Novel fire retardant nanocrystalline coatings are also being
developed with potential applications in constructions. Most fire retardant coatings work by
suppressing flames through intumescences, i.e., they puff up on exposure to flames or excessive
heat, solidifying into foam. This foam insulates the substrate from the flame.
One of the most important emerging applications of nanotechnology in civil engineering
could be the integration of sensors to monitor the integrity and safety of the construction. This
could result in early assessment of damage after a calamity or even after terrorist sabotage.
Sensors can also be used to sniff toxic gases and substances and for the early detection of wood
destroying termites and fungi.
4.8
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTY
The next generation automobiles aim to be lighter, more fuel efficient and crash resistant.
They use high strength-to-weight ratio frames, use eco-friendly energy sources, pollution free
emissions, producer sensors and functional nanomaterials for enhanced safety and aesthetics.
Nanotechnology can play a major role in realising many of these objectives enhance vehicle
performance, convenience and safety. A few of these applications are listed below:
Carbon nanotube-based composites are being examined as a replacement for automobile
frames due to their high strength and reduced weight. The unique combination of
stiffness and toughness of nanopolymer composites will make them ideal substitutes
for steel in automobiles. Also, clay nanoparticles in composite materials are being
evaluated in cars. The use of materials with high strength-to-weight ratio for body
frames will essentially make the automobile crash resistant as well as decrease the
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4.9
fuel consumption due to reduced weight. This will also ensure reduction in emissions
(pollution) per mileage covered.
Nanoscale metal oxide ceramic catalysts can aid reduction of polluting particles in
the emission gas. Nanocatalysts and membrane technologies will play a critical role in
making fuel cells economically viable for replacing the internal combustion engine.
Nanopowders and coatings can be used to enhance the durability of paint coatings.
Materials characterization methods, online sensors for the measurement of wear and
abrasion, or additives for the adhesion of parts and layers are also being explored.
Further developments target the avoidance of lubricants via thin layers on bearings
and gliding elements, new electrostatic filters or high power switches in ignition
devices via field emission principles, and new catalyst surfaces via highly porous and
chemically selective surfaces. Nanoparticles are being used as abrasives, and in paints
and electrochromic coatings for windscreens and windows.
High-efficiency solar cell, hydrogen storage for fuel cell, etc., are being developed as
environment friendly fuel resources to drive future automotives.
High-sensitivity nano-enabled IR sensors for improved night vision.
Magnetic nanofluids are being developed to improve the efficiency of shock absorbers.
It is possible to change the viscosity of the magnetic nanofluid by the application of a
magnetic field. Dynamic damping can be achieved by varying the viscosity dynamically.
Shock absorbers based on magnetic nanofluids are expected to bring about significant
improvement in vibration control compared to traditional shock absorbers.
Nanoparticle dispersions will enhance the thermal conductivity of fuel.
WATER TREATMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Water is one of the most essential resources for living things. Although 75% of the earths surface
is covered with water, only 2.5% of the same is potable. Further, less than 1% of freshwater is
accessible to humans. With extensive industrialization, the per capita water requirement has
increased enormously. To produce one ton of steel about 215,000 litres of water will be needed.
Hence, the need for effective water management.
Although several conventional water treatment technologies like chemical treatment,
mechanical separation, ultraviolet radiation, biological treatment and desalination are
currently available in the market, nanotechnology-enabled products are expected to have a
few distinct advantages for large-scale application, to economise and perform with greater
efficiency.
Nanotechnology can contribute to effective water management in many ways:
Nano-membranes and nano-clays for water filtration and desalination
Nanoparticle-activated wastewater reuse systems
Nanosensors to monitor water quality against bacteria, heavy metals and toxins
Nano-enabled water treatment technologies include the use of nano-membranes and
filters based on carbon nanotubes, nano-porous ceramics, magnetic nanoparticles and
other nanomaterials. It has been shown that nano-filtration can lead to remediation of
Chapter 4:
even brackish water. Carbon nanotubebased water filters have been found to be effective
tools for nano-filtration. Carbon nanotubes function as molecular filters and allow water
molecules to pass through them. Molecules that are bigger than the diameter of the CNT are
filtered out. Also, as a consequence of their electronic state, a few smaller ions are also not
permitted to enter through the carbon nanotube. Carbon nanotube membranes can reduce
the cost of desalination sigificantly. It is reported that the use of nano-titanium dioxide
and magnetic nanoparticles can decompose organic pollutants and remove salts and heavy
metals, enabling wastewater reuse.
Different molecules can be separated based on their size during nano-filtration using
membranes. The technique is mainly applied for the removal of organic substances, such as
micropollutants and multivalent ions. In industrial processes, nano-filtration is applied for the
removal of specific components, such as colouring agents.
Other applications of nano-filtration are:
Removal of pesticides from groundwater
Removal of heavy metals from wastewater
Wastewater recycling in laundries
Water softening
There are several conventional technologies in practice today to remove bioorganisms,
toxins and impurities from water. It is well known that Saudi Arabia produces nearly 70%
of its potable water by the desalination technology. Nanotechnology is expected to result in
economic solutions capable of reaching a wider cross section of people in the longer run.
For effective remediation of contaminated water, particularly for removing heavy metal ions,
various nanoparticles and nanomaterials like zeolites, carbon nanotubes, self-assembled
monolayers on mesoporous supports (SAMMS), biopolymers, single-enzyme nanoparticles,
zero-valent iron nanoparticles, bimetallic iron nanoparticles and nanoscale semiconductor
photocatalysts are in use.
Removal of pathogens from water is essential to avoid several waterborne diseases. It is
believed that the use of nanomaterials like silver and titanium dioxide with antimicrobial
characteristics can provide a viable alternative to the use of chlorine treatment. Air pollution
can be monitored using nanotechnology with filtration. Nano-filters could be applied to
automobile and other exhausts in industry to filter out contaminants before the exhaust gases
are let into the atmosphere, so that the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is
prevented. Nanocatalysts can be used in catalytic converters in automobiles to remove
contaminants and increase driving performance. Nanosensors could also be developed to
detect toxic gases at very low concentrations in the atmosphere.
4.10
NANO-MEDICAL APPLICATIONS
Nanotechnology is promising to revolutionise healthcare technologies in a more patientfriendly direction. Nanotechnology and nanomaterials are being used in diagnosis, therapy
and prevention. Significant developments have been illustrated in the field of nano-enabled
targetted drug delivery, cancer and TB therapy, disease diagnosis, biosensors for health
140
monitoring, surgical tools, implant materials, tissue engineering, molecular imaging,

biodetection of disease markers, etc. Nanotechnology has also enabled the production of
laboratories on a chip that perform multiple medical tests (in vitro or in vivo).
When these particles function as nano-medibots that release anti-cancer pharmaceuticals
into the cells or penetrate the tissue and deconstruct them mechanically, then they treat cancer.
Further, particles may absorb infrared radiation, which is converted to heat to ablate the target
(cancer) tissue. Finally, when administered prophylactically (as a nano-vaccination), they can
also prevent cancer.
Nano-pharmacology is the use of nanotechnology in pharmacology applicationsassembly
of current molecular entities; exploring and matching specific compounds to particular
patients for maximum effectiveness; and advanced molecular compound delivery systems.
Nanoparticles may yield targetted and sustained delivery of pharmaceuticals to specific tissues
with a minimum of systemic side effects. In case of nanoshells, manipulating the ratio of wall
to core dimensions, they can be precisely tuned to scatter or absorb any particular wavelength
of light. Gold-coated nanoshells could convert light into heat, enabling the destruction of
tumours.
Nano-pharmaceuticals and nanotechnology drug delivery systems provide greater and
more controlled pharmaceutical uptake in tissues throughout the the body. This is critical
for oncological applications. Trojan Horse capsules can be used to sneak in a biological
compound payload through the bloodbrain hurdle to treat ophthalmologic diseases such
as macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Nano-pharmacology delivery
systems are not limited to internal usethey also enable the absorption of pharmaceuticals
through nano-emulsions spread on the skin. Newly developed contrast dyes make it possible
to examine patients at a molecular level. Nanotechnology can also be used to partially repair
neurological damage. For example, it can improve the correctness of cochlear implants that
turn sound into electrical impulses and assemble light-activated implants in the retina to
partially restore lost vision. Biomemetic scaffolds are used to support damaged nerves to
regrow and reconnect.
4.11
TEXTILES
There are many novel applications of nanotechnology in the textile industry to provide
multifunctional attributes to fabrics. For example, the fabric can be made stain resistant,
water repellent or absorbing, light emitting, antibacterial, release fragrance in a controlled
manner, etc. Antimicrobial properties have been imparted to fabrics by incorporating suitable
nanoparticles into nylon and other fabric polymers. It is also possible to coat nanocrystalline
zinc oxide particles on synthetic fibres, to impart antimicrobial effect without much change
in the colour and gloss of the fabric. Plasma technology is being used to modify the top few
(nanometres) layers of textiles, allowing them to be made antibacterial, antifungal and water
repellent. Other areas of interest include heat resistance and mechanical resilience to work
wear, ballistic protection, sensors and camouflage.
Chapter 4:
Application of nanotechnology has enabled the development of intelligent textiles that are
capable of sensing the environment or health of the personnel, to change colour in response
to stimuli, and to generate heat. The major motivation for developing intelligent textiles
is again perhaps nature. The skin is distributed with a sensor network, to detect pressure,
heat, etc. The skin sweats on a hot day to cool the body, and enforces blood circulation on
a cold day. Today, scientists have succeeded in developing fabrics with fibres coated with
a variety of nanomaterials that can be used as sensors. Fibre sensors, which are capable of
measuring temperature, strain/stress, gas and smell, are typically smart fibres that can be
directly applied to textiles. These are expected to find use in skiwear, shoes, sports helmets
and insulation devices. Development of textiles impregnated with sensors that are integrated
with global positioning system (GPS) can help the wearer navigate to the desired destination.
Fabrics and composites integrated with optical fibre sensors have been used to monitor the
soundness of major bridges and buildings. The first generation of wearable motherboards has
been developed, which have sensors integrated inside garments and can detect information
regarding injury to the health of the wearer, and transmit such information remotely to a
hospital.
Shape memory polymers exhibit much higher recoverable strain limits (~100%) in contrast
to shape memory metallic alloys. These are expected to have potential application in noninvasive surgery. Intelligent textiles that can change colour and provide camouflage are
being developed for military applications. Scientists have developed an innovative process to
combine extremely thin layers of two materials: plastic and glass. This results in a new fibre
that can reflect all the light that hits it, from any direction. Uniforms woven from these fibres
have an optical bar code that will help soldiers distinguish friend from foe on night patrol, or
during the smoke and confusion of an attack with firearms.
4.12
PAINTS
Incorporating nanoparticles in paints could improve their performance, for example, by

making them lighter and giving them different properties. Thinner paint coatings can reduce
the weight. The solvent content of paints may also be substantially reduced with nanopaints.
New types of fouling resistant marine paint could be developed and are urgently needed as
alternatives to tributyl tin (TBT), now that the ecological impact of TBT has been recognised.
Anti-fouling surface treatment is also valuable in process applications such as heat exchange,
where it could lead to energy saving. If they can be produced at sufficiently low cost, foulingresistant coatings could be used in piping for domestic and industrial water systems. It remains
speculative whether effective anti-fouling coatings could reduce the use of biocides, including
chlorine. Other novel, and more long-term, applications of nanoparticles might lie in paints that
change colour in response to change in temperature or chemical environment, or paints that
have reduced infrared absorptivity and therefore reduced heat loss. Owing to concerns about
the health and environmental impacts of nanoparticles, the durability and abrasive behaviour
of nano-engineered paints and coatings have to be addressed, so that abrasion products take
the form of coarse or microscopic agglomerates rather than individual nanoparticles.
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4.13
ENERGY
Nanomaterials are bound to find a place in green energy technologies too. The most common
nanostructured energy enabling technologies that are emerging are:
Nanostructured photovoltaic systems
Nanostructured fuel cells
Hydrogen storage systems
Efficient light emitting devices
Conventional solar cells suffer from the limitations of poor efficiency and high cost compared
to other large-scale energy resources. Nanomaterials-based solar panels can have increased
performance and the technology could soon compete with conventional power plants.
The three main types of nano-solar cells being developed are:
Flexible polymer-based photovoltaics
Nanoparticle solar cells
Sprayable self-assembling photocells
Scientists are developing cheap and easy-to-apply plastic solar cells, composed of tiny
nanorods dispersed in a polymer that can be easily applied to any surface. These nanorods
absorb a particular wavelength to generate electrons. Their efficiency is presently only about
2%, though they are much cheaper. However, it is expected that by tuning the dimensions of
the nanotube, it is possible to absorb a wide range of energy from light which would result
in improved efficiency. It has been observed that the addition of a small fraction of carbon
nanotubes to nanocrystalline TiO2 film almost doubles the efficiency.
Another promising area for the application of nanotechnology is the hydrogen economy.
Hydrogen can be a good alternate fuel of the future not only because it is readily available in
water but also because it is a non-polluting source of energy. Low-cost techniques of obtaining
hydrogen from water may be worked out with the help of nanocatalysts. Nano-pyramids of
(515 nm) iridium have been found to be highly efficient in aiding hydrogen generation from
ammonia.
Nanotechnology can help in the development of the following:
Nano-engineered hydrocarbon carbon surface membranes
Spray depositing platinum on porous alumina
Replacement of platinum catalysts using less expensive nanomaterials
Nanotechnology has also resulted in a significant about turn in the performance of of Li ion
batteries. Application of certain nanomaterials has resulted in a decrease in organic electrolyte
reduction during recharging. Nanoparticles quickly absorb and store vast quantities of lithium
ions, without causing any deterioration in the electrode. This nano-enabled Li battery is also
60 times faster than the typical lithium ion batteries that are widely used today. In addition,
the battery has a long life cycle, losing only 1% of capacity after 1,000 cycles of discharging
and recharging, and can operate at very low temperatures. At 40C the battery can discharge
80% of its capacity, against 100% in an ambient temperature of 25C. This speedy and highly
effective recharge characteristic of the battery will support CO2 reduction resulting in ecofriendly batteries.
Chapter 4:
Armchair quantum wire (AQW) is a SWNT-based wire with physical properties conducive
to flowing electrons that AQW cables could literally let electricity (in the form of electrons)
glide across a grid for 1,000 miles with virtually no resistance or power loss. In comparison to
superconductors, the SWNT-based AQWs have an advantage as they do not have to be cooled
to cryogenic temperatures. According to Dr Adams,The armchair quantum wire can simply
by its structure propagate an electron down the length of a nanotube, much like light waves
travel down an optical fiber. The AQW cables would be a revolutionary leap beyond copper,
providing lighter, stronger and more conductive cables with vastly more capacity. AQWs are
tiny, and about 1014 wires would be present in 1 cm. Although each AQW can conduct only
20 A of electricity, it would be possible to bundle 1014 of them together to get 10 million
amps down a single filament. It should also be possible to have multiple filaments together in
a single cable, like multiple filaments in an optical cable, resulting in a capacity of over billions
of amps, in contrast to copper cables that carry about 2000 amps.
Many significant efforts are in progress to identify and utilise new energy sources, to
increase the production of existing sources, to increase conversion and storage efficiency,
and, equally important, to reduce pollution. In MITs Laboratory for Electromagnetic and
Electronic Systems, they are exploring a nanostructured ultracapacitor electrode that has the
potential to increase a capacitors energy storage density to approach that of a chemical battery.
Nanostructured emissive coatings and filters that significantly increase the efficiency of direct
thermophotovoltaic (TPV) generation of electricity from heat are also under development.
4.14
DEFENCE AND SPACE APPLICATIONS
Nanotechnology can play a vital role in defence and space systems by minimising size,
weight and power consumption that are important for long-range coverage. Also, embedded
nanosensors enabled with wireless networks can enhance the intelligence of future warfare
systems. There are several possible applications of nanotechnology for defence and space
applications, as shown below:
Light-weight vehicles to enhance fuel economy; longer distances can be covered for the
same fuel capacity
Smart components with built-in condition and load-monitoring sensors, such as fibre
Bragg
Adaptive structures, like adaptive skin, for better thermal control
High energetic propellants such as nano-dispersed aluminum
Lightweight protective clothes
Anti-ballistic and shatterproof armour
Advanced sensors, such as, high-resolution vision systems, RF, infrared, acoustic arrays,
terahertz and through-the-wall radar vision
Physical identification tags (RFID) for goods, digital ID tags for documents and
information
Biometric sensing for personal identification characteristics, such as, fingerprint, face,
DNA
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Ambient intelligence for surveillance by means of distributed wireless sensor networks

Tracking and tracing with position and motion sensors
Intelligent textiles with embedded sensors in the soldiers attire is another important potential
area for application of nanotechnology. The clothes soldiers wear can be modified to provide
better protection against heat and cold and integrated nanosensors can be used for remote
monitoring of heartbeat and blood pressure. In addition, clothing can have built-in protection
against bullets.
Nanotechnology is needed for improved detector sensitivities (signal-to-noise ratios),
to miniaturise sensor arrays for selectivity, to tailor-make high surface area materials for
detection/absorption/deactivation and to create selective catalysts. Microsystems technology
and nanotechnology will therefore enable small portable sensor systems capable of
identifying chemical, bio, nuclear, radiation or energy threats. This will enhance the
flexibility of deployment and operations, increase the safety of soldiers and civilians and
enhance environmental security. Onboard intelligence will continuously increase, facilitating
automated control and maintenance. Naval vessels have additional requirements with respect
to detection and surveillance sensor systems.
Other technologies which can be integrated in future weapons are RF ID-tags in guns,
cartridges, target positioning/recognition (via micro IR camera on guns or PDAs, microradar,
RF-array, through-the wall THz radar), and smart helmets to pull the trigger from a distance
(teleweapon), various ammotypes (shaped ceramic materials, softer bullets, high-penetration
bullets, sensor modes/smart dust and insensitive tailored explosives to limit collateral
damage).
Closely connected to the concept of the smart helmet is that of anti-ballistic protection
via a light-weight helmet consisting of a combination of polymers, fibres and nanomaterials.
This new nanocomposite should have higher impact resistance than present fibre composite
systems and should have a significantly reduced weight. The application of nanofibres and
buckypaper in combination with present high-strength fibres and polymer materials to
create new composite materials seems to be most promising. For the next generation of
helmets, the use of fibres such as Kevlar, Dyneema or M5 is most realistic in combination
with nanomaterials which can enlarge the strength of the composite and keep the fibres
closely packed in the composite structure at impact. M5 is the newest type of fibre in this
category and product applications of this fibre are expected in the next few years. Nanoclay
in a silliputty-type of polymer matrix combined with fibres is a possible alternative. These
high-strength fibres can, in theory, bring significant improvement. The same applies to metal
nanoparticles coated with a multiple-layered ceramic nanocoating. These coatings were
originally developed for turbine blade protection but the extreme hardness is also of use for
anti-ballistic nanofillers in composites. In the long term (1015 years), a more dominant use
of electrospun nanofibres to create basic fibre strength in the composite can be expected.
These CNT fibres and other nanofibres have a theoretical strength of 130180 GPa. Thanks
to the technological advances in high strength polymer fibres such as carbon, aramide and
Dyneema, the performance of antiballistic suits has improved considerably over the last
20 years, with subsequent reduction in weight (30%). These suits with integrated or inserted
Chapter 4:
composite fibre structures are quite effective and are being successfully applied for ballistic
protection of the body. However, the composite structures are not sufficiently flexible to be
used for protection of extremities such as the arms, legs and neck. At present, injuries of these
extremities have become the dominant factor in casualties, especially from bombings and
subsequent shatter, resulting in loss of military power and high cost of medical treatment.
In view of this, several concepts for flexible armour have been proposed and are now in
development.
Magneto-restrictive fluida nanoparticle-filled flexible medium that can be electrically
activated to become rigid
Shear-thickening fluida nanoparticle-filled binder for high-strength textiles that
is flexible under low shear rate and that becomes rigid under high shear rate impact
(passive system, ARL). This nanoparticle-filled system inhibits deformation and sliding
of high strength fibres at high shear rate.
Silliputty-type of elastomers in combination with ceramic armouran elastomer system
which is deformable and elastic at low shear rate and stiff at high shear rate. It is similar to
shear thickening fluids, but has so far been less effective in antiballistics (passive system,
for example, D3O material).
The ultimate goal will be to create nanorobots or nanobots for activities on land and NUAV
(nano-unmanned aerial vehicles) for reconnaissance and sensory activities in the air (flying
artificial insects). Uninhabited combat vehicles (fighter, submarine, and vehicle) with higher
performance and lower casualty risk can also be expected. Ideally, all microvehicles and robots
should be less visible for enemy troops (biomimetic structures), should last long enough to
gather essential information, and should be low in cost and therefore redundant.
Wounds can be dressed with intelligent bandaids which monitor the moisture level and
bacterial activity, and release antimicrobials on nanoparticles to kill the bacteria. Part of this
health monitoring system can be a portable sample preparation and lab-on-chip analysis
kit enabling the soldier to test his own body fluids when he needs more specific data and
water and food. Ideally, this analysis system will be built into his smart suit and will be able to
detect bioagents and apply antidotes to the soldier. Biosensors for body-function monitoring
can be expected to be integrated subcutaneously in the body of future combat soldiers. Core
temperature measurement with a swallowable passive RF-sensor is one of the solutions for
accurate and low-cost core temperature measurement of soldiers in combat.
Smaller satellites are now becoming feasible, owing to the miniaturization enabled by
nanotechnology. Besides reducing their size, weight and power consumption, the use of
micromachined devices could give better component integration in areas such as propulsion,
communication, data processing, power generation and navigation. With a distributed network
of small satellites instead of one big one, both functionality (multi-aperture synthesis for better
accuracy, formation flying) as well as redundancy is gained. The ultimate goal is to develop
146
a complete satellite-on-chip, the so-called picosatellites. Microsatellites (~ 1030 cm) are in

development in many countries: USA/NASA, UK, France, Germany, Sweden and Spain, both
for civil and defence applications.
4.15
STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS
The increased rate of forming or the lower temperature related to the superplastic deformation
of nanocrystalline materials would make superplasticity more industrially accessible,
extending its possible limits of use. With nanocrystalline metals, superplastic deformation
can extend rapid and large-scale forming processes. It is speculated that nanocrystalline
superplasticity will have an advantage over traditional superplastic materials when materials
chemistry may not be changed because of the nature of the application (for example, in
electronics applications), or high strength is demanded after forming. Another area is that
of diffusion bonding. It has been shown that the use of a superplastic intermediate layer in
diffusion bonding of non-superplastic stainless steel dramatically improves the properties of
the joint, especially if the mating surfaces are rough. Superplasticity may also be utilised in
the processing of nanocrystalline ceramics themselves. Nanocrystalline ceramics are difficult
to produce by the pressureless sintering routes typically used for conventional ceramics, but
they may be produced by sinter forging which uses the superplasticity of the materials itself by
closing pores with the aid of plastic flow.
The higher strength of nanocrystalline materials may be utilised in several potential
applications, when processing of the materials is adequately developed. The development of
nanocrystalline M50 steel as the main shaft bearing material has improved the performance
of engines in gas turbine industries. Development of WCCo nanocomposites has been
driven by the expectation of obtaining cutting tools and hard metal coatings with superior
properties compared to their traditional counterparts. These materials are already starting to
have commercial impact and are used in the manufacture of machine tools, drill bits and wear
parts. Tools made of cemented carbide nanocomposites have enhanced hardness, fracture
toughness and wear resistance compared to their conventional counterparts.
Currently, nanocrystalline titanium is considered to be a potential material for medical
implants. In order to obtain adequate strength, titanium alloys (mainly Ti6Al4V) are used,
for example, for hip prostheses. Development of nanocrystalline pure titanium for such an
application would allow the alloying content to be decreased for increased biocompatibility.
Both the static and the fatigue strength of commercially pure titanium fasteners and threaded
articles could be substantially increased by ECA processing, producing a nanocrystalline grain
structure. Nanocrystalline ceramics have also been considered for orthopedic and dental
implants of the future. Nanomaterials with improved mechanical properties could then replace
some of the conventional biomaterials and could be tailored to meet clinical requirements
associated with anatomical differences or patient age.
Incorporation of nanotubes instead of carbon fibres as reinforcing elements into plastic,
ceramic and metallic matrixes can potentially provide structural materials with dramatically
improved modulus and strength. Many improvements have taken place in the use of
Chapter 4:
nanoparticles as filler materials in polymers. These include fillers in dental polymers to

improve their performance, for example, wear resistance or stiffness as in polymer-layered
silicate nanocomposites.
Applications of nanocrystalline metallic materials have been limited because of low ductility
in tension. However, cold rolling of nanocrystalline copper has opened up interesting vistas for
developing novel processing of some metallic materials utilizing the nanocrystalline structure.
The traditional deformationannealing technique routinely used may be much simplified
by using nanocrystalline metals as starting materials. With proper postheat treatments,
microstructure may be easily controlled so that the desired properties in the final product can
be achieved.
SUMMARY
Nanomaterials and technology are making their impact in almost all areas of life.
Development of novel devices based on nano-opto-electronic materials, molecular
devices and quantum structures are creating new directions for miniaturization with
increased efciency of nano-electronic systems.
MEMS and NEMS nd extensive use both as sensors and actuators in a wide spectrum
of engineering application.
An entire gamut of nanosensors for biomonitoring, health parameter surveillance,
safety logics, environmental control, process control, etc., have been developed.
In the eld of medicine, nanotechnology nds application for both diagnostic tools as
well as for advanced therapy.
Development of smart textiles with in-built sensors and functional nanoparticles are
set to be introduced on a wide scale both for defense as well as for domestic use.
Nanomaterials have a promising future in enhancing efciencies of green energy
technologies, like solar cells, hydrogen cells, etc.
148
Gordon Earle Moore is the co-founder of Intel Corporation, USA.

Born in 1929 at San Francisco, California, he obtained his doctoral
degree in Physics and Chemistry from CalTech in 1954. Intel
Corporation was co-founded by Moore in 1968, where he served as
Executive Vice President until 1975, after which he became President
and Chief Executive Officer. Dr Moore became Chairman of the
Board and Chief Executive Officer in 1979. He became Chairman Emeritus of Intel
Corporation in 1997.
Chapter 5:
Tools to Characterize Nanomaterials 149
Chapter 5
Tools to Characterize Nanomaterials

Learning objectives
Structural, microstructural and microchemical analysis of nanomaterials using X-ray
diffraction and electron microscopy
Surface topography profiling of nanostructures using atomic force microscopy
Characterization at atomic resolution using 3D atom probe and field ion microscope
techniques
Nano-mechanical surface property measurement using nanoindentation
he characterization of small structures or small-sized materials in the nanometric-scale

usually calls for sophisticated characterization tools. Characterization of nanomaterials
and nanostructures has been largely based on certain critical advancement of conventional
characterization methods developed for bulk materials. For example, X-ray diffraction (XRD)
has been widely used for the determination of crystalline character, crystallite size, crystal
structures and lattice constants of nanoparticles, nanowires and thin films. Scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), together with electron
diffraction, have been commonly used in the characterization of nanoparticles to get an idea
of the size, shape and defects present in these materials.
Optical spectroscopy is used to determine the size of semiconductor quantum dots.
Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is a relatively new characterization technique and has found
widespread application in nanotechnology. The two branches of SPM are scanning tunnelling
microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Although both STM and AFM are
true surface imaging techniques that can produce topographic images of a surface with atomic
resolution in all three dimensions, in combination with appropriately designed attachments,
STM and AFM have found a much broader range of applications, such as nanoindentation,
nano-lithography and patterned self-assembly. Almost all solid surfaces, whether hard or soft,
electrically conductive or not, can be studied with STM/AFM. Surfaces can be studied in a
gaseous medium such as air or vacuum, or in liquid. In this chapter, we will briefly discuss
these characterization techniques and their applications in nanotechnology.
Characterization and manipulation of individual nanostructures require not only extreme
sensitivity and accuracy, but also atomic-level resolution. It therefore leads to various
microscopy techniques that will play a central role in the characterization and measurement of
nanostructured materials and nanostructures. Miniaturization of instruments is obviously not

150
the only challenge. The new phenomenaphysical properties and short-range forceswhich
do not play a noticeable role in macroscopic-level characterization, may have significant
impact at the nanometric-scale.
5.1
X-RAY DIFFRACTION (XRD)
XRD is extensively used to study the crystal structure of solids, defects and stresses. In XRD, a
beam of X-rays, with wavelength ranging from 0.07 to 0.2 nm, is diffracted by the crystalline
specimen according to Braggs law:
= 2d sin
where d is the interplanar distance and is the wavelength of the X-rays. The intensity of the
diffracted beam is measured as a function of the diffraction angle (2) and the specimens
orientation. The diffraction pattern can be used to identify the crystalline phases and their structural
characteristics. XRD is non-destructive and does not require detailed sample preparation.
Homogeneous and inhomogeneous strains in materials can be measured as X-ray intensity
and is dependent on the Bragg angle. Homogeneous or uniform elastic strain shifts the
diffraction peak positions, without change in peak profile. A shift in the X-ray peak positions
indicates a change in d-spacing caused by a change in lattice constants. Inhomogeneous strains
vary from crystallite to crystallite or even within a single crystallite. Since XRD gives averaged
information from all such crystallite volumes, it leads to broadening of the diffraction peaks,
which increases with increase in sin . Peak broadening can also be due to the fine crystallite
size, which is independent of sin . The contribution of crystallite size and lattice strain to peak
broadening can be independently determined by peak profile analysis.
In the absence of inhomogeneous strains, the crystallite size, D, can be estimated from the
peak broadening using Scherrers formula:
D=
K
B Cos B
where is the X-ray wavelength, B is the full width at half maximum (FWHM) height of a
diffraction peak, B is the diffraction angle, and K is Scherrers constant, which is of the order
of unity for a spherical crystal. However, nanoparticles often form twinned structures, and
hence Scherrers formula may not always give true particle sizes. It is also important to note
that X-ray diffraction provides only an average crystallite size. The thickness of epitaxial and
highly textured thin films can also be determined using XRD.
Due to lower energy of the X-ray beam used, the X-ray diffraction intensities are low,
particularly in case of low atomic number materials and hence, detection of phases with small
volume fractions is difficult with XRD. Electron diffraction intensities are usually ~108 times
larger than that for XRD. Figure 5.1 shows the XRD patterns of unmilled and 20-hour milled
Cu powder and that of mechanically alloyed NiCoCrFe equiatomic blend showing significant
peak broadening after milling, indicating the formation of nanocrystallites.
Chapter 5:
Fig. 5.1 XRD patterns of nanocrystalline (a) copper and (b) NiCoCrFe equiatomic alloy obtained by high-energy
ball milling (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
5.2
SMALL ANGLE X-RAY SCATTERING (SAXS)
SAXS is another powerful tool for characterizing nanostructured materials. Strong diffraction
peaks result from constructive interference of X-rays scattered from ordered arrays of atoms
and molecules. A variety of information can be obtained from the angular distribution of
scattered intensity at low angles. Fluctuations in electron density over lengths in the order of
l0 nm or larger are sufficient to produce appreciable scattered X-ray intensities at angles of
2 < 5. These variations can be due to differences in density or composition, or both, and do
not need to be periodic. The amount and angular distribution of scattered intensity provides
information about the size of very small particles or their surface area per unit volume,
regardless of whether the sample or particles are crystalline or amorphous.
For example, consider a composite structure of two phases separated by well-defined
boundaries, such as nanoparticles dispersed in a homogeneous medium. The variation in
electron density can arise due to variation in atomic structure or local variation in their
chemistry. SAXS is the scattering due to the existence of regions of inhomogeneous sizes
ranging from several nanometres to several tens of nanometres, whereas XRD is used to
determine atomic structures of the crystallite phases. In essence, SAXS probes relatively
large-scale structures, in contrast to wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) that deals mainly
with the atomic structure of crystals. SAXS includes not only the diffraction from large
lattice spacing of the order of tens, hundreds or even thousands of interatomic distances, but
also the scattering by perturbed or non-periodic structures of amorphous and mesomorphic
materials.
Since SAXS is very effective in measuring inhomogeneity in the region of 1100 nm, it
has been widely used in the characterization of nanocrystals. SAXS has also been widely
152
used for the determination of size and ordering of mesoporous materials synthesized by
organic-templated condensation. The apparatus for measuring the distribution of small
angle scattering generally employs transmission geometry using a fine monochromatic
radiation beam. SAXS has been employed to characterize a wide spectrum of materials
including biological structures, metallic and non-metallic specimens, composites and
mesoporous materials. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is a useful analytic technique for
the study of aggregated nanopowders, such as fumed
silica and titania. If a wide enough range of scattering
angles is observed, the SAXS analysis results in a
number of average features of such systems, including
the primary particle size (radius of gyration), primary
particle surface area, concentration, mass fractal
dimension of the aggregates, aggregate size and degree
of aggregation.
The size distribution of sub-nanoclusters, which
cannot be easily estimated using TEM, can successfully
be analysed using SAXS. In one study, the size of
icosahedral particles formed by the crystallization of a
ZrPd metallic glass was studied using SAXS. The SAXS
profiles in Fig. 5.2 have been analysed and the results
show that the size of icosahedral spherical particles is
Fig. 5.2 SAXS profile of Zr70 Pd30
in the as melt-spun amorphous
6.5 nm and 6.7 nm, respectively, at 715 K and 725 K,
state and that after crystallization to
which is very close to that measured by TEM. Small
nanocrystalline icosahedral phase at
angle X-ray scattering has also been used for analysing
two different temperatures.
the structure of polymers (electrospun polymer
nanofibres), especially with the use of synchrotron
radiation.
5.3
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (SEM)
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is one of the most popular and widely used techniques
for the characterization of nanomaterials and nanostructures. SEM can be effectively used to
characterize specimens down to a resolution of a few nanometres, with image magnifications
achievable in the range of ~10 to over 300,000. In addition to information on surface topography,
SEM can also provide useful information on chemistry, crystal orientation and internal stress
distribution. SEM consists of an electron gun to emit electrons that are focussed into a beam,
with a very fine spot size of ~5 nm. Electrons are accelerated to energy values in the range of
a few hundred eV to 50 KeV, and rastered over the surface of the specimen by deflection coils.
As the electrons strike and penetrate the surface, a number of interactions that result in the
emission of electrons and photons from the sample occur, and SEM images are produced by
collecting the emitted electrons on a cathode ray tube (CRT). Various SEM techniques are
differentiated on the basis of what is subsequently detected and imaged. The principle images
Chapter 5:
produced in SEM are of three types: secondary electron images, backscattered electron images
and elemental X-ray maps.
5.3.1
Electronmatter interaction
When a high-energy primary electron interacts with an atom, it undergoes either inelastic
scattering with atomic electrons or elastic scattering with the atomic nucleus. In an inelastic
collision with an electron, the primary electron transfers part of its energy to the other electron.
When the energy transferred is large enough, the other electron will emit from the sample. If the
emitted electron has energy of less than 50 eV, it is referred to as a secondary electron (electron
emitted from one of the orbitals of the incident atom). Since the secondary electron energy is
small, the SE images are highly sensitive to topographic variations. Backscattered electrons
are the high-energy incident electrons that are elastically scattered and essentially possess
nearly the same energy as the incident or primary electrons. The probability of backscattering
increases with the atomic number of the sample material. Although backscattering images
cannot be used for elemental identification, useful contrasts can develop between regions of
the specimen that differ widely in atomic number, Z. Hence the BSE image can provide atomic
number contrast in addition to topographic contrast.
An additional electron interaction in SEM is that the primary electron collides with and
ejects a core electron from an atom in the sample. The excited atom will decay to its ground
state by emitting either a characteristic X-ray photon or an Auger electron, both of which
have been used for chemical characterization. The energy of the emitted characteristic X-ray
or Auger electrons are specific to the chemistry of the incident atom and hence study of these
can provide useful information on the chemistry of the sample investigated. By focussing
the electron beam to fine points, it is possible to get localized information on chemistry
variations. However, it should be remembered that such information on characteristic
X-ray (and hence information on chemistry) is generated from a depth of approximately a
micron and hence the information is averaged over this depth although the beam size could be
finer on a lateral scale. Combined with chemical analytical capabilities, SEM not only provides
an image of the morphology and microstructures of bulk and nanostructured materials and
devices, but can also provide detailed information of chemical composition and distribution.
5.3.2
Imaging
The theoretical limit to an instruments resolving power is determined by the wavelengths of

the electron beam used and the numerical aperture about the system. The resolving power,
R, of an instrument is defined as:
R=
2NA
where is the wavelength of electrons used and NA is the numerical aperture, which is engraved
on each objective and condenser lens system, and a measure of the electron gathering ability
154

b
1 m
Fig. 5.3 HRSEM image of nanocrystalline (a) ZnTiO3 and (b) Ni0.8Zn0.2Fe1.98O4. (Source: BS Murty,
IIT Madras).
of the objective, or the electron providing ability of the condenser. Figure 5.3 shows the SEM
images of zinc titanate and NiZn ferrite nanoparticles prepared by high-energy ball milling.
The different aspects of crystallite information that can be investigated using SEM are listed
below:
Topography: The surface features of an object or how it looks; detectable features are limited
to a few manometres.
Morphology: The shape, size and arrangement of the particles making up the object that are
lying on the surface of the sample or have been exposed by grinding or chemical etching;
detectable features limited to a few manometres.
Composition: The elements and compounds the sample is composed of and their relative
ratios, in areas ~ 1 micrometre in diameter and depth.
Crystallographic information: The arrangement of atoms in the specimen and their degree of
order; only useful on single-crystal particles >20 micrometres.
A detailed explanation of how a typical SEM functions is given in Fig. 5.4 (see Plate 5).
1. The electron gun produces a stream of monochromatic electrons.
2. The stream of electrons is condensed by the first condenser lens. The condenser lens not
only forms the beam but also limits the amount of current in the beam. The condenser
lens together with the condenser aperture eliminates the high-angle electrons from the
beam.
3. The condenser aperture constricts the beam and eliminates some high-angle electrons.
4. The second condenser lens focusses the electrons into a thin, tight, coherent beam and
is usually controlled by the fine probe current knob.
5. An objective aperture further eliminates some high-angle electrons from the beam.
6. A set of coils scan the beam in a grid fashion, the period of time for which the beam dwells
on each point is determined by the scan speed (usually in the microsecond range).
7. The final lens, the objective lens, focusses the beam on the desired part of the
specimen.
Chapter 5:
8. When the beam strikes the sample, it interacts with the sample and generates radiations,
which are detected with various instruments.
9. Before the beam moves to its next dwell point, these instruments count the number of
interactions and display a pixel on a CRT, the intensity of which is determined by this
number (the more the reactions, the brighter the pixel).
10. The speed of scanning is such that the entire pattern can be scanned 30 times in a second.
5.4
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (TEM)
Transmission electron microscopy can provide microstructural, crystal structure as well as

micro-chemical information with high spatial resolution from each of the microscopic phases
individually. TEM is therefore a very powerful tool for materials characterization. TEM
studies not only aid in improved insight into structureproperty correlations, but also in alloy
development for improved performance.
In 1924, de Broglie brought out the wave-character of electron rays, which has been the
basis for the construction of the electron microscope. The origin of TEM can be traced to the
development of magenetic solenoid coils to focus cathode rays in high-voltage CRT, mainly to
understand the effect of high-voltage surgessuch as those caused by lighteningon damage
to transmission lines. Although Dennis Gabour from the Technical University, Berlin, was the
first to use iron shrouded coils to focus cathode rays in the innovative CRT built in 192426
towards his PhD, he did not realise their magnetic lens effect until Hans Busch published a
paper in 1926 on the effect of short solenoid coils in focussing electrons. Thus, though Dennis
Gabour was the first to demonstrate the focussing effect of electrons, Busch is still considered
as the father of electron optics.
To observe the image of electrons emitted from a cold cathode on a fluorescent screen,
Ruska and Knoll succeeded in magnifying the image by 17X by using a second solenoid coil
between the first lens and the final plate. This can be considered as the first prototype TEM to
demonstrate the focussing effect of transmitted electrons to form magnified images. In 1935,
Knoll, while studying television camera tubes, succeeded in forming a topographic image
of solid substances using a scanned electron beam with a resolution of about 0.1 mm, thus
establishing the framework for developing the scanning electron microscope.
5.4.1
Advanced techniques of TEM
From the first prototype TEM with an image magnification of 17X, developments in
electronics, electron optics and lens fabrication have resulted in tremendous improvements,
leading to the current dedicated high-resolution TEM capable of sub-Angstrom spatial
resolution with the possibility of recording images of over a million times in magnification.
With field emission gun electron sources and by using aberration corrected lenses,
resolutions less than 0.1 nm have been achieved. In addition, computational abilities have
improved to a point where materials properties can be predicted from computer models that
contain a similar number of atoms, as is observable by high resolution TEM (HRTEM).
156
Transmission electron microscopes are improving rapidly to meet the current requirements
of developing advanced materials for strategic applications and also by an equally fast evolution
of nanotechnology and semiconductor technology. Apart from lattice imaging by HRTEM to
study interfaces, defects and precipitation studies, crystal structure of the individual phases can
also be obtained by selected area and microdiffraction techniques in TEM. Convergent beam
electron diffraction (CBED) can be used to obtain information on symmetry, lattice, strains,
thickness, etc., from localized regions of the crystal. Although symmetry information can also
be obtained from X-ray diffraction, the advantage of CBED is that symmetry information of
individual phases from localized sub-microscopic regions can be obtained along with their
morphology, interface coherency/defect structure and micro-chemistry from associated
techniques in TEM. Micro-chemical information can be obtained by either energy dispersive
analysis of X-rays (EDAX) or by using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). EELS is a
highly sensitive micro-analytical tool with high spatial resolution that can identify low atomic
number elements as well. Apart from elemental concentrations, information on electron
density, density of states and electronic structure as well as site symmetry, radial distribution
functions and specimen thickness can be obtained with high spatial resolution by EELS.
Using a technique called ALCHEMI (Atom Location by CHanelling Enhanced MIcroanalysis)
based on electron channelling effect and used in association with analytical techniques like EDAX
and EELS, it is also possible to identify individual element sites of occupation in ordered crystals.
In fact, current technology has advanced to such a level that it is also possible to remotely operate
the microscope from a control room situated away from the actual microscope via a computer
supported with a web browser and necessary interface. With the feasibility to obtain information
on the entire gamut of material including microstructure, crystal structure, symmetry, lattice
strain, interface lattice structure, micro-chemistry, bonding state of constituent elements in
the phase, etc., TEM is an inevitable tool in the development and characterization of advanced
materials. TEM is commonly used for studying defects in crystals.
In contrast to X-rays, electron beams can be focussed using magnetic fields and can hence
be used for imaging. Magnetic fields can be used as convex lenses for the electron waves. As
with conventional optical lenses, the lens aberrations are difficult to correct even in magnetic
lenses. However, the intensity distribution of the electron waves leaving the specimen can be
magnified by an electron optical system and resolutions of < 0.1 nm are possible.
Inelastic and elastic scattering are two ways in which electrons interact with the material.
Inelastic scattering (leading eventually to absorption) must be minimized to obtain good
image contrast, since it contains no local information. The electron beam then gets elastically
scattered (diffraction). The lattice defects modulate the amplitude and phase of the incident
and diffracted beams.
In TEM, an electron beam with energy of 100 keV or more (up to 3 MeV) is allowed to
go through a thin specimen (less than 200 nm). TEM offers special resolution down to an
Angstrom, high magnifications up to 106 and it can work as a microscope and a diffractometer.
Keeping inelastic scattering of the electrons small has supremacy; this demands specimen
thickness between 10 nm and 1 m. The resolution depends on the thickness; high-resolution
TEM (HRTEM) demands specimen thickness in the nanometre region.
Chapter 5:
5.4.2
Quantitative analysis using TEM
Practically all detailed information about extended defects comes from TEM investigations
which not only show the defects but, using proper theory, provides quantitative information
about say, strain fields. The electron-optical system not only serves to magnify the intensity
(and, in HRTEM, the phase) distribution of the electron waves leaving the specimen, but, at
the press of a switch, provides electron diffraction patterns. Figure 5.4 (see Plate 5) shows the
basic electro-optical design of a TEM.
By tilting the specimen relative to the incident electron beam, it is possible to satisfy
the Bragg condition either for many or just two or none of the reciprocal lattice vectors g.
The preferred condition for regular imaging is the two-beam case with only one reflex
excitedthe Bragg condition is only satisfied for one point in the reciprocal lattice or
one diffraction vector g [usually with small Miller indices, e.g., {111} or {220}]. The main
challenge in any TEM investigation is specimen preparation. Obtaining specimens thin
enough and containing the defects to be investigated in the right geometry (e.g., in cross
section) is a big task. TEMs are patterned after transmission light microscopes and will yield
the following information.
Morphology: The size, shape and arrangement of the particles which make up the specimen as
well as their relationship to each other on the scale of atomic diameters.
Crystallographic information: The arrangement of atoms in the specimen and their degree of
order, detection of atomic-scale defects in areas a few nanometres in diameter.
Compositional information: The elements and compounds the sample is composed of and
their relative ratios, in areas a few nanometres in diameter.
5.4.3
Functioning of a TEM
The functioning of a TEM is similar to a slide projector in some respects. A projector shines
(transmits) a beam of light through the slide; as the light passes through it is affected by
the structures and objects on the slide. This causes only some part of the light beam to be
transmitted through some part of the slide. This transmitted beam is then projected on the
viewing screen, forming an enlarged image of the slide. A more technical explanation of the
working of a typical TEM is as follows (Fig. 5.4, see Plate 5):
1. The electron gun at the top of the microscope produces a stream of monochromatic
electrons.
2. This stream is focussed to a small, thin, coherent beam by the use of condenser lenses
1 and 2. The first lens determines the spot size, the size of the electron beam that strikes
the sample. The second lens changes the size of the spot from a wide dispersed spot to a
pinpoint beam on the sample.
3. The beam is restricted by the condenser aperture (usually user selectable), knocking out
high-angle electrons (those far from the optic axis, the dotted line down the centre).
4. A part of the beam that strikes the specimen is transmitted.
5. This transmitted portion is focussed by the objective lens into an image.
158
6. Optional objective and selected area metal apertures can restrict the beamthe objective
aperture enhancing contrast by blocking out high-angle diffracted electrons, and the
selected area aperture enabling the user to examine the periodic diffraction of electrons
by ordered arrangements of atoms in the sample.
7. The image is passed down the column through the intermediate and projector lenses,
being enlarged all the way.
8. When the beams strike the phosphor image screen light is generated, which causes
the image to be visible to the operator. The area through which very few electrons are
transmitted look darker (they are thicker or denser). The lighter areas of the image
represent those areas of the sample through which more electrons were transmitted
(they are thinner or less dense).
When the electron beam passes through the specimen, its interaction with the electrons
present in the specimen generates a variety of radiation, which can give a lot of information
about the specimen. Elastic scattering gives diffraction patterns and no energy is lost in this
process. Inelastic interaction of the electron beam with the electrons at dislocations, grain
boundaries, and second-phase particles, in the sample can lead to changes in the intensity of
the transmitted electrons. Both elastic and inelastic scattering can give immense information
about the sample.
The high magnification or resolution of TEM is a result of the small effective electron
wavelengths, , which is given by the de Broglie relationship:
=
h
2mqV
where m and q are the electron mass and charge, h is Plancks constant, and V is the potential
difference through which electrons are accelerated. For example, electrons of 100 keV energy have
wavelengths of 0.37 nm and are capable of effectively transmitting through ~ 0.6 m of silicon.
The higher the operating voltage of a TEM instrument, the greater its lateral spatial resolution.
The theoretical instrumental point-to-point resolution is proportional to 3/4. High-voltage
TEM instruments (for example, 400 kV) have point-to-point resolutions better than 0.2 nm.
High-voltage TEM instruments have the additional advantage of greater electron penetration,
because high-energy electrons interact less strongly with matter than lower energy electrons.
So it is possible to work with thicker samples on a high-voltage TEM. Unfortunately, the depth
resolution of TEM is poor. Electron scattering information in a TEM image originates from a
three-dimensional sample, but is projected on a two-dimensional detector.
5.4.4
TEM specimen preparation
Preparation of samples that are thin enough for electron transparency is a difficult task;
however, it is much easier for nanomaterials. Selected area diffraction (SAD) offers a unique
capability to determine the crystal structure of individual nanomaterials, such as nanocrystals
and nanorods, and the crystal structures of different parts of a sample. In SAD, the condenser
lens is defocussed to produce parallel illumination at the specimen and a selected area aperture
Chapter 5:
is used to limit the diffracting volume. SAD patterns are often used to determine the Bravais
lattices and lattice parameters of crystalline materials by the same procedure used in XRD.
Although TEM has no inherent ability to distinguish atomic species, electron scattering is
exceedingly sensitive to the target element and various spectroscopy techniques are developed
for the analysis of chemical composition.
TEM has also been used to determine the melting points of nanocrystals. Heating
of a nanocrystal by the electron beam can
cause melting, which can be identified by the
disappearance of crystalline diffraction. TEM
has also been used to measure the mechanical
and electrical properties of individual nanowires
and nanotubes. Thus, one can develop structure
property correlations in nanomaterials. Figure 5.5
shows nano-quasicrystalline particles in a Zr alloy.
High-resolution TEM (HRTEM) is the ultimate
tool for imaging atomic-scale defects. In favourable
cases, it shows a two-dimensional projection of the
50 nm
crystal with defects and other features. Of course,
this only makes sense if the two-dimensional
Fig. 5.5 Nano-quasicrystalline particles
projection is down some low-index direction, when
in Zr-Cu-Al-O alloy. (Source: BS Murty, IIT
atoms are exactly on top of each other. Consider a
Madras).
very thin slice of a crystal that has been tilted such
that a low-index direction is exactly perpendicular
to the electron beam. All lattice planes nearly
parallel to the electron beam will be close enough
to the Bragg position and will diffract the primary
beam. The diffraction pattern can be considered
as the Fourier transform of the periodic electron
potential in crystals. In the objective lens, all
diffracted beams and the primary beam are brought
together again; their interference provides a backAmorphous
transformation and leads to an enlarged image of
the periodic potential. This image is magnified by
the following electron-optical system and is finally
seen on the screen at typical magnifications of 106
(Fig. 5.6) or higher.
FCC-Al
5.5
ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY (AFM)
AFM is a high-resolution imaging technique that

can resolve features as small as an atomic lattice in
the real space. It is also commonly referred to as
2 nm
Fig. 5.6 High-resolution TEM image of

amorphous nano-pockets in ultrafine-grained
Al. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
160
scanning probe microscope (SPM). It allows researchers to both observe as well as manipulate
molecular- and atomic-level features. The AFM is being used to solve processing and materials
problems in a wide range of technologies affecting the electronics, telecommunications,
biological, chemical, automotive, aerospace and energy industries. Almost every material
ranging from polymers to ceramics to composites are being investigated using AFM. AFM
can be handy in studying the effect of processing/synthesis parameters on the microstructure
of the specimen as well as to study the effect of the external environment like chemical or
mechanical forces on material behaviour. AFM involves measurement of surface atomic forces
in the range of a few nano-Newtons to image the surface topography. Figure 5.7 shows the
schematic diagram of an atomic force microscope.
Gerd Binnig and Christoph Gerber invented the AFM in 1985 for which they were awarded
the Nobel Prize. The AFM works on the principle of a cantilever, where a small hook is attached
to one end of the cantilever and the force between the tip and sample is measured by tracking
the deflection of the cantilever as the hook is pressed against the sample surface. This was done
by monitoring the tunnelling current to a second tip positioned above the cantilever. Lateral
features as small as 30 nm could be seen. The breakthrough in the production of tips/probes
has made AFM a reality rather than a curiosity. The first tip prepared was a silicon microcantilever, and using it the atomic structure of boron nitride was observed. Today, most of
the tips are microfabricated from Si or Si3N4. With the imaging of silicon (111) surface, AFM
became very popular.
In AFM, a very small force of the order of <109 N is used between the tip and the
sample surface. In AFM, the force is not directly measured, but the deflection of the
micro-cantilever or the probe/tip is monitored. The first device introduced by Binnig was
Fig. 5.7 Schematic showing the principle of atomic force microscope (AFM). (Source: http://commons.wikimedia.
org/wiki/File:AFMsetup.jpg)
Chapter 5:
a tunnelling tip placed above the metallized surface of the cantilever. This is a sensitive
system where a change in spacing of 0.1 nm between the tip and the cantilever changes the
tunnelling current by an order of magnitude. It is straightforward to measure deflections
smaller than 0.001 nm.
The AFMs that came later are based on optical principles. Small changes in the tilt of the tip
can cause changes in optical scattering, which influences the interference pattern and hence
the surface can be studied for force variations. In this technique, light is reflected from the
surface of the cantilever onto a position-sensitive detector. Thus, even a small deflection of the
cantilever will cause a tilt in the reflected light, changing the position of the beam falling on
the detector. In another optics-based AFM, the tip acts as one of the mirrors of a diode laser.
Any change in the position of the cantilever influences the laser output, which is exploited
by the detector. Based on the interaction of the tip with the sample surface, the AFM can be
classified as repulsive or contact mode and attractive or non-contact mode. Tapping mode is
more widely used.
In the AFM, an atomically sharp tip is scanned over a surface with feedback mechanisms
that enable the piezoelectric scanners to maintain the tip at either
1. a constant force (to obtain height information), or
2. at constant height (to obtain force information) above the sample surface.
Tips are typically made from Si3N4 or Si, and extended down from the end of a cantilever. In
the nanoscope AFM, the tip is attached below a reflective cantilever. A diode laser is focussed
on this reflective cantilever. The tip moves on the surface of the sample up and down, tracing
the contour of the surface and the laser beam is deflected off the cantilever into a photodiode.
The photodetector measures the difference in light intensity between the upper and lower
photodetectors, and then converts to voltage. Feedback from the photodiode helps the tip to
work in a constant force or a constant height mode. In the constant force mode, the deviation
in height is monitored by a piezotransducer. In the constant height mode, the AFM records
the deflection force on the sample.
In some AFMs, samples as large as 200 mm wafers can be studied. The primary purpose of
these instruments is to quantitatively measure surface roughness with a nominal 5 nm lateral
and 0.01 nm vertical resolution on all types of samples. In some AFMs, the sample is translated
under the cantilever, while in others the cantilever is moved over the sample. Both these
methods can be used to measure the local height of the sample. Plotting of the local sample
height as a function of horizontal tip position can give three-dimensional topographical maps
of the surface. The concept of resolution in AFM is different from radiation-based microscopy
techniques because AFM imaging is a three-dimensional imaging technique. Resolution of
the images in optical-based techniques is limited by diffraction, while that in scanning probe
techniques is controlled by probe and sample geometry. Usually the width of a DNA molecule
is loosely used as a measure of resolution, because it has a known diameter of 2.0 nm in the
B form. Some of the best values of resolution for AFM imaging are 3.0 nm based on the
DNA in propanol. Unfortunately, this definition of resolution can be misleading because the
sample height clearly affects this value.
162
5.5.1
Comparison of AFM and other imaging techniques
AFM versus STM It is interesting to compare AFM and its precursor, scanning tunnelling
microscopy. In some cases, the resolution of STM is better than AFM because of the exponential
dependence of the tunnelling current on distance. Only conducting samples can be studied by
STM, while AFM can be applied to both conducting and non-conducting samples. AFM is
more versatile than STM. In AFM, the voltage and tip-to-substrate spacing can be controlled
independently, while in STM these two parameters are connected.
AFM versus SEM Compared with the scanning electron microscope, AFM provides
extraordinary topographic contrast, direct height measurements and unobscured views of
surface features (no coating is necessary) (Fig. 5.8). Both these techniques measure surface
topography. However, both types of microscopes can also measure other surface physical
properties. SEM is preferred for measuring chemical composition and AFM for measuring
mechanical properties of surfaces.
AFM versus TEM Compared with the transmission electron microscope, three-dimensional
AFM images are obtained without expensive sample preparation and yield far more complete
information than the two-dimensional profiles available from cross-sectioned samples.
AFM versus optical microscope Compared with the optical interferometric microscope
(optical profiles), AFM provides unambiguous measurement of step heights, independent of
reflectivity differences between materials.
5.5.2
The common AFM modes
Many AFM modes have appeared for special purposes while the technique of AFM is becoming
mature. Three commonly used techniques are discussed here: contact mode, non-contact
mode and tapping mode.
Fig. 5.8
Comparison of AFM and SEM.
Chapter 5:
Contact mode
Figure 5.9 shows the different contact modes of atomic force microscopy. The most common
configuration in contact mode is where the tip is in close contact with the surface being
scanned. A repulsive force of about 109 N is applied on the tip. A piezoelectric positioning
element pushes the tip against the sample surface. The deflection of the tip is sensed and
compared with a desired value in contact mode AFM. Whenever the measured value does not
match the desired value, a voltage is applied to the piezo to change the vertical position of the
sample relative to the tip to restore the desired value of deflection. Thus, the voltage applied to
the piezo is a measure of the height and depth of features on the surface of the sample. A few
instruments operate in UHV but the majority of them operate in ambient atmosphere, or in
liquids.
The effect of the impressed force on the surface by the tip can lead to constraints, for
example, while studying biological specimens or the effect of adsorbed layers. This can to some
extent be minimized by reducing the tracking force of the probe on the sample. Under ambient
conditions, sample surfaces are covered by a layer of adsorbed gases consisting primarily of
water vapour and nitrogen which is 1030 monolayers thick. When the tip comes in contact
with this contaminant layer, it is pulled by surface tension towards the sample surface. The
magnitude of the force depends on the details of the probe geometry, but is typically in the
order of 100 nano-Newtons. This meniscus force and other attractive forces may be neutralised
by operating with the probe and part or the entire sample stays totally immersed in liquid.
Operating the AFM with the sample and cantilever immersed in a fluid has a number of
advantages, such as, elimination of capillary forces, reduction of van der Waals forces and
liquidsolid interfaces can be studied. However, there could be problems such as liquid
leakage, sample damage, etc. All these effects can lead to difficulty in imaging or to destruction
of the cantilever probe. Non-contact mode is a preferred technique for imaging such
specimens.
Non-contact mode
The non-contact mode of AFM investigation has opened up a new era in imaging by offering
far greater versatility in imaging surfaces without fear of damage to surface features or the tip.
In this mode, the cantilever tip is placed at a height of about 515 nm above the sample surface.
Fig. 5.9 The different contact modes of atomic force microscopy: (a) contact, (b) non-contact and (c) intermittent.
(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Afm_modes_12-10.png).
164
The topographic image of the surface is obtained based on the van der Waals forces acting
between the tip and the sample. However, these van der Waals forces are weaker than those
used in the contact mode. In order to overcome this problem, a small oscillation is given to the
tip to detect the small forces between the tip and the sample surface by monitoring the change
in amplitude, phase and frequency of the oscillating tip. For highest resolution, it is necessary
to measure force gradients from van der Waals forces, which may extend only a nanometre
inward from the sample surface. However, as the fluid contaminant layer is substantially
thicker than the van der Waals force gradient, the oscillating probe can get trapped in the fluid
layer, making imaging with the non-contact tip very difficult.
Tapping mode
The tapping mode helps overcome a few constraints of the contact and non-contact modes
of imaging and is a potential technique that allows high-resolution topographic imaging of
sample surfaces. The tapping mode overcomes problems associated with friction, adhesion,
electrostatic forces and other difficulties that plague conventional AFM scanning methods. In
this mode, the tip is oscillated at or near its resonant frequency using a piezoelectric crystal.
The piezo makes the tip oscillate with a high amplitude (>20 nm) when the latter is not in
contact with the surface. The tip is carefully lowered to bring it in contact with the surface such
that it touches it lightly; the oscillating nature of the tip causes the tip to be in contact with the
surface and then lift off. The cantilever usually taps the surface at a frequency of about 50,000
to 500,000 cycles per second. Whenever the oscillating tip comes in contact with the surface,
its oscillation is reduced due to energy loss. The change in oscillation amplitude is used to
identify surface features.
A feedback loop ensures that the cantilever oscillation amplitude is constant during the
tapping mode. When the tip passes over a surface protrusion or depression, the amplitude
of oscillation decreases or increases, respectively. The digital feedback loop then adjusts the
tipsample separation to maintain constant amplitude and force on the sample.
When the tip is in contact with the surface, the high frequency (50k500 kHz) makes
the surfaces stiff (viscoelastic), and the tipsample adhesion force is greatly reduced. The
tapping mode inherently prevents the tip from sticking to the surface and causing damage
during scanning. In the tapping mode, unlike the other two modes, the tip in contact with
the surface has sufficient oscillation amplitude to overcome the tipsample adhesion forces.
In addition, as the force is applied vertically the shear forces are negligible and hence the
surface material is not pulled sideways. Another advantage of the tapping mode technique is
its large, linear operating range, which allows reproducible sample measurements.
In tapping mode operation, imaging in a fluid medium tends to damp the tips resonant
frequency. As the cantilever comes into contact with the surface, there is a sharp decrease in the
amplitude of the cantilever oscillation. The oscillating frequency in fluids is normally about 5000
to 40,000 cycles per second. The spring constant is typically 0.1 N/m compared to the tapping
mode in air where the cantilever may be in the range of 1100 N/m. This results in improved
imaging in fluids.
Chapter 5:
The AFM has inspired a variety of other scanning probe techniques. In the earlier part of
its development, the AFM was primarily used to understand the topography of surfaces. In
recent years, the tip has been modified to measure electric and magnetic properties, chemical
potentials, and friction, and even to carry out spectroscopic analysis. The AFM is most often
compared with electron beam techniques such as the SEM or TEM. In general, it is easier to
learn to use an AFM than an SEM, because there is minimal sample preparation required with
an AFM. In AFM, the quality of the image depends to a large extent on the quality of the tip.
The following table compares the features of AFM with that of TEM/SEM.
Samples
Magnification
Environment
Time for image
Horizontal resolution
Vertical resolution
Field of view
Depth of field
Contrast on flat samples
SEM/TEM
Must be conductive
Two-dimensional
Vacuum
0.11 minute
0.2 nm (TEM)
5 nm (FE-SEM)
n/a
100 nm (TEM)
1 mm (SEM)
Good
Poor
AFM
Insulating/Conductive
Three-dimensional
Vacuum/Air/Liquid
15 minute
0.2 nm
.05 nm
100 m
Poor
Good
The AFM can easily visualize nanoparticles ranging from a few nanometres to a few
microns. It is possible to measure the size of individual nanoparticles as well as measure the
parameter distribution of an ensemble of nanoparticles. Parameters such as particle size,
volume, circumference and surface area are readily measured. One of the major challenges to
measuring nanoparticles is developing methods for distributing the nanoparticles on a surface.
Figure 5.10 (see Plate 5) shows the AFM image of a CuTa nanocomposite.
The AFM offers visualization in three dimensions. Resolution in the vertical or z-axis is
limited by the vibration environment of the instrument: whereas resolution in the horizontal
or xy-axis is limited by the diameter of the tip used for scanning. Typically, AFM instruments
have vertical resolutions of less than 0.1 nm and xy-resolutions of around 1 nm.
Software-based image processing of AFM data can generate quantitative information from
individual nanoparticles and between groups of nanoparticles. For individual particles, size
information (length, width and height) and other physical properties (such as morphology
and surface texture) can be measured. Statistics such as particle size distribution on a group of
particles can also be measured.
5.6
SCANNING TUNNELLING MICROSCOPE (STM)
The scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) developed by Dr Gerd Binnig and his colleagues in
1981 at the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, Ruschlikon, Switzerland, is the first instrument
capable of directly obtaining three-dimensional (3D) images of solid surfaces with atomic
166
resolution. STMs have been used for the formation of nano-features by localized heating or by
inducing chemical reactions under the STM tip and nano-machining. AFMs have been used for
nano-fabrication and nano-machining. STMs and AFMs are used at extreme magnifications
ranging from 103 to 109 in the x-, y- and z-directions for imaging macro to atomic dimensions
with high resolution information and for spectroscopy. These instruments can be used in any
environment such as ambient air, various gases, liquids, vacuum, at low temperatures (lower
than about 100 K) and high temperatures.
The principle of electron tunnelling was proposed by Giaever. He envisioned that if a
potential difference is applied to two metals separated by a thin insulating film, a current will
flow because of the ability of electrons to penetrate a potential barrier. Although small, there
is a finite probability for tunnelling. To be able to measure a tunnelling current, the two metals
must be spaced no more than 10 nm apart. The tunnelling current is highly sensitive to the
separation distance between tip and sample; it decreases exponentially with increase in tip
sample separation distance. This factor is crucial in ensuring the excellent vertical resolution
of STM (less than 0.1 nm). Tunnelling current decreases by a factor of 2 as the separation
is increased by 0.2 nm. Very high lateral resolution depends upon sharp tips. Binnig and
his group overcame two key obstacles for damping external vibrations and for moving the
tunnelling probe in close proximity to the sample. Their instrument is called the scanning
tunnelling microscope (STM). Todays STMs can be used in the ambient environment for
atomic-scale images of surfaces.
The principle of the STM is straightforward. A sharp metal tip (one electrode of the tunnel
junction) is brought close enough (0.31 nm) to the surface to be investigated (the second
electrode), such that, at a convenient operating voltage (10 mV1 V), the tunnelling current
varies from 0.2 to 10 nA, which is measurable. The tip is scanned over a surface at a distance
of 0.31 nm, while the tunnelling current between it and the surface is measured. In STM,
a conductive tip placed above the surface of a sample moves on the sample surface with its
height being adjusted continuously to keep the tunnelling current constant. The tip position
is monitored to map the surface topography of the sample. Figure 5.11 schematically depicts
an STM structure. A sharp tip of tungsten or PtIr alloy is mounted on a three-dimensional
positioning stage. The tip movement above the sample surface in three dimensions is controlled
by piezoelectric arrays. The distance between the tip and the sample is around 0.2 and 0.6
nm, which generates a tunnelling current of about 0.1l0 nA. The spacial resolution is about
0.01 nm in the x- and y- directions and about 0.002 nm in the z-direction, which leads to a true
atomic resolution in three dimensions.
5.6.1 Modes of operation
STM is commonly operated in two modes. One of them is constant current imaging, in which
a constant current is maintained between the sample and tip. During the movement of the
tip over the sample surface, the vertical position of the tip is changed to maintain a constant
separation between the two. Since the tunnelling current is sensitive to distance, constant
current imaging will provide excellent surface topographic contrast of the surface atom
contours. In contrast to the constant current mode, constant tip position results in variations
Chapter 5:
Fig. 5.11
Schematic of scanning tunnelling microscope.
in tunnelling current due to changes in tip separation distance brought about by the 3D
topographic features of the surface atoms. In the constant current mode, the contrast is related
to electron charge density profiles, while faster scan rates are possible in the constant height
mode. STM was first developed by Binnig and Rohrer in 1982, and its atomic-scale resolution
was first demonstrated on an image of silicon. After etching the oxide with an HF solution,
the (111) silicon wafer was immediately transferred to the STM in a UHV chamber. Repeated
heating to 900C in a vacuum not exceeding 3 108 Pa resulted in effective sublimation of
the SiO layer grown during the transfer, resulting in a clean surface. Only unidirectional scans
were recorded to avoid the non-linear effects of the scanning piezoelectric drives.
Families of instruments based on STMs and AFMs, called scanning probe microscopes
(SPMs), have been developed for various applications of scientific and industrial interest.
These include STM, AFM, FFM (or LFM), scanning electrostatic force microscopy (SEFM),
scanning force acoustic microscopy (SFAM) or atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM),
scanning magnetic microscopy (SMM) or magnetic force microscopy (MFM), scanning
near field optical microscopy (SNOM), scanning thermal microscopy (SThM), scanning
electrochemical microscopy (SEcM), scanning Kelvin Probe microscopy (SKPM), scanning
chemical potential microscopy (SCPM), scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM), and
scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM). Families of instruments that measure forces (e.g.,
AFM, FFM, SEFM, SFAM and SMM) are also referred to as scanning force microscopy (SFM).
Although these instruments offer atomic resolution and are ideal for basic research, they are
168
used for cutting-edge industrial applications which do not require atomic resolution. There are
a number of commercial STMs available in the market.
The STM operates in both constant height and constant current modes depending on a
parameter selection in the control panel. In the constant current mode, the feedback gains are
set high, the tunnelling tip closely tracks the sample surface, and the variation in tip height
required to maintain constant tunnelling current is measured by the change in the voltage
applied to the piezo tube. In the constant height mode, the feedback gains are set low, the tip
remains at a nearly constant height as it sweeps over the sample surface, and the tunnelling
current is imaged.
5.6.2
STM conguration
Physically, the STM consists of three main parts: the head, which houses the piezoelectric
tube scanner for three-dimensional motion of the tip and the pre-amplifier circuit (FET input
amplifier) mounted on top of the head for the tunnelling current, the base on which the sample
is mounted, and the base support, which supports the base and head. The base accommodates
samples up to 10 mm 20 mm and 10 mm in thickness. Scan sizes available for the STM are
0.7 m (for atomic resolution), 12 m, 75 m and 125 m square. The three-dimensional
movement of the tip is controlled by the scanning head. The removable head consists of a piezo
tube scanner, about 12.7 mm in diameter, mounted into an invar shell used to minimize vertical
thermal drifts because of a good thermal match between the piezotube and the invar. The
piezo tube has separate electrodes for x, y and z, movement which are driven by separate drive
circuits.
The electrode configuration provides x- and y- motions that are perpendicular to each
other, minimises horizontal and vertical coupling, and provides good sensitivity. The vertical
motion of the tube is controlled by the Z electrode, which is driven by the feedback loop.
The x- and y-scanning motions are each controlled by two electrodes, which are driven by
voltages of the same magnitude, but opposite signs. These electrodes are called Y, X, +Y,
and +X. The tip holder is a stainless steel tube with a 300 m inner diameter for 250 m
diameter tips, mounted in ceramic in order to keep the mass on the end of the tube low. The
tip is mounted either on the front edge of the tube (to keep mounting mass low and resonant
frequency high) or the centre of the tube for large range scanners, namely 75 m and 125 m
(to preserve the symmetry of the scanning). This commercial STM accepts any tip with a 250
m diameter shaft. The piezo tube requires XY calibration, which is carried out by imaging
an appropriate calibration standard. Cleaved graphite is used for the small-scan length head
while two-dimensional grids (a gold-plated ruling) can be used for longer range heads.
Characterization of monolayers of nanoparticles using many characterization techniques,
like SEM or TEM, is difficult due to the limitations of the resolution offered by the techniques
used. Scanning probe techniques have made it possible to investigate the surfaces of materials
at the atomic level. In addition, with scanning tunnelling spectroscopy, the electronic structure
of surfaces can be studied at molecular level. Though several techniques are used to study
such functionalized metal nanoparticles, STM/STS is a unique tool because it enables the
topographic and local electronic properties of these films to be investigated with atomic
Chapter 5:
and near-atomic resolution. Two main properties which can be studied with tunnelling
spectroscopy on nanoparticles are density of states on isolated nanoparticles and Coulomb
blockade and Coulomb staircase phenomena due to charging of the nanoparticles.
5.7
FIELD ION MICROSCOPE (FIM)
Using FIM, individual atoms were observed for the first time. It was developed from its
forerunner, the field emission microscope. The specimen prepared in the form of a sharp needle
is mounted on an electrically insulated stage. The sample is cooled to cryogenic temperatures
in the range of 20100 K (Fig. 5.12, see Plate 6). The field ion image of the tip of a specimen is
observed on a microchannel plate and phosphor screen. An imaging gas is used to produce a
field ion image. Neon, helium, hydrogen and argon are the common gases used, and the type
of image gas used depends on the material being studied.
The field ion image is produced by the projection of image gas atoms that are ionised by the
high positive voltage on the specimen onto the fluorescent screen. The image gas atoms in the
vicinity of the specimen are polarized because of the high field and then attracted to the apex
region of the specimen. These gas atoms collide with the specimen tip and lose a large part
of their kinetic energy. If the field is sufficiently high, these image gas atoms are field ionised
by a quantum-mechanical tunnelling process. These ions are repelled from the surface of the
specimen towards the microchannel plate and phosphor screen. The image intensifier of the
microchannel plate produces about 103 to 104 electrons for each incident ion. These electrons
generate an image on the phosphor screen. Figure 5.13 shows the FIM image of a platinum tip.
Each bright spot in the image corresponds to a platinum atom.
A very important area of application of
FIM and atom-probe is the micro-analysis
of nanomaterials, especially alloys. It is now
possible to obtain 3D chemically separated
images of nanomaterial structures with
atomic resolution and to relate the structure
to the mechanical property of these materials.
Other important areas of applications are in
surface and nanoscience and surface analysis,
and also in the development of various field
emission sources, including field emission
flat panel display and field ionisation and
liquid metal ion sources. The major constraint
for wide application of FIM is the stringent
requirement for sample preparation, need for
cryogenic cooling that can cause instability
Fig. 5.13 Field ion microscope image of
of certain structures, and need for ultrahigh
platinum. (Source: http://commons.wikimedia.
electric field for imaging which limits the
org/wiki/File:FIM-platinum.jpg).
material applicability. However, for certain
170
applications, field ion microscopy continues to make unique and valuable contributions that
are difficult with other types of atomic resolution microscopy.
Field evaporation is the phenomena by which atoms are ionized in the presence of extremely
high electric fields of the order of a few V/nm. Application of a high voltage to a sharp needlelike specimen can generate such high electric fields. Thus, field evaporation can be observed
only in field ion microscopy or scanning tunnelling microscopy. Evaporation (ionization) of
the atoms start when the electric field is much higher than the field to image FIM. Atom probe
measures the time-of-flight of the ions field evaporated from the surface of the FIM tip by
controlled application of high frequency pulses.
In the field ion image of a metal surface, individually imaged atoms appear within such
a wide range of brightness and size that discrimination between chemically different atom
species is usually impossible. With the introduction of the atom probe, field ion microscopy
assumes a new dimension by providing the mass-spectrometric identification of a single atom
or of the constituents of a small surface area that can be selected from the ion image by the
observer. The essential feature of the instrument is the combination of the field ion microscope
with the time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The tip is easily exchangeable, can be heated
in situ, and can be manipulated to allow any part of the image to fall onto the probe hole. All
crystallographic regions are accessible through an external, bellow-sealed ball-bearing mount,
while the cold finger, designed to be used with liquid nitrogen, is stationary. The image gas can
be supplied dynamically, and the He, Ne, Ar or H ion image is brightly displayed on a 3-inch
diameter microchannel ionelectron converter.
The atom probe is a micro-analytical tool of ultimate sensitivity, requiring only one atom for
analysis. In metallography it offers itself for the identification of the individual impurity atoms as
they are seen in the field ion microscope as interstitials, or segregated to grain boundaries and
dislocation cores. The analysis of ordered alloys and precipitation of nuclei is straightforward.
Bulk constituents are revealed using the layer-by-layer sectioning of the specimen by field
evaporation. Field corrosion products and surface adsorption species can be identified. The
specimen is cooled to below 100 K in high vacuum. It is the phenomena occurring at high electric
field that are the basis of operation of the FIM and also in the atom probe.
5.8
THREE-DIMENSIONAL ATOM PROBE (3DAP)
Atom probe microscopy was first performed in 1951 by EW Mller at The Pennsylvania State
University when he imaged individual atoms with a field ion microscope. He imaged the
atomic structure of a tungsten tip and could illustrate that each bright spot corresponds to a
single atom. Since that time, enormous progress has been made in instrumentation, especially
in signal detection and processing. The most recent advance is the 3D atom probe technique
(3DAP), which is now firmly established. In 1988 Cerezo, Godfrey and Smith at the University
of Oxford applied a position sensitive detector to a time-of-flight atom probe, thus determining
both the mass-to-charge ratio and the position of the ions simultaneously. This new instrument,
which they called the position sensitive atom probe (PoSAP), enabled two-dimensional element
mapping with sub-nanometre spatial resolution. Reconstruction of a series of two-dimensional
Chapter 5:
maps makes it possible to reconstruct a three-dimensional element map, and hence this new
generation of atom probes is generally called three-dimensional atom probe (3DAP).
By measuring the time of flight and the coordinates of ions using a PSD, it is possible to map
out two-dimensional elemental distributions with near-atomic resolution. The lateral spatial
resolution is limited by the evaporation aberration that occurs during the ionization of atoms
on the surface. However, the error originating from the evaporation aberration does not exceed
0.2 nm, and this is still the lowest of the errors achieved by existing analytical instruments. The
elemental maps can be extended to the depth direction by ionising atoms from the surface
of the specimen continuously, by which atom distribution can be reconstructed in a threedimensional real space. Since field evaporation occurs layer-by-layer in low index planes, the
reconstructed 3D elemental map shows the layers corresponding to the atomic planes in the
depth direction. Currently, the atom probe is used routinely to examine materials literally on
an atom-by-atom basis.
3DAP allows the analysis of cylindrical parts of a specimen (with a diameter of about 30 nm
and a length of about 200 nm), probing atom by atom through the specimen. The technique
has enormous potential for understanding the fundamental aspects of materials science,
including segregation at grain boundaries, processes of nucleation in materials, radiationinduced defects, and decomposition of materials. Impressive results were also obtained on the
thermal stability and interdiffusion in thin films. An example of the ultrafine-scale information
available with the 3DAP technique is shown in Fig. 5.14, which represents the atomic imaging
of a -phase precipitate formed in an Al alloy. Segregation to the surface of the precipitate
can easily be recognized. The example illustrates the detailed, ultrahigh-resolution chemical
information that is available with an advanced 3DAP. Figure 5.14 also shows the elemental
Fig. 5.14
Elemental maps obtained in 3DAP from a Zr alloy. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
172
maps of Zr, Cu, Al and O obtained from 3DAP of a Zr alloy, which shows oxygen segregation
into a quasicrystalline particle. This technique could establish that oxygen stabilises the nanoquasicrystalline phase.
5.9
NANOINDENTATION
Nanoindentation is a relatively new technique to obtain mechanical properties of nanometric

regions by studying the stressstrain behaviour when a nano-indentor is impressed against the
specimen of interest. Usually scanning force microscope (SFM) tips are used both to perform
the indentation and to image the sample surface after indentation. The depth of indentation
is measured as a function of the force (stress) applied. The mechanical properties including
elastic constants can be derived from such loadingunloading curves. A diamond indenter
with a small radius of curvature at its tip is generally used. This nanoindentation device
can be mounted on the scanner head of the AFM in place of the cantilever. The principle
of nanoindentation is similar to other indentation hardness testers, in which an indentor is
forced into the material being tested, forming an indent. The hardness is taken as the ratio
of load and the area of contact between the sample and the indenter. In nanoindentation, the
contact area is measured by a depth-sensing technique. During the test, both the load and the
displacement of the indenter are recorded. The loaddisplacement curve is used to calculate
the contact area at maximum load. This presents the problems related to the measurement of
extremely small contact areas.
With the help of a nano-indentor, one can measure the elastic modulus also, in addition to
hardness. These two properties are a measure of resistance offered by the material to elastic
and plastic deformation, respectively. The use of the AFM along with nanoindentation helps
in positioning of the tip with accuracy within 20 nm (Fig. 5.15).
In nanoindentation, small loads and tip sizes are used, so that the indentation area
may measure only a few square micrometres or even nanometres. Due to this, a typical
problem is that the contact area is not easily found. Atomic force microscopy or scanning
electron microscopy techniques may be utilised to image the indentation, but can be quite
cumbersome. This problem is generally overcome by using high-precision geometry for the
indentor, namely, a Berkovich tip, which has a three-sided pyramid geometry. Mechanical
properties of the sample are then inferred from the loaddisplacement curve (such as the
one shown in Fig. 5.16). Figure 5.17 shows the nanoindentation results of different phases in
the ZrPt alloy, which indicates that a nanocomposite of amorphous and nano-quasicrystalline
phase has much higher hardness and Youngs modulus in comparison to individual phases.
Chapter 5:
Fig. 5.15
Schematic diagram of nanoindentation mechanism.
Fig. 5.16 Loaddisplacement curve of nanoindentation technique (Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

File:Load-displacement_curve_%2B_onderdelen.JPG).
174
Fig. 5.17
Loaddisplacement curves for nanocrystalline ZrPt alloy (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
SUMMARY
The development of novel tools and instruments for use in nanotechnology is a great
challenge.
The most widely used structural methods for characterizing nanomaterials and
nanostructures are: X-ray diffraction (XRD), various electron microscopy (EM), including
scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission microscopy (TEM), high-resolution
scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), high-resolution transmission microscopy
(HRTEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and
eld ion microscopy (FIM).
Characterization and manipulation of individual nanostructures require not only extreme
sensitivity and accuracy, but also atomic-level resolution.
Microscopy plays a central role in the characterization and measurement of
nanostructured materials.
Nanoindentation technique is used for the characterization of the mechanical property
of nanomaterials by studying the forcedisplacement curve on application of very small
loads.
Chapter 5:
176
Chapter 6
Nanostructured Materials with High

Application Potential
Learning objectives
Different kinds of nanomaterials that have shown immense potential for applications:
Fabrication and applications of quantum dots
Synthesis, characterization and applications of single-walled and multi-walled carbon
nanotubes
Synthesis and applications of GaN nanowires
Synthesis and applications of nanocrystalline ZnO
Synthesis and applications of nanocrystalline TiO2
aterials development has remained the backbone of human civilization and will
continue to be the anchor for all future developments. The development of new
materials and advanced material technologies has served as the cradle for most engineering
developments. Revolutions in the communication, computing, energy, chemical, transport
and engineering industries have been possible only due to credible advances in materials
technology and the development of new classes of materials. As discussed in earlier
chapters, nanomaterials are slowly beginning to make their presence felt in science and
technology. The potential engineering applications of nanomaterials are vast. This chapter
will describe only a few typical nanostructured materials of current interest. One extreme
end of nanostructures is single electron transistors. Figure 6.1 shows an example of a single
electron transistor with niobium leads and aluminium islands.
6.1
QUANTUM DOTS
The research in microelectronic materials is driven by the need to tailor electronic and
optical properties for specific component applications. Progress in epitaxial growth, advances
in patterning and other processing techniques have made it possible to fabricate artificial
dedicated materials for microelectronics. In these materials, the electronic structure is tailored
by changing the local material composition and by confining the electrons in nanometresize foils or grains. Due to quantization of electron energies, these systems are often called
quantum structures. If the electrons are confined by a potential barrier in all three directions,
the nanocrystals are called quantum dots (QDs). QDs have unique properties that fall between
Chapter 6:
Nanostructured Materials with High Application Potential 177
(a)
(b)
Fig. 6.1 Single electron transistor with niobium leads and aluminium islands: (a) scanning electron micrograph,
and (b) artistic interpretation. (Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TySETimage.png).
bulk semiconductors and individual molecules. QDs in transistors, solar cells, LEDs, diode
lasers, etc., have been studied. They have also been used for medical imaging and there is hope
that they can be used as qubits*. Some QDs are commercially available.
6.1.1
Fabrication
There are several ways to confine excitons in semiconductors, resulting in different methods of
producing QDs. In the following section, the discussion is limited to selected promising QD
technologies including semiconductor nanocrystal QDs (NCQD), lithographically made QDs
(LGQD), field effect QDs (FEQD) and self-assembled QDs (SAQD).
Semiconductor nanocrystal QDs (NCQD)

A nanocrystal (NC) is a single crystal with a diameter of a few nanometres. An NCQD is
a nanocrystal which has a smaller band gap than the surrounding material. Grinding of a
macroscopic crystal can produce NCQDs. NCQDs are attractive for optical applications
because their colour is directly determined by their dimensions. The size of the NCQD can
be selected by filtering a larger collection NCQD or by tuning the parameters of a chemical
fabrication process.
*A quantum bit or qubit is a unit of quantum information. A bit is the basic unit of computer information.
It takes a value of either 0 or 1. A qubit is similar to a bit. Like a bit, a qubit can be 0 or 1. The difference
is that whereas a bit must be either 0 or 1, a qubit can be 0, 1, or a superposition of both.
178
CdSe nanocrystals Cadmium selenide (CdSe) NCQDs are approximately spherical crystallites
with either wurtzite or a zinc-blend structure. Their diameter usually ranges between 1 and
10 nm. CdSe NCQDs are prepared by standard processing methods. Cd(CH3)2 is added to
a stock solution of selenium (Se) powder dissolved in tributylphosphine (TBP). This stock
solution is prepared under N2 in a refrigerator, while tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO)
is heated in a reaction flask to 360C under argon flow. The stock solution is then quickly
injected into the hot TOPO, and the reaction flask is cooled down when NCQDs of the desired
size are achieved. The final powder is obtained after precipitating the NCQDs with methanol,
centrifugation and drying under nitrogen flow. The room temperature quantum yield and
photo stability can be improved further by covering the CdSe NCQDs with, for example,
cadmium sulphide (CdS).
Figure 6.2 (see Plate 6) shows the cadmium selenium QDs, which are nanoparticles
that fluoresce into a number of colours based on their size. In these QDs, a small number
of electrons are confined within a small space by the placement of some insulating material
around a conducting material.
Silicon nanocrystals Silicon/silicon dioxide (Si/SiO2) NCQDs are Si clusters completely
embedded in insulating SiO2. They are fabricated by ion-implanting Si atoms into either ultrapure quartz or thermally grown SiO2. The NCQDs are then formed from the implanted atoms
under thermal annealing. The exact structure of the resulting NCQDs is not known. Scientists
have successfully fabricated NCQDs with a diameter around 3 nm and an NCQD density of
2 1019 cm3. The high density results in even higher light wave amplification (100 cm1)
than for 7 stacks of InAs QDs (7085 cm1). The main photoluminescence peak was measured
at = 800 nm. The radiative recombination in these QDs is not very well understood, though
it has been suggested that radiative recombinations take place through interface states. Despite
the very high modal gain, it is very difficult to fabricate an electrically pumped laser structure
of Si NCQD due to the insulating SiO2 matrix.
Lithographically made QDs (LGQD)

A vertical QD (VQD) is formed by etching out a pillar from a quantum wall (QW) or a double
barrier heterostructure (DBH). Figure 6.3 shows the main steps in the fabrication process of
a VQD. The Al-GaAs/InGaAs/AlGaAs DBH was grown epitaxially, after which a cylindrical
pillar was etched through the DBH. Finally, metallic contacts were made for electrical control
of the QD. Typical QD dimensions comprise a diameter of about 500 nm and thickness of
about 50 nm. The confinement potential due to the Al-GaAs barriers is about 200 meV. The
optical quality of VQDs is usually fairly poor due to the etched boundaries. However, VQDs are
attractive for electrical devices because of the well-controlled geometry and the well-defined
electrical contacts.
Field effect quantum dots (FEQD)

In a field effect QD (FEQD), the charge carriers are confined into a 2D electron gas (2DEG) by
a modulation-doped heterojunction. Within the 2DEG plane, the charges are electrostatically
confined by external gates. Figure 6.4 shows the schematic of typical device geometry. The
Chapter 6:
Fig. 6.3 Schematic representation of the fabrication process of a VQD. (a) Epitaxial growth of a DBH, (b) etching
of a pillar through the DBH and (c) the metallization.
Ohmic contacts in Fig. 6.4 represent any kind of electric contact to the QD. The effective
potential of an FEQD is very smooth and, within the plane of the 2DEG, its shape is close to a
parabola, depending on the gates. For an FEQD with a diameter around 200 nm, the spacing
of the energy level is typically tens of eV. These types of QDs are not expected to operate at
room temperature because of the shallow potential profile. However, FEQDs are attractive for
low temperature infrared light detectors because of a very smooth gate-induced potential and
high-quality heterostructure interfaces.
Self-assembled quantum dots (SAQD)

In self-assembly of QDs, one makes use of an island formation in epitaxial growth. This is
similar to forming water droplets on a polished surface. These islands are either QDs themselves
or QDs formed on a QW. The major self-assembly growth techniques are vapour phase epitaxy
(VPE) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE).
Fig. 6.4 A schematic drawing of an FEQD in a 2DEG at the material interface between Al-GaAs and GaAs.
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Epitaxial growth usually happens by layered growth of atoms. However, islands are formed if
there is a large lattice mismatch between the materials, and if the surface energy of the deposited
material is different from that of the substrate. The deposited material minimizes its potential
energy by forming islands on the substrate. In the StranskiKrastanow (SK) mode, the growth
starts in layer-by-layer mode and proceeds into the island mode when it exceeds a critical thickness.
Dislocation free SK growth has been observed in InAs on GaAs and InP on GaAs. Typical island
densities are 1091012 cm2 depending on the growth conditions. Self-organized growth of III-V
semiconductors is currently the most promising fabrication technique of optically active QDs.
Quantum dot island

The self-assembled island is in itself a QD, if the island is embedded in a material with a
larger band gap than that of the island material. An example is provided by InAs islands in
GaAs. Figure 6.5 shows QD islands schematically and a high-resolution scanning tunnelling
micrograph of a true InAs island. Very promising laser structures have been fabricated using
these types of QDs by stacking several island layers on top of each other. Typical heights of
QDs range from 5 to 15 nm and widths from 15 to 25 nm. Each QD has very few electrons and
holes. The total charge confinement is a combination of strain, piezoelectric fields and material
interface effects. For a dot of 13.6 nm height, the calculated confinement energy of the electron
ground state is about 180 meV.
Strain-induced quantum dots

Strain is always present in self-assembled islands as well as in the substrate close to the island.
The magnitude of the strain depends on the lattice constants and elastic moduli of the materials.
If there is a QW close to the QD, the strain field penetrates it and affects its energy bands. The
QD can induce a lateral carrier confinement in QW, leading to a total QD confinement in
QW. Typical stressor island heights range from 12 to 18 nm and the QW thickness is around
10 nm. The lateral strain-induced confinement is very smooth and has the shape of a parabola.
The strain-induced electron confinement is about 70 meV deep. The resulting QD is large and
contains, in general, tens of electron-hole pairs.
6.1.2
Applications of Quantum Dots
Quantum dots can be used in optical applications due to their large possible quantum yield.
In electronic applications, QDs have been proven to operate like a single electron transistor
Fig. 6.5
Schematic image of an InAs QD island embedded in GaAs.
Chapter 6:
and show the Coulomb blockade effect. QDs are also being suggested as qubits for quantum
information processing. The main advantage of QDs is the ability to tune their size. Larger
QDs show red shift in their spectra in comparison to smaller QDs. The smaller QDs show
significant quantum properties. As QDs are zero-dimensional structures, they have sharper
density of states in comparison to higher-dimensional structures. QDs have excellent transport
and optical properties, and are hence used in diode lasers, amplifiers and biological sensors.
Computing
QD technology is one of the most promising candidates for use in solid-state quantum
computation. The application of a small voltage can control the flow of electrons through the
QD and thereby make precise measurements of the spin and other properties therein. With
the help of several entangled QDs, quantum calculations might be possible.
Biology
A number of organic dyes are used in biological analysis. However, more flexibility is being
required of these dyes, and the traditional dyes are often unable to meet the expectations.
QDs have been found to be a good replacement for these traditional dyes as they offer
better brightness and stability. QDs are not suitable for single-particle tracking due to
their irregular blinking. Semiconductor QDs have also been used for in vitro imaging of
pre-labelled cells. QDs are being used to study embryogenesis, cancer metastasis, stemcell therapeutics and lymphocyte immunology due to their ability to image single-cell
migration in real time.
Scientists have proved that QDs are dramatically better than existing methods for delivering
a gene-silencing tool, known as SIRNA, into cells. Attempts have been made in using QDs
for tumour targetting under in vivo conditions. Active and passive targetting are the two
types of tumour targetting employed. In the case of active targetting, QDs are functionalized
with tumour-specific binding sites to specifically bind to tumour cells. Passive targetting
utilises enhanced permeation and retention of tumour cells for the delivery of QD probes.
Nanoparticles can easily enter into the fast growing tumour cells as they have more permeable
membranes than healthy cells. Nanoparticles can accumulate in tumour cells as they lack an
effective lymphatic drainage system.
One of the remaining issues with QD probes is their in vivo toxicity. CdSe nanocrystals, for
example, are highly toxic to cultured cells under UV illumination. The energy of UV radiation
is close to the covalent chemical bond energy of CdSe nanocrystals. CdSe particles can be
dissolved in a culture medium, releasing toxic cadmium ions. In the absence of UV irradiation,
however, QDs with a stable polymer coating have been found to be essentially non-toxic. Little
is known about the excretion process of polymer-protected QDs from living organisms. These
and other questions must be carefully examined before QD applications in tumour or vascular
imaging can be approved for human clinical use. Another cutting-edge application of QDs as
potential artificial fluorophores for intra-operative detection of tumours using fluorescence
spectroscopy is also being researched.
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Photovoltaic devices
Quantum dots may have the potential to increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of todays
typical silicon photovoltaic cells. According to experimental proof from 2006, QDs of lead
selenide can produce as many as seven excitons from one high-energy photon of sunlight
(7.8 times the band gap energy). This compares favourably to current photovoltaic cells which
can only manage one exciton per high-energy photon, with high kinetic energy carriers
losing their energy as heat. This would not result in a 7-fold increase in final output, however,
but could boost the maximum theoretical efficiency from 31% to 42%. QD photovoltaics
would theoretically be cheaper to manufacture, as they can be made using simple chemical
reactions.
Light emitting devices

There are several inquiries into using QDs as light-emitting diodes to make displays and other
light sources: QDLED displays and QDWLED (White LED). In June 2006, QD Vision
announced technical success in making a proof-of-concept QD display. QDs are valued for
displays, because they emit light in very specific Gaussian distributions. The display obtained
by QDs can show colours more accurately than the human eye can perceive. QDs also require
very little power since they are not colour filtered. Additionally, since the discovery of whitelight emitting QD, general solid-state lighting applications are closer than ever. A liquid crystal
display (LCD), for example, is powered by a single fluorescent lamp that is colour-filtered to
produce red, green and blue pixels. The efficiency of displays with monochromatic light is
higher as more of the light reaches the eye.
6.2
CARBON NANOTUBES
Carbon is a unique element. It can exist in several different allotropic forms at room
temperature, namely graphite, diamond, amorphous carbon, carbon clusters (like C60, C70,
etc.) and carbon nanotubes. From the soft graphite to the hard diamonds, the electrically
conducting graphite to insulating diamonds and semiconducting CNTs, lustrous diamond to
opaque graphite, carbon can exhibit extreme variations in a given material property through
its various structural forms. Although diamond, graphite and CNTs are compositionally
made of the same matter, they exhibit extreme variation in properties due to differences in
their bonding and structure. This aspect in particular makes the study of carbon materials
scientifically exciting.
Carbon atoms can be chemically bonded to each other either in the sp2 (graphite, carbon
clusters, CNT) or sp3 (diamond) hybridized state. In diamond-like carbon (DLC) films, there
is a random network of the two hybridized states. In fullerenes (C60, or bucky ball) the carbon
atoms are sp2 hybridized, but in contrast to graphite, they are not arranged on a plane. The
geometry of C60 strains the bonds of the sp2 hybridized carbon atoms, creating new properties
for C60. Graphite is a semi-metal, whereas C60 is a semiconductor. Fullerenes were discovered
in 1985 by Rick Smalley and co-workers. C60 was the first fullerene prepared. It is a football-
Chapter 6:
shaped (icosahedral) molecule with 60 carbon atoms bonded

together in pentagons and hexagons (Fig. 6.6). Fullerenes get
their name from Buckminster Fuller, an architect who built a
dome that has the same structure as that of the C60 molecule. This
is possibly the first time that an architects name was associated
with a scientific discovery.
6.2.1
Types of carbon nanotubes
A carbon nanotube is a planar sheet of graphite (called graphene)

Fig. 6.6 Fullerene C60 ball
rolled up into a seamless cylinder with diameter in the order of
and stick created from a
a nanometre. This results in a nanostructure where the lengthPDB using Piotr Rotkiewiczs
to-diameter ratio exceeds nearly 10,000. Each end of the long
source (Source: original
cylinder is capped with half a fullerene molecule.
upload2cebway2005 by
CNTs can in general be classified as either single-walled
IMEOW bot category:
nanotubes (SWNTs) or multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs).
Fullerenes).
SWNTs have a cylindrical shell with one atom thickness. The
concentric arrangement of several single-walled nanotubes of slightly varying diameters is
termed as a multi-walled nanotube. Iijima was the first to recognise that nanotubes were
concentrically rolled graphene sheets with a large number of potential helicities and chiralities
rather than a graphene sheet rolled up like a scroll, as originally proposed by Bacon (Fig.
6.7; see Plate 7). Carbon nanotubes are unique nanostructures with remarkable electronic
and mechanical properties, some of which are due to the close relation between the carbon
nanotubes and graphite, and some to their one-dimensional aspect.
Single-walled nanotubes
Most single-walled nanotubes (SWNT) have diameter close to 1 nanometre, with a tube length
that can be many thousands of times longer. Single-walled nanotubes with length up to orders
of centimetres have been produced. Single-walled nanotubes are a very important variety of
carbon nanotube because they exhibit important electric properties that are different from
those of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) variants. It is expected that single-walled
nanotubes can help in further miniaturising electronics beyond MEMS. SWNTs is the first
intramolecular field effect transistor (FETs) to be synthesized. Single-walled nanotubes are
still very expensive to produce, and the development of more affordable synthesis techniques
is vital to the future of carbon nanotechnology.
Multi-walled nanotubes
Multi-walled nanotubes (MWNT) consist of multiple layers of graphite rolled in on themselves
to form a tube shape. The distance between these layers is close to the graphene layer distance in
graphite. This is especially important when functionalisation is required to add new properties
to CNTs. Functionalisation will break some C=C double bonds on the SWNTs, which can
modify their mechanical and electrical properties.
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6.2.2
Chirality of carbon nanotubes
Nanotubes can also be classified as armchair nanotubes, zigzag nanotubes or chiral tubes
depending on their chirality. Chirality can be described by the chiral vector (n, m), where n
and m are integers of the vector equation R = na1 + ma2 ; where a1 and a2 are the basis vectors
of the hexagonal 2D lattice. R is the rolling vector about which the planar graphite sheet (of
width equal to the perimeter of the nanotube along the cross section) is rolled to form the
CNT. The armchair vector is defined as the vector from a given atom position dividing the
hexagons into half. If the armchair vector coincides with the rolling vector (wrapping angle,
i.e., angle between the armchair vector and rolling vector, is zero), it results in an armchair
nanotube. In other words, the chiral vector R will be given as R = n (a1 + a2) (i.e., n = m in
the chiral vector). If the wrapping angle is equal to 30 (R = na1, with m being zero), then the
tube is of the zigzag type. If the wrapping angle is between zero and 30, it is called a chiral
tube with R = na1 + ma2 ; with n m. Consider a nanotube that has been unfolded into a
planar sheet by splitting along a circumferential vector parallel to the tube axis. The values
of n and m determine the chirality, or twist of the nanotube. The chirality in turn affects the
conductance of the nanotube, its density, lattice structure and other properties. The value of
n m decides whether SWNT is metallic or semiconductingmetallic if this value is divisible
by three, semiconducting otherwise.
6.2.3
Synthesis of CNT
Electric arc discharge

In arc-discharge, carbon atoms are evaporated by the plasma of helium gas ignited by high
currents passed through the opposing carbon anode and cathode (Fig. 6.8). Arc discharge
synthesis uses a low-voltage (~12 to 25 V), high-current (50 to 120 A) power supply (an arc
welder can be used). An arc is produced across a 1-mm gap between two graphite electrodes
5 to 20 mm in diameter. An inert gas such as He or Ar is used as the atmosphere for the
reaction, at a pressure of 100 to 1000 torr. The arc discharge method involves condensation of
carbon atoms generated from the evaporation of solid carbon atoms. The temperature involved
with this method is close to the melting point of graphite, 30004000C. Arc discharge has
been developed into an excellent method for producing high-quality multi- and single-walled
nanotubes.
MWNTs can be grown by controlling growth conditions such as the pressure of inert gas in
the discharge chamber and the arcing current. MWNTs synthesized previously by this method
have lengths in the order of ten microns and diameters in the range of 530 nm. Individual
nanotubes form bundles with other nanotubes, which are all held together by van der Waals
interactions. MWNTs produced by arc discharge are very straight which indicates their
high crystallinity. The growth of single-walled nanotubes requires a metal catalyst in the arc
discharge system. The nanotubes produced are mostly in the form of ropes consisting of tens
of individual nanotubes close-packed into hexagonal crystals via van der Waals interactions.
Arc discharge was the first recognized method for producing both SWCNTs and MWCNTs,
and has been optimized to be able to produce gram quantities of either.
Chapter 6:
Fig. 6.8 Arc-discharge scheme. Two graphite electrodes are used to produce a DC electric arc-discharge in inert
gas atmosphere.
Iijima produced the first MWCNTs by this method. He found that nanotubes were formed on
the cathode, along with soot and fullerenes. Iijima and Ichihashi and Bethune and co-workers were
the first to report on the production of SWCNTs. Both Iijima and Bethune found that SWCNTs
could only form by adding a metal catalyst to the anode; specifically, Iijima used an Fe:C anode in a
methane:argon environment, while Bethune utilized a CoC anode with a He environment.
There are several variations one can make to tailor the arc discharge process. Currently, most
growth is carried out in an ArHe gas mixture. By tailoring the ArHe gas ratio, the diameter
of the SWCNTs formed can be controlled, with greater Ar yielding smaller diameters. The
anodecathode distance can be changed to vary the strength of the plasma formed in between.
The overall gas pressure has been shown to affect the weight per cent yield of SWCNTs.
Several metal catalyst compositions produce SWCNTs, but the current standard for SWCNT
production is a YNi mixture that has been shown to yield up to 90% SWCNT, with an average
diameter of 1.2 to 1.4 nm. In general, the nanotubes produced by this method need extensive
purification before use.
Chemical vapour deposition (CVD)

Both hot-wall as well as cold-wall plasma-enhanced CVDs (PECVDs) have been developed
for the synthesis of CNTs.
Hot-wall CVD method This process includes catalyst-assisted decomposition of hydrocarbons,
usually ethylene or acetylene, in a tube reactor at 550750C and the growth of carbon
186
nanotubes over the catalyst when the system is cooled. Fe, Co and Ni nanoparticles can be
used as catalysts. These particles catalyse the breakdown of the gaseous molecules into carbon,
and a tube then begins to grow with a metal particle at the tip (Fig. 6.9).
Large-scale synthesis of aligned carbon nanotubes can be achieved by the CVD technique
with iron as catalyst. A substrate containing iron nanoparticles embedded in mesoporous
silica can be placed in the reaction chamber. A mixture of 9% acetylene in nitrogen can be
introduced in the chamber at optimum flow rates. With these conditions, carbon nanotubes
will form on the substrate containing the iron nanoparticles by deposition of carbon atoms
obtained by decomposition of acetylene at 700C. Catalytic synthesis can be easily scaled
up in comparison to arc evaporation. With CVD, SWCNTs from 0.4 to 5 nm can be readily
produced, and depending on the conditions, feedstock and catalyst, the yield can exceed
99% (weight per cent of final material) and the final product can be completely free of
amorphous carbon.
Cold-wall CVD synthesis This includes techniques based on both hot wire and plasmaenhanced (RF/DC/microwave/ECR plasma) CVD techniques. To grow SWCNT by hot-wire
CVD (HWCVD), hydrocarbons with dissolved Fe-containing molecules are passed over an
extremely hot filament near the furnace entrance to facilitate a plasma-induced breakdown
of hydrocarbons and nucleation of nanotubes. By initiating growth in the vapour phase,
a substrate can be placed downstream in a cooler area of the furnace (~450C) so that the
nanotubes can deposit from the vapour phase onto the substrate. This is useful because
by lowering the substrate temperature, the variety of substrates on which SWCNTs can be
synthesized is widened.
Plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) systems have been used to produce
both SWCNTs and MWCNTs. PECVD is a general term, encompassing several differing
synthesis methods. In PECVD, a glow discharge is generated in a chamber when a high voltage
is applied between two electrodes. Figure 6.10 shows a schematic diagram of a typical plasma
CVD apparatus with a parallel plate electrode structure.
In PECVD, a uniform film is obtained by the supply of reaction gas from a plate held
opposite to the substate which is placed on the grounded electrode. Catalytic metals, such
as Fe, Ni and Co, are used on a Si, SiO2 or glass substrate using thermal CVD or sputtering.
Carbon nanotubes grow on the metal nanoparticles by glow discharge from a high-frequency
Fig. 6.9
Schematic of the hot-wall CVD reactor used for nanotube synthesis.
Chapter 6:
Fig. 6.10
Schematic diagram of a typical plasma CVD apparatus with a parallel plate electrode structure.
power. A carbon-containing reaction gas, such as C2H2, CH4, C2H4, C2H6 or CO is supplied to
the chamber during the discharge. The diameter of the nanotube, growth rate, wall thickness,
and morphology are influenced by the catalyst. Ni seems to be the most suitable pure metal
catalyst for the growth of aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). The MWNTs
have a diameter of about 15 nm. The highest yield of carbon nanotubes achieved was about
50% and was obtained at relatively low temperatures (below 330C). Direct PECVD systems
can be used for the production of MWCNT field emitter towers and some SWCNTs.
CNT growth in CVD can be split into two basic types depending on the location of the
catalyst: the so-called gas phase growth and substrate growth. Both these growth pathways
can in turn be split into bulk carbon diffusion and surface carbon diffusion models. In gas
phase growth, catalyst formation and nanotube growth occur literally in mid-air. In substrate
growth, catalyst nanoparticles or metal precursors are deposited either on a substrate such
as SiO2 or on a high-surface area powder before growth. The underlying chemistry for both
methods that leads to the formation of nanotubes from nanoparticles is similar, and both can
usually be classified into surface carbon diffusion and bulk carbon diffusion.
188
Surface carbon diffusion The metal particle remains a solid, the cracked carbon diffuses
around the surface, and the carbon nanotube nucleates on the side of the metal particle. Since
carbon continually breaks down on the particle, the tube continues to grow. This is a common
mechanism used to explain low-temperature growth, notably with Ni catalyst nanoparticles.
Bulk carbon diffusion The carbon feedstock is cracked or broken down on the surface of the
metal particle, similar to the above. The metal nanoparticle dissolves the carbon until it reaches
saturation, at which point a CNT with one or more walls grows from the outer surface. In this
situation, the metal can either remain as a solid or become a liquid nano-droplet. Where it
becomes a liquid, it is instructive to imagine the droplet dissolving carbon until it becomes
saturated. At this point, a nanotube begins to extrude and the continued dissolution of carbon
provides fuel for the process of hydrocarbon vapour (vapourliquidsolid model). This model
was originally proposed to explain the formation of silicon and germanium whiskers in the
1960s and was extended to explain nanotube formation by Saito and his group.
Both mechanisms have been indirectly observed via high-resolution transmission electron
microscopy (HRTEM), where the specific favoured mechanism by a particular growth method
depends on the temperature, the type of metal catalyst and the carbon feedstock used.
In substrate growth, once the nanotube begins to grow by either surface or bulk carbon
diffusion, the CNT will undergo either base growth or tip growth (Fig. 6.11). In base growth,
the catalyst particle remains attached to the surface and the nanotube is extruded into the air
or along the surface. During tip growth, the end of the nanotube remains stuck to the surface
and the catalyst particle shoots into the air at the opposite end of the extruding nanotube.
These two mechanisms have been proposed and indirectly observed for the growth of carbon
fibres, MWCNT and SWCNT, depending on the catalyst type, hydrocarbon source and growth
temperature. Tip growth is considered the dominant mechanism for MWCNT growth, and
base growth is dominant for SWCNT growth.
For a catalyst particle of unchanging size, the growth of CNTs should continue until
the hydrocarbon is shut off, either by removing the feedstock from the reaction area or by
Fig. 6.11
Schematic showing the two types of growth mechanisms of a CNT.
Chapter 6:
amorphous or graphitic carbon fully coating the particle, blocking the gas. Additionally, in the
case of base growth, growth may slow down or stop due to slow diffusion of hydrocarbons down
to the nanoparticle at the bottom of the CNT. If nothing impedes the source of carbon to the
nanoparticle, and nothing impedes the nanotube extrusion, growth should be continuous. In
reality, there are competing reactions at the nanoparticle site, such as the formation of graphitic
shells and the deposition of amorphous carbon. As a result, in sub-optimal growth conditions,
amorphous carbon can coat the nanoparticle, preventing feedstock from reacting with the particle
and cutting off the carbon source, thus terminating the growth. Alternatively, if the nanotube
exitting the particle encounters an excessive external force, the energy required for forming a
nanotube might exceed the energy necessary to form a graphitic carbon shell, at which point the
nanoparticle will coat itself with a carbon shell, cutting itself off from the carbon feedstock.
High-pressure carbon monoxide method

One of the recent methods for producing SWCNTs in gram to kilogram quantities is the
HiPCO process. The high yield demonstrates the high potential of this method for bulk
production of SWNTs. Catalysts for SWNT growth form in situ by thermal decomposition
of ion pentacarbonyl in a heated flow of carbon monoxide at pressures of 110 atm and
temperatures of 8001200C. Previous methods for growing CNTs using hydrocarbons as the
source have resulted in large quantities of amorphous carbon and graphitic deposits due to the
thermal breakdown of hydrocarbons at high temperatures. The amorphous carbon overcoating
would have to be removed in subsequent steps. The HiPCO method uses carbon monoxide
as the carbon feedstock and Fe(CO)5 as the iron-containing catalyst precursor. The SWNT
yield and the diameter of the nanotubes produced can vary over a wide range determined by
the condition and flow-cell geometry. The HiPCO method produces SWNTs by flowing CO
mixed with a small amount of Fe(CO)5 through a heated reactor. The products of the Fe(CO)5
thermal decomposition react to produce iron clusters in the gas phase. SWNTs nucleate on
these clusters and grow. The solid carbon is formed through CO disproportionation, also
known as the Boudouard reaction:
CO + CO
C(s) + CO
Iron nanoparticles act as catalysts for the above reaction. The flow tube has a thick quartz
wall and is contained within the furnace. The rate at which the reactant gases are heated
determines the amount and quality of the SWNTs produced. The CO and Fe(CO)5 gases
are maintained at a low temperature initially through a water-cooled injector. This low
temperature is maintained so that rapid heating can occur inside the furnace. This apparatus
of the HiPCO method yielded high quantities of SWNTs. Though related to CVD synthesis,
HiPco deserves particular mention, since in recent years it has become a source of highquality, narrow-diameter SWCNTs for distribution around the world. The metal catalyst is
formed in situ when Fe(CO)5 or Ni(CO)4 is injected into the reactor along with a stream of
carbon monoxide (CO) gas at 900 to 1100C and at a pressure of 30 to 50 atm. The reaction to
make SWCNTs is the disproportionation of CO by nanometre-size metal catalyst particles.
Yields of SWCNT material are claimed to have up to 97% atomic purity. The SWCNTs made
190
by this process have diameters ranging between 0.7 and 1.1 nm. By tuning the pressure in
the reactor and the catalyst composition, it is possible to tune the diameter range of the
nanotubes produced.
The production of SWNTs by using CO as the sourse of C and Fe(CO)5 as the ironcontaining catalyst precursor is usually termed as the high-pressure CO disproportionation
process (HiPCO). A gas mixture of CO and Fe(CO)5 is passed through a heated reactor to
produce SWNTs. Nanotubes as small as 0.7 nm in diameter, which are expected to be the
smallest achievable chemically stable SWNTs, have been produced by this method. The average
diameter of HiPCO SWNTs is approximately 1.1 nm. About 70% yield could be achieved by
this process. Use of the highest possible temperature and pressure can lead to the highest
yield and narrowest tubes. SWNT material with 97% purity can be produced at rates of up to
450 mg/h with this process.
Laser ablation
The laser ablation technique uses a 1.2 at.% of cobalt/nickel with 98.8 at.% of graphite composite
target that is placed in a 1200C quartz tube furnace with an inert atmosphere of ~500 torr of
Ar or He and vaporized with a laser pulse. A pulsed- or continuous-wave laser can be used.
Nanometre-size metal catalyst particles are formed in the plume of vaporised graphite. The
metal particles catalyse the growth of SWCNTs in the plasma plume, but many by-products
are formed at the same time. The nanotubes and by-products are collected via condensation
on a cold finger downstream from the target. The yield varies from 20% to 80% of SWCNTs by
weight. The by-products of this synthesis are graphitic and amorphous carbon, bucky onions
(concentric fulleriod spheres) surrounding metal catalyst particles and small fullerenes (C60,
C70, etc.). In principle, arc discharge and laser ablation are similar methods, as both use a metalimpregnated graphite target (or anode) to produce SWCNTs, and both produce MWCNT and
fullerenes when pure graphite is used instead. The diameter distribution of SWCNTs made by
this method is roughly between 1.0 and 1.6 nm. This method has a yield of around 70% and
produces primarily single-walled carbon nanotubes with a controllable diameter determined
by the reaction temperature. However, it is more expensive than either arc evaporation or
chemical vapour deposition.
Laser ablation gives high yields of SWNTs. The process involves laser ablation of graphite
rods with small amounts of Ni and Co at 1200C (Fig. 6.12). The synthesized nanotubes
are remarkably uniform in diameter and they form ropes 520 nm in diameter and tens to
hundreds of micrometres long. The growth of nanotubes takes place by scooter mechanism
in which, a single Ni or Co atom chemisorbs on the nanotube. The metal atom must have
sufficiently high electronegativity to prevent the formation of fullerenes and it must be highly
effective in catalysing the nanotube growth. The metal atom circulates around the open end
of the tube and absorbs small carbon molecules and converts them into graphite-like sheets.
The tube growth terminates when many catalyst atoms accumulate at the end of the nanotube,
poisoning the catalysis process.
In this process, a mixture of graphite and (Co, Ni) catalyst is vaporized by a laser beam in a
tube furnace at 1200C. The nanotubes are deposited on a collector (water cooled) kept outside
Chapter 6:
Fig. 6.12
Schematic drawing of a laser ablation apparatus.
the furnace. The laser ablation yields >70% highly endless, highly tangled ropes of SWNTs
along with nanoscale impurities. The potential use of the nanotubes in nano-electronic devices
requires nanotubes with length in the range of 10300 nm.
Purification of nanotubes
The different methods of production of nanotubes suffer some serious limitations; all produce
mixtures of nanotubes and nanoparticles sticking together in larger lumps. In addition,
the length of the tubes varies widely and the nanotubes have a number of defects in them.
Purification is basically the separation of tubes from the soot and elimination of defects by
different post-growth treatments. Ultrasonication is one of the techniques by which the tubes
are freed from particles. While the larger contaminants can be removed by sedimentation
in a solvent, it is not easy to remove the smaller particles. One possibility for MWNTs is to
perform an oxidative treatment, either by heating the powder in air at 650C or by a liquid
phase treatment in an acidic environment.
Purification of SWNTs can be done by fluxing in acid followed by centrifuging. Microfiltration
or size-exclusion chromatography, which does not use acids, is also used for SWNTs. In case of
MWNTs, a colloidal suspension is prepared in which the larger particles sediment, while the
smaller remain in suspension. Size-exclusion chromatography was also used successfully for
MWNTs. Heating the carbon nanotubes up to 3000 K can also eliminate impurities and defects in
the tubes. Separating nanotubes with different chirality is more complex. Conducting nanotubes
can be separated from semiconducting ones by the application of current between metal electrodes,
which causes conducting nanotubes to burn, leaving the semiconducting ones.
6.2.4 Characterization techniques in carbon nanotubes
Characterization tools are crucial in the study of emerging materials to evaluate their full
potential in applications and to comprehend their basic physical and chemical properties.
Typically, a wide range of tools are brought to bear in order to elicit these properties.
X-ray diffraction
XRD measurements are routinely employed to characterize carbon nanotubes. Nanotubes
show only (hk0) and (00l) peaks in XRD patterns. Neutron and X-ray diffraction experiments
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are generally performed on powders, with random orientations of the tube axis. In other cases,
the nanotubes may be partly oriented within a plane or along an axis. X-ray diffraction may
then reveal a useful tool to characterize their degree of ordering by measuring the angular
distribution of the scattered intensities around the incident beam direction.
Fluorescent photoluminescence
The fluorescence was first discovered in aqueous surfactant suspensions of SWNT that had
been processed for enrichment in individual, unbundled nanotubes. Spectrofluorimetric
measurements of emission intensity as a function of excitation and emission wavelengths
revealed a rich pattern of peaks representing distinct (n, m) structural species. This spectral
assignment provided a large body of precise optical transition energies for a significant range
of tube diameters and chiralities. Important patterns of electronic structure emerged, showing
the related properties of nanotubes within families (sharing the same nm value) and
tribes [sharing the same mod (n m, 3) value]. Spectral line shapes reveal the predominant
excitonic character of optical excitations in SWNT. Nanotube fluorescence is quenched by
aggregation, chemical derivatisation, and by acidification in some aqueous suspensions.
Fluorimetry offers a powerful method for determining the (n, m) composition of mixed
nanotube samples. Fluorescence-based spectroscopic studies provide precise information
about electronic excitation energies and their dependence on nanotube structure, while line
shape analyses and time-resolved emission experiments give insights into relaxation processes.
The spectrofluorimetric ability to monitor in parallel a wide range of (n, m) species allows
studies of processes in which nanotubes are chemically or physically manipulated in structuredependent ways.
Electron microscopy
Using different electron microscopy techniques, it is possible to study carbon nanotube
structures in great detail and identify their growth mechanism, which in turn helps to gain an
insight into improving the nanotube growth processes or modifying their structure.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) SEM allows imaging of the ropes of single-walled
nanotubes (SWNTs) in a sample or to view the highly oriented forest of multi-walled carbon
nanotube films grown on quartz or silicon substrates (Fig. 6.13). The typical resolution of an
SEM is about 1 to 5 nm. Although the resolution of this technique does not allow for individual
SWNTs to be imaged within a SWNT bundle, combined with other techniques, it can be used
to determine the amount of impurities such as amorphous carbon or carbon-coated catalyst
particles, which typically co-exist with SWNT bundles in the sample. SEM can be useful in
imaging the tubular 1D structure of the MWNTs.
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) This is a powerful technique that allows one to
determine the number of walls in an MWNT or image the isolated SWNTs residing inside an
SWNT bundle. This allows for careful measurement of tube diameters as well as investigation of
structural defects in carbon nanotubes. Many studies have been done on nanotubes involving
TEM. TEM observations clearly reveal that the carbon nanotubes prepared by the arcing
Chapter 6:
2 m
Fig. 6.13 Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) sample made by a CVD process using iron-containing
catalytic particles. The MWCNTs adhere in mats. (Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fe_cat_CVD_
MWCNT_SEM_overview_mats_with_scalebar.jpg).
process generally consist of multi-layered, concentric cylinders of single graphitic (graphene)

sheets. The diameter of the inner tubes is generally of the order of a few nanometres. The
outer diameter could be as large as 1030 nm. Nanotubes get their helicity during the curling
of the graphene sheet into a cylinder. Electron diffraction patterns show the presence of
helicity, suggesting that the growth of nanotubes occurs as in the spiral growth of crystals. The
concentric cylinders in MWNTs are about 0.345 nm apart, which is close to the separation
between the (002) planes of graphite, which are the lowest energy surfaces of graphite with no
dangling bonds. In the electron microscope images, one typically observes nanotubes along
their lengths, with the electron beam falling perpendicular to the axis of the nanotube. Iijima
has published such an image for the (110) planes separated by 0.21 nm. Ring-like patterns are
found due to individual tubes that consist of cylindrical graphitic sheets that are independently
oriented (with no registry between the sheets) with helical symmetry for the arrangement of
the hexagons.
Atomic force microscope (AFM)

AFM has been very useful in imaging isolated SWNTs that have been grown directly on silicon
substrates via a chemical vapour deposition process. Interestingly, nanotubes have been used
as AFM tips. Their 1D nature allows them to be used as an improvement over existing AFM
tips. Also, nanotubes tend to buckle under mechanical pressure, which will allow a nanotube
AFM tip to survive a crash into a sample with little or no damage to the tip. Thus, not only are
nanotubes imaged using AFM, but they also possess qualities that can improve the technique
as well.
Electron beam microscopy and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) require a carefully
controlled vacuum environment and rely on specific sample limitations. Because the AFM
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relies on a mechanical response for its data acquisition, it is uniquely suited to work in ambient
conditions and is not limited to conductive samples. AFMs ability to achieve atomic-scale
resolution is based on a number of refinements:
Flexible cantilevers
Sensitive detection
High-resolution tipsample positioning
Tip sharpness
Force feedback
The smaller diameter, high aspect ratio and large Youngs modulus make carbon nanotubes
suitable materials for AFM tips. Nanotube probes in AFM have been used to observe a number
of new biological structures. The chemical resolution of functionalised manually assembled
MWNT and SWNT tips has been tested on partial lipid bilayers. Significantly, these studies
have shown that an assembled SWNT tip could detect variations in chemical functionality
with resolution down to 3 nm, which is the same as the best structural resolution obtained
with this type of tip. This resolution should improve with CVD SWNT tips.
Raman spectroscopy of nanotubes

Raman spectroscopy is a powerful, multifaceted technique with wide-ranging applications in
carbon nanotube studies. It is also capable of identifying nanotube electronic nature through
analysis of the nanotube G-band, found near 1600 cm1. Semiconducting nanotubes produce
a two-peak G-band structure (G+ and G bands) with Lorentzian line shapes, while the G
peak in metallic types shows a pronounced broadening with a BreitWignerFano (BWF)
line shape. (This line shape is caused when the tangential phonon couples to the continuum
of electronic states at the Fermi level.) Additionally, measurement of the nanotube D-band
(found near 1300 cm1) can provide an evaluation of the defect density occurring in a sample
and act as a useful tool for monitoring the extent of covalent sidewall modification in nanotube
functionalisation chemistry.
Raman spectroscopy becomes a sensitive probe of nanotube electronic structure and
coupling of phonons to electronic transitions. Strong resonance enhancement is obtained
from nanotubes through tuning of the excitation wavelength to overlap the van Hove
singularities present in the 1D density of states of different nanotube species. Because the
electronic resonances are dependent on nanotube diameter and chirality, only a subset of the
total nanotube population is accessed at any given excitation wavelength.
6.2.5 CNT-based physical sensors
Nanotube-based physical sensors can measure pressure, flow, temperature or the mass of an
attached particle. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated a
carbon nanotubebased nanobalance which can weigh submicron scale particles. By applying
an alternative voltage, they were able to create resonance in the nanotube with a specific
frequency, which depends on the nanotube length, diameter, density and elastic properties.
The mass of the particle was calculated from changes in the resonance frequency that occurs
Chapter 6:
on placing the particle. Based on this technique, researchers were able to measure the mass
of a carbon sphere as 22 femtograms, which is by far the smallest mass ever measured. This
approach may lead to a technique for the measurement of the weight of individual biomolecules.
Beyond the small particle measured so far, researchers believe their nanobalance could be
useful for determining the mass of other objects in the femtogram to picogram range; for
example, viruses.
Cleland and Roukes at the California Institute of Technology have reported the
fabrication and characterisation of a working nanometre-scale mechanical electrometer.
The device has demonstrated charge sensitivity below a single electron charge per unit
bandwidth (~0.1 electrons/Hz at 2.61 MHz), which is better than that of state-of-the-art
semiconductor devices and comparable with the charge detection capabilities of cryogenic
single electron transistors.
Single-walled carbon nanotubes have been shown to exhibit piezoresistive effect, i.e., when
they are bent or stretched, their electrical resistance will change. Based on this principle,
carbon nanotubebased pressure and strain sensors have been developed. The pressure sensor
consists of an ultrathin aluminium oxide membrane to which carbon nanotubes are attached.
Christoph Stampfer of ETH in Zurich and his co-workers put these principles into practice to
make a well-characterized nanotube-based pressure sensor. They also used the idea of placing
a nanotube, connected at each end to electrodes, on an ultrathin membrane, so that when the
membrane bends or bulges, the nanotube bends too. To calibrate the device, they measured
the deformation of the membrane in response to an applied pressure by using white-light
interferometry. They then monitored changes in nanotube resistance as a function of strain.
They could detect a change even for strains as small as a hundredth of a per cent, which in
this case were induced by pressures of a few tens of kilopascals. The sensing nanotube was in
this case metallic so that the gauge factor was positive. It had a value close to that of the best
silicon devices.
SWNT-based flow sensors produce electrical signals in response to fluid flow directly.
This is due to the direct scattering of the free carriers from the fluctuating Coulombic fields
of the ions or polar molecules in the flowing liquid. It was found that the ionic strength of
the flowing liquid significantly affected the induced voltage. The electronic propertiessuch
as the local density of statesof single-walled carbon nanotubes have been shown to be
extremely sensitive to the chemical environment, because in this case all the tube atoms
are surface atoms. The electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power also vary during
exposure to several gas species and most of the nanotube-based chemical sensors have been
developed based on this principle.
Kong and his co-workers showed that the electrical resistance of individual semiconducting
SWNTs changes by up to three orders of magnitude on exposure to NO2 or NH3 molecules
at room temperature. Based on this they devised a chemical sensor in which a single
semiconducting SWNT was placed in contact with titanium or gold metal electrodes at
the ends. SWNT-based hydrogen sensors have also been demonstrated by sputter-coated
individual and bundled SWNTs with Pd nanoparticles. The conductivity was found to
decrease by 50% and 33% for individual and nanotube bundles on exposure to air mixed with
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400 ppm of hydrogen. Oxygen sensors based on change in resistance and thermoelectric power
on exposure to oxygen have been reported.
For biosensors, various ligands can be connected to a nanotube transducer in order to
recognise specific target molecules. The large surface areas available for molecule adsorption
make carbon nanotubes a suitable material for biosensors. Carbon nanotubebased sensors
are a thousand times smaller than microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors and
consume less power. These two important advantages will make them useful as implantable
devices. Such biosensors based on functionalized carbon nanotubes will provide high
sensitivity, large linear range, fast response, long life and low detection thresholds for
different analytes.
6.3
GAN NANOWIRES
GaN is an important wide-band gap semiconductor with a variety of applications in electronic

and opto-electronic devices. Single crystal GaN nanowires with the wurtzite structure have
been prepared by several methods, the simplest being the thermal evaporation of GaN
powders at a temperature of 1200C in an Ar atmosphere without the use of a template or
a patterned catalyst. The as-synthesized nanowires have a diameter of 30 nm and length of
several microns. Dielectric property measurements on GaN nanowires at room temperature
at different frequencies reveal that the dielectric constants of the nanowires are much larger
than those of powders at low frequencies, which can be explained in terms of space charge
polarization and rotation direction polarization. The sublimation method has also yielded
bamboo-shaped structures in an ArNH3 atmosphere at 930C, starting from GaN powder.
Sublimation of GaN powder yielded GaN nanowires of 1045 nm diameter on LaAlO3
substrates. Hot filament chemical vapour deposition, wherein a solid source of Ga2O3 and
C mixture was heated in a NH3 atmosphere, has been employed to synthesise bulk quantities
of GaN nanowires of 512 nm diameter and several micrometres in length. PL spectra of the
nanowires show a broadband around 420 nm, possibly arising from the blue shift of the yellow
luminescence in bulk GaN.
Synthesis method with experimental
parameters
Resulting wire or tube features
Laser ablation: GaN/Fe target, 250 torr, 900C
~10 nm diameter, >1 m long,

[1 0 0] growth direction
512 nm diameter, >1 m long,
single crystalline.
20150 nm diameter, 500 m long
HFCVD: Ga2O3/C powder, NH3, 200 torr,

900C,1 hour
Direct reaction of Ga with NH3: 825925C,
15 torr, 34 hours
Hydride vapour phase epitaxy has been carried out employing a sapphire substrate
involving GaCl3 mixed with flowing NH3 at a temperature of 478C to obtain nanorods.
Cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements of individual GaN nanorods show a blueshift with
Chapter 6:
decrease in the diameter of GaN nanorods due to quantum confinement. GaN nanowires of
1050 nm diameter, with a minimum diameter of 6 nm, have been synthesized by the use
of molten Ga and various catalysts, in the temperature range of 8501000C over Si wafers
and quartz, by the VLS mechanism. Temperature-dependent PL measurements show a strong
band-edge emission and a weak yellow luminescence at 2.3 eV. Field emission studies on
nanowires have shown significant emission currents at low electric field with current densities
of 20 A/cm2 at a field of 14 V/m.
The synthesis of straight and smooth GaN nanowires of 1040 nm diameter and 500 lm
length starting from Ga and NH3 at temperatures of 920940C has been achieved, by the
use of catalytic nickel oxide nanoparticles dispersed over LaAlO3 substrates. Laser-assisted
catalytic growth of a GaN/Fe target has been employed successfully to obtain nanowires of
10 nm diameter and 1 lm length, wherein the in situ generation of the fine liquid nanoclusters
of the catalyst causes the growth of the nanowires. The growth direction of the GaN nanowires
is [100], running parallel to the wire axis. HFCVD of a mixture of Ga2O3 and C powders
under flowing NH3 at around 900C yields GaN nanowires in large quantities. The growth of
the nanowires can be explained by the VS mechanism, where the nanowires tend to form on
different planes depending on the temperature since the reaction is far from thermodynamic
equilibrium conditions. Laser ablation of a composite target of Ga2O3 and GaN powders gives
core-sheath GaN nanowires of hexagonal and cubic structure. The growth of the nanowires is
attributed to the oxide-assisted mechanism consisting of a series of oxidation and reduction
reactions occurring during the nucleation and growth process.
Large-scale synthesis of GaN nanorods has been carried out by the direct reaction of metallic
gallium vapour with flowing ammonia at 970C. PL measurements show two strong peaks at
377 nm (3.28 eV) and 360 nm (3.44 eV) attributed to the zero phonon donoracceptor pair
transition and the donor-bound exciton, respectively. GaN nanorods of 450 nm diameter
and lengths extending to 25 lm were obtained through a carbon nanotube confined reaction
where Ga2O vapour was reacted with NH3 gas. GaN nanowires are also obtained by heating
Ga(acac)3 in the presence of carbon nanotubes or activated carbon in NH3 vapour at 910C.
The reaction can also be carried out by heating Ga(acac)3 in NH3 vapour over catalytic Fe/Ni
particles dispersed on silica. In the above reactions, the Ga(acac)3 precursor generates fine
Ga2O particles in situ which then reacts with the NH3 vapour. The diameter of the nanowires
could be reduced to 20 nm by employing single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) or a lower
proportion of the catalyst.
CVD synthesis of high-quality ultrafine GaN nanowires has been accomplished by the use
of hot-filament chemical vapour deposition, where liquid Ga placed over a p-type Si wafer and
covered with a Ni film was heated at 700C in NH3. The growth of the nanowires is attributed
to the VLS mechanism. CVD has also been employed with a Si/SiO2 substrate coated with
30 Au via e-beam evaporation. GaN nanowires with diameter of 20100 nm were grown on
this substrate by using a Ga source heated to 900C in flowing NH3. Such a direct and precise
control of the diameter of the nanowires is desirable in order to exploit the electronic and
opto-electronic properties, which are closely related to the diameter. The method has been
modified by employing e-beam lithography to create catalyst islands in specific patterned
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regions to enable the growth of the single GaN nanowire between two catalyst islands. This
position-controlled growth is important for making nanowire integrated systems since one
does not need to locate the nanowires individually. Many devices can be made in parallel on
one chip by exploiting the advantage of batch processing. Thermal CVD has been employed
to synthesise nanowires of diameter 5060 nm on a NiO catalysed alumina substrate starting
from Ga and GaN powders at a temperature of 1000C in NH3. Raman spectra of GaN
nanowires reveal significant broadening of the Raman modes, which is indicative of the
phonon confinement effects associated with the nanoscale dimension of the system.
A pyrolysis route has been employed for the synthesis of nanorods of GaN, wherein the
pyrolysis of gallium dimethylamide and ferrocene was carried out in NH3 using a twostage furnace. The controlled growth of oriented GaN nanopillars and randomly distributed
nanowires has been accomplished by MOCVD using (N3)2Ga[(CH2)3NMe2] in the presence
of pure N2 gas at high flow rates of 100 sccm at 950C. The room temperature PL spectrum of
the suspension of the GaN nanopillars showed a strong broad emission peak around 430 nm.
Large-scale preparation of GaN nanowires of diameter ~50 nm is possible starting from Ga
and Ga2O3 using catalytic indium nanoparticles, within the nano-channels of anodic alumina
templates. Doped GaN nanowires are of great interest due to their interesting optical and
magnetic properties. Both p-type (Mn- and Mg-doped GaN) and n-type (Si-doped GaN) have
been investigated. Ferromagnetic Mn-doped GaN nanowires have been prepared by reacting
a mixture of acetyl acetonates with NH3 at 950C in the presence of multi-walled and singlewalled carbon nanotubes, the nanowires prepared with SWNTs being considerably smaller
in diameter (25 nm). GaMnN nanowires with 1%, 3% and 5% Mn have been shown to be
ferromagnetic even at 573C, exhibiting magnetic hysteresis. The GaMnN nanowires show
higher coercivity than thin films.
6.3.1
Applications of GaN nanowires
Ultraviolet-blue laser action has been reported in monocrystalline GaN nanowires, using
both near field and far field optical microscopy to characterise the waveguide mode structure
and the spectral properties of the radiation at room temperature.
Field effect transistors (FETs) based on individual GaN nanowires have been fabricated.
Gate-dependent electrical transport measurements show that the GaN NWs are n-type and
the conductance of NW-FETs can be modulated by more than three orders of magnitude.
Electron mobilities are comparable to or larger than thin film materials with similar carrier
concentration and thus demonstrate the high quality of these nanowire building blocks and
their potential for nanoscale electronics.
6.4
NANOCRYSTALLINE ZNO
ZnO is not a newly discovered material but is currently emerging as a promising candidate for
semiconducting, piezoelectric and optoelectronic devices, owing to its optical and electrical
properties, i.e., wide band gap (3.3 eV) and large excitation binding energy (60 meV).
Chapter 6:
NANOWIRE FABRICATION
Nanowire fabrication can be done by the following methods:
Template assistance
Electrochemical deposition
Ensures fabrication of electrically continuous wires
Occurs on conductive surfaces
Applicable to a variety of materials
High-pressure injection
Limited to elements and heterogeneously melting compounds with low
melting point
Cannot give continuous wires
Does not work well if the diameter is < 3040 nm
Chemical vapour deposition
Laser-assisted techniques
Template-assisted synthesis
The template synthesis of nanowires is a conceptually simple and intuitive way to
fabricate nanostructures. These templates contain very small cylindrical pores or voids
within the host material, and the empty spaces are filled with the chosen material,
which adopts the pore morphology, to form nanowires. The chemical stability and
mechanical properties of the template are crucial in template-assisted synthesis of
nanostructures. Templates frequently used for nanowire synthesis include anodic
alumina (Al2O3), nano-channel glass, ion track-edged polymers and mica films. The
template-assisted growth method can be carried out by:
Pressure injection
Electrochemical deposition
Vapor deposition
VLS method for nanowire synthesis
VLS mechanism involves the absorption of the source material from the gas phase into
a liquid droplet of catalyst. Upon supersaturation of the liquid alloy, a nucleation event
generates a solid precipitate of the source material. This seed serves as a preferred site
for further deposition of material at the interface of the liquid droplet, promoting
the elongation of the seed into a nanowire, and suppressing further nucleation events
of the same catalyst. Since the liquid droplet catalyses the incorporation of material
from the gas source to the growing crystal, the deposit grows anisotropically as a
whisker the diameter of which is dictated by the diameter of the liquid alloy droplet.
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The nanowires thus obtained are of high purity, except for the end containing the
solidified catalyst as an alloy particle.
Reduction of the average wire diameter to the nanometre scale requires the
generation of nano-sized catalyst droplets. However, due to the balance between
the liquidvapour surface free energy and the free energy of condensation,,the size
of the droplet in equilibrium with its vapour is usually limited to the micrometre
range. These obstacles can be overcome by several new methodologies. Advances
in the synthesis of metal nanoclusters have made monodispersed nanoparticles
commercially available. These can be dispersed on a solid substrate in high dilution so
that when the temperature is raised above the melting point, the liquid clusters do not
aggregate. Metal islands of nanoscale size can self-form when a strained thin layer is
grown or heat-treated on a non-epitaxial substrate. Laser-assisted catalytic VLS growth
is a method used to generate nanowires under non-equilibrium conditions. By laser
ablation of a target containing both the catalyst and the source materials, plasma is
generated, from which catalyst non-clusters nucleate as the plasma cools down. Single
crystal nanowires grow as long as the particle remains liquid. By optimisation of the
material properties of the catalystnanowire system, conditions can be achieved for
which nanocrystals nucleate in a liquid catalyst pool supersaturated with the nanowire
material, migrate to the surface due to a large surface tension, and continue growing
as nanowires perpendicular to the liquid surface.
The stable wide band gap at high temperatures and harsh chemical environment allows
electronic and opto-electronic devices of ZnO to operate at high temperatures and hostile
environments. The large excitation binding energy which is nearly 2.4 times the room
temperature (RT) thermal energy makes ZnO an efficient excitonic emitter at room temperature
as well as at high temperatures. The stability of ZnO to high-energy radiation, amenability to
wet chemical etching and easy etching by all acids and alkalis has made it preferable to other
wide band gap materials for the miniaturization of electronic, optical devices and further
development of nano-devices. The existence of ZnO with the same crystal structure and close
lattice parameter as GaN makes it a possible substrate for epitaxial film growth of the latter.
ZnO has potential advantages over GaN for various applications, including its commercial
availability, and also as a brighter light emitter than GaN. ZnO is also finding application in
other areas like transistors. In the fabrication of transparent thin film transistors, the transistor
is usually protected from light exposure by a covering. This problem is overcome in ZnObased transistors as they are insensitive to visible light. ZnO is useful for making transparent
electrodes in flat-panel displays and solar cells due to the possibility of changing electrical
properties while maintaining optical transparency with controlled doping. Apart from this,
it is a promising candidate for spintronics applications with a predicted Curie temperature of
more than 300 K for Mn-doped ZnO.
Chapter 6:
6.4.1
Crystal structure and properties of ZnO
Zinc oxide exists over a range of crystal structures from hexagonal (wurtzite, B4) to zinc blende
(B3) and rocksalt (B1) . Among all structures, wurtzite is thermodynamically stable at ambient
conditions. At pressures around 9 GPa, ZnO exists in cubic rocksalt whereas the zinc blende
structure stabilises when it has been grown on cubic substrates. At sufficiently high pressures
(~ 260 GPa), one can observe structural changes in ZnO, from six-fold cubic rocksalt (B1) to
eight-fold cubic CsCl (B2) structure. ZnO wurtzite structure has a hexagonal unit cell with two
lattice parameters (a, c) and a c/a ratio of 1.633 which belongs to the space group of P63mC.
The structure is composed by the interaction of two hexagonal close-packed sub-lattices; each
unit cell consists of four atoms of one kind (Group II) surrounded by four atoms of another
kind (Group VI) and vice versa, where all these coordinate at the edges of the tetrahedron.
However, in reality, the Wurtzite structure deviates from the idea by changing the c/a ratio.
The Coulombic interaction caused by pressure-induced reduction in lattice parameter
results in change in crystal structure of ZnO, from wurtzite structure to cubic rocksalt,
which is quite normal in II-VI semiconductors. However, the six-fold coordinated rocksalt
structure is metastable over long periods of time even at zero pressure. The reversal from
rocksalt to wurtzite is also possible at around 1.5 to 2 GPa while decreasing the pressure
from 10 GPa.
Zinc blende ZnO structure is also metastable and can be achieved by hetero-epitaxial growth
on cubic substrates like ZnS, GaAs/ZnS and Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si. Both zinc blende and wurtzite
structures can exist together when ZnO is grown on highly mismatched substrates but separated
by the crystallographic defects. Zinc blende structure is formed by the interpenetration of two
face-centred sub-lattices shifted along the body diagonal by a length one quarter the body
diagonal. Though wurtzite and zinc blende have the same tetrahedral coordination, the main
difference between them is the stacking sequence: wurtzite consists of alternate close-packed
Fig. 6.14 Growth of III-V group nanowires by low pressure metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) on
suitable crystalline substrates, such as III-V materials or silicon with a reasonably matching lattice constant.
(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MOVPEofEPINW.jpg)
202
(0001) planes arranged triangularly, whereas zinc blende consists of close-packed (111) planes
arranged triangularly.
6.4.2
Synthesis of bulk-structured and nanostructured ZnO
Bulk single crystal growth

High-quality ZnO single crystals are increasingly required in optical devices. Due to its high
vapour pressure, it is very difficult to grow ZnO from the melt, and the control over deposition
is difficult in vapour phase deposition. The lower supersaturation favours the hydrothermal
reaction for ZnO single crystal growth. In hydrothermal growth, ZnO seeds and sintered ZnO
strings are heated together with an aqueous solution of KOH and LiOH at 300400C and
pressures 70100 MPa in a platinum crucible placed inside a two-zone vertical furnace. The
inner Pt helps in reducing the contamination of ZnO with the aqueous solution.
Vapour phase transport gives high-quality ZnO wafers. This involves vaporization of ZnO
power in a horizontal tube maintained at two different temperatures at the ends. Zinc oxide
powder at 1150C is transported as O and Zn with H2 as the carrier gas, because of lower
vapour pressure compared to ZnO. Once the Zn and O reach the other end maintained at
1100C, the reverse reaction takes place with the help of single crystal seed, and transparent
single crystal ZnO grows. Melt growth is the other method for producing bulk single crystal
ZnO (Fig. 6.15). Melt growth mainly contains an induction heating set up with an RF source to
melt the zinc oxide powder placed in a crucible with water cooling. Once all the powder melts,
the crucible is taken from the heating set up and the melt is allowed to crystallise.
Thin Films ZnO thin films are being developed for transparent electrodes in new generation
opto-electronic devices. Various deposition techniques like pulsed laser deposition, RF
magnetron sputtering, chemical vapour deposition and molecular beam epitaxy are used to
deposit nanocrystalline ZnO thin films. The films generally have a tendency to grow with
(0001) as the preferred orientation on various substrates like glass, sapphire and diamond.
Optically pumped lasing at room temperature is observed with high-quality ZnO films.
Magnetron sputtering Magnetron sputtering (DC, RF and reactive sputtering) is a wellknown technique for early investigations of ZnO thin films because of its low operating
temperatures simplicity and lower cost. ZnO films can be grown directly sputtering out highly
pure zinc oxide target or sputtering out high pure metallic zinc target in the presence of Ar/O2
mixture. The variant parameters are RF/ DC power, substrate temperature and gas pressure.
In literature, authors observed the change in conductivity from n-type to moderate p-type (at
higher pressures) by adjusting the ratio of O2/Ar ratio in the sputtering plasma. In addition
to this, p-type conductivity in ZnO films grown on GaAs has been observed. ECR sputtering
source has been used for ZnO thin film deposition where the films showed high resistivity
(> 1010 cm) along with good optical and piezoelectric properties.
Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)

It is used to obtain high-quality single crystal ZnO thin films by evaporating highly pure Zn
metal from an effusion cell in oxygen plasma generated by and RF/ECR source. RF sources
Chapter 6:
Fig. 6.15
Schematic diagram of the melt growth system.
are most commonly used because of the high oxygen radical density. Nitrogen dioxide and
hydrogen peroxide are also used in MBE to oxidize Zn films. The main advantage of MBE is
good control on the deposition conditions.
Pulsed laser deposition (PLD)

This is one of the promising techniques to grow nanocrystalline ZnO thin films by ablating a
highly pure ZnO target in the presence of O2 gas. Excimer lasers and Nd:YAG pulsed lasers
are the most commonly used for ZnO target ablation. The advantages of PLD over other
techniques are creation of high-energy source particles, preserving stoichiometry of the
material and high-quality film growth at low substrate temperatures. Laser intensity, ambient
oxygen pressure and substrate temperature are the operating parameters for deposition of
ZnO thin films by PLD. In literature, authors developed a two-stage deposition process which
involves nucleation of ZnO at lower pressures (104 torr), which acts as a high-quality template
for single crystal growth at high pressures (101 torr).
Metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD)

The CVD deposition technique is gaining importance in the deposition of thin films, mainly
because of its suitability in large-scale applications. Depending on the precursor gases and
energy sources, they have been classified into various groups. The most frequently used
204
technique is metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). As the name implies,
metal organic precursors (metal halides and metal alkyls) are used to deposit the thin films.
ZnCl2/ZnI2 (metal halides) and dimethyl zinc [(CH3)2Zn] or diethyl zinc [(C2H5)2Zn] metal
alkyls are the most commonly used precursors for the growth of ZnO thin films. Among
halides, iodide-based systems are yielding ZnO films with better optical and structural
properties with high growth rates. However, as neither of the above mentioned metal alkyl
precursors gives high quality films, zinc acetylacetonate with oxygen was recently used to
obtain high-quality ZnO thin films.
Growth of ZnO nanostructures

Nanostructures such as nanotubes, nanowires, nanosheets and nanorods are gaining
importance in fabricating transducers, nanosensors, nano-resonators, actuators, field
emitters, opto-electronic devices and so on. Many materials like C, Si, InP, GaAs, SnO2, ZnO,
GaN and InO3 are available for use in various applications. Among all these materials, ZnO
probably has the richest family of nanostructures because of its electrical properties. Much
work has been done in depositing 1D ZnO nanostructures like nanowires, nano-belts, nanorings, nano-donuts and nano-propellers using various synthesizing routes. There are many
reports claiming the fabrication of nano-devices such as thin solar cells with highly oriented
ZnO nanostructures and textured ZnO thin films. Nanostructures form the base for various
novel materials and the exploitation of properties like quantum confine occurs at nanoscale.
Semiconductors based on nanostructures are finding application in diverse areas, from drug
delivery to photovoltaic devices. Synthesis parameters like deposition temperatures, pressures
and gas flux play a pivotal role in getting various ZnO nanostructures. Figure 6.16 shows
various ZnO nanostructures such as hexagons, wires, tetrapods, spheres and brushes grown
by different synthesis routes by Prof. Ramachandra Rao and his group at IIT Madras.
Vapour transport technique is most commonly used for the growth of ZnO nanostructures. This
technique involves the transportation of Zn and O vapours and reaction with each other to give
ZnO nanostructures. There are many ways of producing ZnO vapour. It can be achieved by:
Simple decomposition of ZnO (it is limited to high temperatures ~1400C)
Heating Zn powder in the presence of oxygen at 500700C (this lowers the process
temperatures)
Heating ZnO powder mixed with graphite at around 1100C where graphite reduces
ZnO to Zn and CO/CO2 (oxidation occurs later and forms ZnO nanostructures and
the presence of graphite lowers the decomposition temperature). The process involves a
horizontal tube placed inside a horizontal furnace which contains hot and cold zone at
two different ends of the tube. This technique is mainly classified into two types :
vapoursolid process (VS) (catalyst free) and
vapourliquidsolid process (VLS) (assisted with catalyst)
However, vapoursolid usually gives a rich variety of nanostructures. Kong et al deposited
nanostructures on alumina substrates placed in the cold zone at ~500C by simple decomposition
of ZnO powder in the hot zone at 1350C. Ren et al grew hierarchical ZnO nanostructures
by heating the powder mixture (contains Zno, InO3 and graphite) at 820 ~870C. Yao and
Chapter 6:
(a)

(b)
500 nm
(d)
(c)
5 m
(e)
500 nm
(g)
(f)
1 m
2 m
(h)
2 m
10 m
(i)
2 m
10 m
Fig. 6.16 SEM images of ZnO nanostructures synthesized using different techniques. ZnO (a) hexagons,
(b) wires and (c) tetrapods by chemical synthesis route (d) ZnO wires, (e) tetrapods, (f) spheres, (g) brush grown by
thermal evaporation technique and (h) ZnO spheres and (i) hexagons grown by pulsed laser deposition technique.
(Source: MS Ramachandra Rao, IIT Madras).
co-workers reported the simplest process which involves heating ZnO and graphite powder
mixture at 1100C; while cooling, they observed the growth of nano-ribbons and nanorods on
the furnace walls.
After the invention of carbon nanotubes, ZnO nanotubes and nano-tetrapods have attained
much interest. In literature, we have reported the synthesis of ZnO nanotubes by wet oxidation
methods which involves the heating of Zn and ZnO powders at ~1300C in the presence of water.
The wall thickness of the tube was seen to be 410 nm. ZnO nano-tetrapods were deposited
by Wan et al in the VS process with rapid heating of ZnO pellets at 900C. Even though the
206
VS process gives a wide range of nanostructures, its lack of control on the alignment, precise
location and geometry makes it inferior to the catalyst-assisted VLS process. The VLS process
usually uses metal nanoparticles and nanoclusters (e.g. Au, Pt, Cu, Co and Sn) as catalysts to
synthesize 1D nanostructures. The molten eutectic alloy of the catalyst with the source material
acts as a nucleation site or nucleation seed for nanostructures. The Zn deposited on catalyst
particles will react with oxygen vapour and form ZnO which further acts as a nucleation site
for nanostructural growth. Dimensions of nanostructures can be varied by changing the size
of the catalyst nanoparticles or nanoclusters.
The control over the growth and alignment of ZnO nanorods and nanowires has been
achieved by pattern growth. The patterns of different geometries can be prepared by lithography
by using a shadow mask during catalyst deposition, or by using TEM grids to get selective
deposition with the desired geometry of catalyst. Vertically aligned ZnO rods and wires are
finding application as electron field emitters, vertical transistors and UV lasers. Another
unique method to grow vertically aligned nanowire arrays involves monolayer self-assembly
and VLS nanostructure growth. A monolayer deposit of submicron polystyrene spheres on
the substrate which functions as the shadow mask for evaporation of catalyst metal yields a
highly ordered array of catalyst spots with desired geometry. Polystyrene spheres are etched
out using toulene thereby exposing the metallic substrate underneath. ZnO nanostructures are
then grown by the VLS method.
The lattice mismatch with substrate determines the quality of vertically aligned ZnO
nanowires. Though sapphire is a widely used epitaxy substrate the ZnO nanowires grown
on GaN epilayer give better vertical alignment. Because of its better electrical properties,
GaN is preferred in comparison to sapphire. Though vapour transport process has been the
dominant deposition technique for nanostructures of ZnO, there are other methods like
electrodeposition, solgel and polymer-assisted growth which yield nanostructures at much
lower temperatures.
6.4.3
Applications of ZnO nanostructures
ZnO nanostructures are the building blocks of new generation electronics and are potential
candidates for semiconductors, piezoelectric material, nanosensors, nano-cantilevers, short
wavelength light-emitters, field emitters, luminescence devices, gas sensors, UV lasers, solar
cells and bio-sensors.
Piezoelectric sensors
The control over flow of current in 1D ZnO nanostructures can be achieved by change in
electrical charge distribution during bending. Nanotubes and nanowires developed by
piezoelectric materials have a property of charge separation (positive on one side and negative
on other) during bending. This fundamental property of nanowires and nano-belts can be
used in developing piezotronic sensors to detect force in nano- and pico-Newton range by
just measuring the change in current flow through the array of nanostructures; these sensors
can be used for measuring the blood pressure in humans. ZnO-based nano-generators are
Chapter 6:
generating significant amount of charge by bending and releasing the array of ZnO nanowires.
ZnO nanowires and nanotubes have special advantages which make them potential candidates
for an integrated nanosystem. The advantages include:
Large amounts of deformation without damage. This enables their use in flexible electronics
like folding power sources which permit large-volume density of power output.
Bio-compatibility. This allows usage in the body without any toxic effects.
ZnO nanostructures are also finding application as field effect transistors; the change
in conductance occurs by bending the nanostructure between the source and drain which
controls the flow of current. Bending produces a gate potential with change in conductance
which is directly related to the degree of bending. Current production by bending and releasing
of ZnO nanowires could eliminate batteries to supply power to nanoscale systems.
Biosensors
ZnO nanostructures are used as signal enhancing platforms for rapid, multiplexed, highthroughput, high-sensitive DNA sensor arrays. ZnO nanostructures can be effectively used
for identification of bio-threat agents by successful discrimination of its DNA sequence from
other genetically related species. ZnO nanomaterials are critical for the detection of hybridized
DNA, as they achieve increased fluorescence.
Solar cells
Solar cells based on ZnO nano-sheets exhibited better performance than nanoparticle-based
solar cells or well-oriented nanowire-based solar cells. ZnO nanosheets have certain advantages
including the depression of loss during photoelectron transport, increased dye compound
adsorption, and enhanced incident light capture. ZnO nanocrystalline sheets self-assembled
on a flexible polymer substrate act as electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. This provides
an opportunity to integrate solar cells with nano-devices and microcircuits which make it
work with self-supplied solar energy. ZnO films with nano-sheet microstructure appear as a
matrix of randomly oriented nano-sheets; it combines with a flexible substrate more stably and
handles deformation well with increased photon capture.
Gas sensor
ZnO-based structures have attracted great interest as gas sensors because of their high chemical
sensitivity to different absorbed gases, amenability towards doping, non-toxic property and
low cost. The sensitivity of ZnO nano wires to detect ppm levels of acetone and ethanol has
been reported.
6.5
NANOCRYSTALLINE TITANIUM OXIDE
Titania has three allotropic formsbrookite (orthorhombic), anatase (tetragonal) and rutile
(tetragonal). Rutile (TiO2) is the high temperature phase. Anatase and brookite convert to
rutile on heating. Nano-titania has found wide application as pigments, absorbents, catalytic
supports, gas and humidity sensors and coatings for self-cleaning surfaces. In general, anatase
208
is considered to have higher photocatalytic activity than rutile, while rutile is more suited for
white pigments and coatings because of its high refractive index, weatherability (oxidation
and wear resistance), and high thermal and chemical stability. It is used in products for
its sterilizing, deodorizing and anti-fouling properties. It is also used in the Grtzel cell,
a type of chemical solar cell. Nano-titania is used in pigments due to its high refractive
index and bright white colour. It is used as an opacifier in glass, cosmetics, sunscreens,
paper, paints, etc. It has good resistance to discolouration under UV light. The anatase form
of titania is a good photocatalyst under UV light. TiO2 also shows photocatalytic activity
under visible light, provided it is doped with appropriate impurities. Titanium dioxide has
the potential to carry out hydrolysisbreak water into hydrogen and oxygenfor use in
energy production. The efficiency of titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst for this process
can be enhanced by doping it with carbon. Nano-titania is used as self-cleaning coatings for
disinfecting surfaces under UV radiation. These properties make the material a candidate
for application in medical devices, food preparation surfaces, air conditioning filters, and
sanitaryware surfaces. Titania is also used as oxygen sensors.
6.5.1
Titania nanopowders
Nanostructured titania in both rutile and anatase forms have been synthesised in a variety
of geometrical configurations, like spherical powders, thin films, nanorods, nanowires, etc.
The most common methods for synthesis of nano-titania include chemical decomposition
methods, solgel, chemical vapour deposition, microemulsion and hydrolysis. Of these, the
solgel route has proven to be a viable technique involving hydrolysis and polycondensation
of molecular precursors, such as metal alkoxides, to yield hydroxides or oxides under different
conditions.
Nanopowder of anatase titania has been prepared by the solgel route using
tetrabutyl titanate as precursor. Further calcinations at temperatures of about 800C
have led to transformation of anatase to nano-rutile powder. By using different
combinations of precursors, it is possible to directly synthesise rutile nanopowders by
solgel technique at much lower temperatures. For example, the solgel technique was
employed to synthesize titania nanopowder, starting with titanium n-tetrabutoxide
as the precursor. A mixture of catalyst (hydrochloric acid, HCl), water and 50% of
the solvent (ethyl alcohol) was added dropwise to a constantly stirred mixture of the
precursor and the remaining solvent. Stirring leads to a homogeneous sol, which
on drying in air gives a viscous wet gel due to hydrolysis and polycondensation. This
gel was oven-dried at 80C for 10 h to remove most of the water and organic content
categorised as the as-prepared sample. The ratio of precursor:solvent:catalyst:water was
taken as 1:15:0.3:x, with x = 14 and the catalyst being HCl. With the water content at
x = 4, the influence of changing the catalyst to acetyl acetone was also studied. The asprepared powders produced were calcined at various temperatures (200600C) for 2 h.
Figure 6.17 shows a typical SEM micrograph of nanocrystalline titania.
Chapter 6:
Fig. 6.17
6.5.2
Nanocrystalline titania. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras)
Titania nanotubes (TNTs)
The increasing prominence of TNT is due to their large specific surface area, photocatalytic
potential, and ion-exchangeable ability. Currently, the most common methods of synthesising
TNTs include template-based method, hydrothermal treatment and electrochemical anodic
oxidation. Electrochemical anodic oxidation involves controlled anodisation of Ti foil to
obtain nanoporous titania.
Template-assisted growth of titanium nanotubes is yet another emerging method. Here,
nanoporous membranes made of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) are used as the template.
AAO consists of an array of parallel straight nanopores with uniform diameter and length and
thus serves as a template for growth of nanotubes. However, the template-assisted method
often encounters difficulties in prefabrication and post-removal of the templates and usually
results in impurities.
However, for large-scale synthesis of titania for use in engineering applications, the
hydrothermal method is the most suitable. The morphology and properties of the TNTs
synthesized by hydrothermal technique depend on several experimental parameters like
applied temperature, treatment time and type of precursors used. The length of TNTs relates
directly to applied temperature (usually a few hundred degrees Celsius).
210
Comparison of current methods in TNT fabrication

Fabrication method
Advantages
Disadvantages
TNT features
Template-assisted
method
1. The scale of nanotube

can be moderately
controlled by applied
template
1. Complicated
fabrication
process
Ordered
arrays
(powder form)
2. Tube morphology
may be destroyed
during fabrication
process
Electrochemical
anodic oxidation
method
1. More desirable for

practical applications
2. Ordered alignment
with high aspect ratio
3. Feasible for extensive
applications
1. Mass production
is limited
2. Rapid formation
kinetics is
subjected to the
utilisation of HF
3. High expense of
fabrication apparatus
Hydrothermal
treatment
1. Easy route to obtain

nanotube morphology
2. A number of
modifications can be
used to enhance the
altributes of titanium
nanotubes
3. Feasible for extensive
applications
1. Long reaction
duration is needed
2. Highly
concentrated
NaOH must be
added
3. Difficulty in achieving
uniform size
6.6
Oriented
arrays
(thin film)
Random
alignment
(powder form)
MULTILAYERED FILMS
Multilayered materials with individual layers that are a micron or less in thickness, sometimes
referred to as super-lattices, can exhibit substantial enhancement in hardness or strength. The
enhancement in hardness can be as much as 100% when compared to the value expected from
the rule of mixtures, which is essentially a weighted average of the hardness of the constituents
of the two layers. Table 6.1 shows how the properties of isostructural multilayers can show a
substantial increase in hardness over that for fully interdiffused layers. The table also shows
how there can be a substantial enhancement in hardness for non-isostructural multilayers
compared to the values for the same materials when they are homogeneous.
There are many factors that contribute to enhanced hardness in multilayers. These can be
summarised as:
1. HallPetch behaviour
2. Orowan strengthening
Chapter 6:
Table 6.1
Results for some experimental studies on multilayer hardness
Study
Multilayer
Maximum
hardness and
multilayer
repeat length
Reference
hardness value
Range of
hardness
value for
multilayers
Isostructural
Knoop
hardness
Cu/Ni
524 at 11.6 nm
284
(interdiffused)
295524
Non-isostructural
nanoindentation
Mo/NbN
33GPa at 2 nm
1233GPa
W/NbN
29GPa at 3 nm
NbN 7GPa
Mo2.7GPa
W7Gpa
2329GPa
3. Image effects
4. Coherency and thermal stresses
5. Composition modulation
HallPetch behaviour
It is related to dislocations piling up at grain boundaries. (Pile-up is used to describe two distinct
effects: one is material building up at the side of an indentation, the other is an accumulation of
dislocations on a slip-plane.) The dislocation pile-up at grain boundaries impedes the motion
of dislocations. For materials with a fine grain structure, there are many grain boundaries,
and, hence, dislocations find it hard to move. In polycrystalline multilayers, it is often the
case that the size of the grains within a layer scales with the layer thickness so that reducing
the layer thickness reduces the grain size. Thus, the HallPetch relationship (below) should
be applicable to polycrystalline multilayer films with the grain size, dg, replaced by the layer
thickness.
Y = Yo + kHPdg0.5
where Y is the enhanced yield stress, Yo is the yield stress for a single crystal, and kHP is a
constant.
There is an ongoing argument about whether HallPetch behaviour really takes place in
nanostructured multilayers. The basic model assumes many dislocations are present in the
pile-up, but such large dislocation pile-ups are not seen in small grains and are unlikely to
be present in multilayers. As a direct consequence, studies have found a range of values,
between 0 and 1, for the exponent in equation, rather than the 0.5 predicted for HallPetch
behaviour.
Orowan strengthening
This is due to dislocations in layered materials being effectively pinned at the interfaces. As a
result, the dislocations are forced to bow out along the layers. In narrow films, dislocations are
pinned at both the top and bottom interfaces of a layer and bow out parallel to the plane of
212
the interface. Forcing a dislocation to bow out in a layered material requires an increase in the
applied shear stress beyond that required to bow out a dislocation in a homogeneous sample.
This additional shear stress would be expected to increase as the film thickness is reduced.
Image effects
These were suggested by Koehler as a possible source of enhanced yield stress in multilayered
materials. If two metals, A and B, are used to make a laminate and one of them, A, has high
dislocation line energy, but the other, B, has low dislocation line energy, then there will be
an increased resistance to dislocation motion due to image forces. However, if the individual
layers are thick enough that there may be a dislocation source present within the layer, then
dislocations could pile-up at the interface. This will create a local stress concentration point
and the enhancement to strength will be very limited. If the layers are thin enough to have no
dislocation source present, the enhanced mechanical strength may be substantial. In Koehlers
model only nearest neighbour layers were taken to contribute to the image forces. However,
this was extended to include more layers without substantial changes in the results. The
consequence on image effects of reducing the thickness of the individual layers in a multilayer
is that it prevents dislocation sources from being active within the layer.
Coherency and thermal stresses

For many multilayer systems, there is an increase in strength as the bilayer repeat length is
reduced, but there is often a critical repeat length (e.g., 3 nm for the W/NbN multilayer of
Table 6.1) below which the strength falls. One explanation for the fall in strength involves the
effects of coherency and thermal stress on dislocation energy. Unlike image effects where the
energy of dislocations are maximum or minimum in the centre of layers, the energy maxima
and minima are at the interfaces for coherency stresses. Combining the effects of varying
moduli coherency stresses shows that the dependence of strength on layer thickness has a
peak near the repeat period where coherency strains begin decreasing.
Composition modulation
Another source of deviation in behaviour at small repeat periods is the imperfect nature of
interfaces. With the exception of atomically perfect epitaxial films, interfaces are generally not
atomically flat and there is some interdiffusion. For the Cu/Ni film of Table 6.1, the effects of
interdiffusion on hardness were examined by annealing the multilayers. The results were in
agreement with a model by Krzanowski that predicted the variations in hardness would be
proportional to the amplitude of the composition modulation.
It is interesting to note that the explanations for enhanced mechanical properties in
multilayered materials are all based on dislocation mechanisms. So it would seem natural to
assume that multilayered materials that do not contain dislocations will show no enhanced
hardness over their rule of mixtures values. This has been verified by studies on amorphous
metal multilayers, which shows that the hardness of the multilayers, firstly, lies between that of
the two individual materials and, secondly, has almost no variation with repeat period.
Chapter 6:
SUMMARY
Advance in the fabrication technologies of nano electronic structures has led
to the realization of devices like single electron transistor, eld effect quantum
dot etc., for a wide range of end applications.
The properties of CNT depend to a large extent on its composition, chirality and
boundary structure, which can in turn be controlled by adjusting the growth
parameters.
Wide band gap nanostructured semiconductors based on GaN and ZnO have
been extensively employed as sensors, microelectronic devices and for other
functional applications.
Mechanisms of high hardness of multilayered nanostructured thin lms have
been discussed.
214
Chapter 7
Concerns and Challenges

of Nanotechnology
Learning objectives
Environmental, ecological and health hazards of nanoparticles
Nanotoxicology and its effect
ne of the most oft quoted but extremely important sayings can be traced to the late physicist
Richard A Feynmann. The expression There is plenty of room at the bottom, captured
the minds of generations of scientists and triggered a whole new science and revolutionary
technology. Nearly five decades after Feynmans lecture, nanotechnology enhanced products
are increasingly used in routine as well as high-end cutting-edge technology applications. More
exciting possibilities exist in biomedical, energy and environmental related applications. Nanoengineered materials have witnessed extensive application in pollution control, purification
and desalination of water and in effective waste management of hazardous by-products. It is a
popular belief that the nano-revolution is set to have a far larger global econo-techno-political
impact than the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century or the information technology
revolution of the twentieth century.
There are indications that nanotechnology has the power to repair the brain. Fundamental
properties of carbon nanotubes, such as higher thermal conductivity, are being used for
making faster electrical signal conductors and to form intimate mechanical contacts with
cellular membranes, thereby establishing a functional link to neuronal structures, which in
turn can dramatically increase the speed of the brain.
Nanomaterials characterized by widely different defect dynamics have unique structural
and functional properties in comparison to bulk materials. The high surface area-to-volume
ratio of nanomaterials results in their higher chemical and biological activity as the surface
atoms are unsaturated in their chemical bonds. With nearly a quarter or more atoms residing
at the surface, nanomaterials can be exceptionally reactive. For example, using nanoscale
silver fibres for water-purification filters has greatly enhanced the effectiveness of such
filters.

Chapter 7: Concerns and Challenges of Nanotechnology 215
Tiny science, huge concern

Nanotechnology can be characterized as passive or active. Passive applications are those in
which the nanomaterial or its structure does not change form or function. For example, there are
numerous cosmetics and silver-based anti-microbial products (including food containers and nosmell socks) and other products, ranging from tennis racquets to teas, that use nanomaterials.
Nanostructures or nanomaterials are said to be active when they are able to change their
form or function. A simple example is an anti-cancer drug in which a dendrimer is designed
to find cancer cells and then release a chemical that kills them. The increasing overlap of
biotechnology and nanotechnology will eventually lead to nanosystems being used as robots.
Does nanotechnology pose health risks?
As science and technology develop and advance, the environment and ecological systems are
at great risk, as there is a deviation from natural forces of equilibrium. From the primitive
invention of fire by pre-historic humans to the development of advanced air transport systems,
it has been seen that these technologies can also be employed for societal disturbances in
the hands/minds of unethical groups of people. There are similar problems associated with
nanotechnology.
Some nano-fabrication methods use toxic raw materials or produce toxic by-products
(for example, some carbon nanotube synthesis routes). This needs to be fully investigated
to understand the extent of the harmful effects of engineered nanoparticles, as the degree
of influence is species specific and often depends on the size and geometry of the particle.
Extensive research is underway to characterize the nanotoxicological effect of different
nanoparticles on aquatic and animal species.
As discussed in Chapter 1, nanoparticles have a unique set of properties (physical, chemical
and mechanical), widely different from their own bulk counterparts. A good review on the
adverse effects of nanomaterials has been provided by Dr Fadeel of Karolinska Institutes
Division of Biochemical Toxicology, who has summarized the proceedings at the Stockholm
Symposium on Nanotoxicology (Theres plenty of room at the forum: Potential risks and safety
assessment of engineered nanomaterials, NanoToxicology, 2007). Extensive cross-disciplinary
collaborations are therefore required to quantify and evaluate the risk assessment in detail.
This will finally lead us to the goal of safe handling of nanotechnologies.
Once the safe limits of different nanomaterials are evaluated and tabulated, measures
to mitigate the risks involved in undesirable exposure during manufacturing or service
exploitation of nanomaterials can be achieved. There are also concerns on waste management
of nano-enhanced products and their contribution to environmental pollution. There is a need
for quantitative data followed by intensive scientific insight into the risks to human beings and
the environment due to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture and service
applications.
As a result of these concerns, a new field of research termed as nano (eco-)toxicology has
emerged in the last decade. This field studies the effect of engineered nanoparticles on living
organisms. In the following sections, we will highlight the health and environmental issues
216
related to the use of engineered nanomaterials and try to draw a clear picture of happenings
to mitigate such risks.
What makes it dangerous?
The adverse effects of certain chemical substances, even in the bulk form, have been well studied
for several centuries. Paracelsus (14931541), widely regarded as the father of toxicology,
expressed the view that most materials are toxic when their quantity in the human system
exceeds a critical acceptable limit. The maximum dose or acceptable concentration of various
materials without toxic effects is therefore of paramount importance, particularly in the field
of nanomaterials. In nanotoxicology, the critical question is which particle characteristics are
crucial in initiating and causing adverse effects? It is known that the higher surface area-tovolume ratio of nanoparticles enhances their chemical and bio-reactivity, as demonstrated by
pioneering animal studies of particle deposition and retention in the lung. It is this combined
chemical and bio-reactivity that makes the risk factor of selective nanoparticles even higher.
Certain other foreign bodies and toxic materials can adhere to chemically active nanomaterial
sites and further enhance the ill effects as the nanomaterials react with biological systems. The
risk involved is that nanomaterials can not only penetrate cell membranes allowing entry of
otherwise restricted foreign bodies, but they can also translocate to other tissues and organs.
Thus, detailed investigations to understand the fundamental mechanisms are vital to curb the
adverse effects of engineered nanoparticles.
Potential impact of nanomaterials on humans and the environment
Due to the increasing use of synthetic nanoparticles, the concentration of such particles in
environmental media, i.e., soil, water and air, is expected to increase in the future. Similar
to larger airborne particulates, nanoparticles form during technological as well as natural
processes, such as volcanic eruptions or forest fires. Naturally produced nanoparticles vary
considerably in their shape, composition and size. In contrast, manufactured or deliberately
produced nanoparticles are of uniform design to comply with the desired properties. Studies
on naturally formed ultrafine particulates or those produced by combustion permit estimates
concerning the behaviour and impact of the nanoparticles on the environment. However, these
estimates are insufficient to reliably assess the risks carried by manufactured nanoparticles. The
broad applicability of nanotechnology and the great differences existing between the various
nanomaterials requires a differentiated evaluation of their potential risks.
As nanotechnology is still at its infancy, most theories on nanobio interactions have been
speculative and need to be validated by controlled experiments. Detailed investigation on the
effect of nanoparticles on aquatic, plant and animal species are being undertaken, as seen from
a large number of publications. However, significant efforts are needed in this direction before
regulatory measures can be introduced. Figure 7.1 shows the nanobio interactions.
Cytotoxicity is the quality of being toxic to cells. Treating cells with a cytotoxic compound
can result in a variety of cell fates. The cells may undergo necrosis, in which case they lose
membrane integrity and die rapidly as a result of cell lysis. The cells can stop actively growing

Genotoxicity
Mutagenicity
Cytotoxicity
Nanobio cellular
interaction effects
Inter- and intra-cellular

accumulation
Fig. 7.1
Apoptosis and Necrosis

(DNA fragmentation)
Nanobio interactions.
and dividing (a decrease in cell viability), or the cells can activate a genetic programme of
controlled cell death (apoptosis). Genotoxicity describes a deleterious action on a cells genetic
material affecting its integrity.
The ill effects of carbon nanotubes on the lungs of animals have been reported by several
investigators. There are suggestions that some nanotubes can be as harmful as asbestos if
inhaled. Studies in rats have shown that when inhaled, some nanomaterials can be transported
from the respiratory tract and deposited in brain cells, affecting neural junctions. There is also
emerging evidence that certain nanomaterials can interfere with proteins and DNA in the
human body, disrupting the work of the building blocks of life. Because of their large surfaceto-mass ratio, nanoparticles are more reactive than ordinary materials.
They can also be far more explosive than ordinary-sized materialsa property that the
military is actively exploiting. In 2007, the Russians appear to have exploded the first bomb
based on nanotechnology. It was reportedly the largest non-nuclear bomb ever tested.
Nanomaterials have been used experimentally to improve the environment by cleaning
up waste sites, purifying water and filtering air. Many applications of nanomaterials replace
toxic substances or substitute more energy-intensive processes. Both the good and deleterious
environmental effects of nanomaterials are largely unknown. On the negative side, nanomaterials
will be extremely difficult or impossible to remove from the environment. Nano-silver is an
example of the Jekyll-and-Hyde character of nanomaterials. The anti-microbial properties of
nano-silver are being used in a variety of products, but the same properties may pose a threat
to the environment as well as to waste-treatment plants that clean sewage through bacterial
action.
Health issues with engineered nanomaterials
There has been little research in the potential health risks of nanotechnology-based products
that are already available in the market, for example, cosmetics. Although the risks of exposure
to nanomaterials are just being reported, an article in Science (2006) by Nie and his group from
the University of California, Los Angeles, highlights the possible damage that nanomaterials
can inflict on living organisms by means of cellular and subcellular interactions. The vastly
218
different transport mechanisms and selective deposition of nanoparticles across various

zones, tissues and organs are reasons for significant concern in their wide-scale usage. Gunter
Oberdorster, an environmental toxicologist at the University of Rochester, has indicated
(in 2004) that inhaled nanoparticles accumulate in the nasal passages, lungs and brains
of rats. A study by David Warheit, a researcher at Dupont, found immune cells gathering
around clumps of nanotubes in rats lungs. At the highest dose used in the study, the animals
suffocated due to the clumping of nanotubes, which blocked their bronchial passages. Another
study conducted in 2004 at the Southern Methodist University by Eva Oberdorster reportedly
found inflammation and significant damage in the brains of a largemouth bass as a result
of exposure to nanomaterials called aqueous fullerenes. The possible diseases that can affect
different parts of the body owing to nanoparticles are listed in Table 7.1.
Table 7.1
Possible diseases that can affect different parts of the body owing to nanoparticles
Brain
Lungs
Gastrointestinal system
Circulation
Skin
Lymphatic system
Alzheimers & Parkinsons disease

Cancer, asthma, bronchitis
Colon cancer
Blood pressure, thrombus, vasoconstriction
Dermatitis, auto-immune disease
Sarcoma
There is something shy about these nanotubes

Five different cases studying the inhalation and dermatological risks associated with carbon
nanotubes and ultrafine particles are given below. Three of these studies were presented at
a recent conference of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The first series of studies is
concerned with the toxicity of ultrafine particles.
Dr Gunter Oberdorster at the University of Rochester has a great deal of experience in
the field of inhalation and dermatological risks posed by the ultrafine particles (UFP) family
(<0.1 m). Nanoparticles fall under this realm. In order to answer the difficult question,
whether nanoparticles pose potential toxicity, Prof Gunter used nanocarbon particles for his
various studies. Interestingly, the nanocarbon particles penetrated deeper into the lungs as the
time of exposure increased. His research articles on this subject show that there is a greater
possibility for the bloodbrain barrier to be breached, causing a huge impact on the central
nervous system.
Dr CW Lam at Wyle Labs, NASA Johnson Space Center, and Dr Robert Hunter, University
of Texas (Houston), studied the impact of carbon nanotubes on the lungs. The nanocarbon
particles were suspended in a fluid which was in direct contact with the lungs of mice. Hunter
found that the nanotubes clumped together into bundles and stimulated an immune response,
which left scar tissue on the lungs. In the conclusion, Hunter urges: People should really take
precautions. Nanotubes can be highly toxic.
Dr David Warheit at DuPonts Haskell Labs instilled a single-walled carbon nanotube
soot mixture into the trachea of rats. For comparative purposes, he also instilled a group
with carbonyl iron and quartz, respectively. Fifteen per cent of the rats treated with carbon
nanotubes suffocated to death within twenty-four hours due to clumping of the nanotubes that
obstructed the bronchial passageways. The quartz-instilled and carbonyl iron-instilled rats
had some toxicity and no toxicity, respectively. The main conclusion of this particular study
was that carbon nanotubes might be irrespirable.
A few years ago, at the University of Warsaw, two studies released at the same time studied
the dermatological and inhalation effects of carbon nanotubes. In the study on dermatological
effects, which used rabbits, researchers were surprised to not find any signs of health
hazards related to skin irritation and allergic risks, in contrast to the general assumption
that nanotubes cause health hazards. The study recommended no special precautions with
respect to carbon nanotubes in the working environment; in fact, the article was titled Carbon
Nanotubes: Experimental Evidence for a Null Risk of Skin Irritation and Allergy. In the next
study, Physiological Testing of Carbon Nanotubes: Are They Asbestos-like? the researchers
found that carbon nanotubes do not exhibit effects similar to asbestos. In this study, a carbon
nanotube soot mixture was instilled into the tracheas of guinea pigs and it was found that this
mixture is not associated with any health risks.
Unfortunately, these studies show contradicting results about the toxicity of carbon
nanotubes. They do not deal with the associated issue of exposure. A recent collaborative
study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), NASA, Rice
University, and Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc., emphasized that worker exposure to carbon
nanotubes would be low at low agitation levels, but urged caution until more is known about
toxicity. This obviously points to the important relationship between toxicity and exposure
in determining the overall risk to humans and the environment. The Office of Research and
Development at the EPA has requested nanotoxicologists to conduct detailed studies on the
environmental effects of nanotechnology, and suggested that this time the studies should be
independent, inhalation studies. An apt place to start may be with workers at factories that
produce significant amounts of carbon nanotubes or other nanoscale substances for either
research or commercial purposes.
Adverse effects of quantum dots
Among the large array of nanomaterials, quantum dots (QD) are of particular importance for
their possible therapeutic and diagnostic medical applications. A discussion on the toxicity of
QDs can be confusing, primarily because of their diverse synthesizing technologiesmaterials
synthesized by one technology will be highly toxic, while those synthesized by another may
not be that toxic.
A summary of the studies on quantum dots is given below:
The toxic effect of quantum dots depends on multiple factors, including their physicochemical properties and environmental conditions.
Exposure of human beings to QDs might be from the environment or during therapeutic
use.
Since QDs can accumulate within organs and tissues (e.g. in lungs), there is a need for
extensive studies to explore their health risks.
220
Introduction of QD into the environment may occur via waste streams from industries,
research and clinical settings. The persistence of these materials in the environment may
be of long duration and the environmental exposure will depend on the partition of QDs
between water, air and various soil types.
The main concern of QDs is their content in metals, such as cadmium or selenium, that are
known to cause adverse effects on the environment and in vertebrates, including humans.
Consequently, it is the stability of the metalloid core-coating complexes that may render
QD potentially harmful. In particular, the oxidative, photolytic and mechanical stability of
the QD coating and metalloid core are the most important parameters governing the bioreactivity and risk concerns of QD.
As has been emphasized, there are several parameters that decide the risk quotient of QD
exposure. For example, some QDs have been found to be cytotoxic only after oxidative and
photolytic degradation of their core coatings. Lastly, it is difficult to make statistical conclusions
from present literature resources, largely due to the varying units of measurement used and
insufficient data/characterization of all other parameters that could have influenced the bioactivity of the species. Hence, the need for wide-scale cross-disciplinary and cross-national
networking is of paramount importance in understanding nanotoxicological effects.
Nanoparticles in living systems
All nanoparticles, on exposure to tissues and fluids of the body, have a tendency to be
adsorbed to macromolecules at the site of entry. The extent of adsorption and further
mechanisms of cellular interaction will depend on several aspects, including surface
chemistry and geometry. The specific features of this adsorption process will depend on the
surface characteristics and geometrical features of the particles. By anchoring specific biomolecular linkers to nanomaterials, their site-specific reactivity can be characterized. Such
studies can be employed for optical labelling of biomolecules and for targetted delivery of
drugs. There can be a number of areas of possible human exposure during the production of
nanoparticles.
Respiratory tract Classic routes of exposure of the body are through the respiratory tract
by inhalation, through the skin by absorption and through the mouth by ingestion, or a
combination of these routes. The most important route of exposure is probably that of inhalation
through the respiratory tract. The number of research activities referring to the impact of
nanoparticles has been low so far. However, most of the available scientific studies refer to
inhalation by the respiratory route. In contrast to larger particles, nanoparticles can reach the
alveolar region of the lungs. Because of their small size, they are removed insufficiently by the
alveolar macrophages. This may cause inflammation in the lungs.
In a review article for ECTOC that appeared in Particle and Fibre Toxicology, the effects
of nanoparticles inside the lungs was examined on the basis of the dissolution behaviour of
nanoparticles in mucus and also based on the interaction of nanoparticles with epithelium
cells in the respiratory tract. It was reported that nanoparticles that are either insoluble or
dissolve slowly in the mucus are eventually moved, by the action of ciliated cells, to the throat,
where they are swallowed. The smaller nanoparticles may be retained within the tissues and
organs in the respiratory tract.
The few nanoparticles that were deposited in the alveolar region were digested by alveolar
macrophages and men eventually passed out of the body through the gastrointestinal
tract. Therefore, the extent of interaction and side effects of such particles depend more on
interaction with alveolar macrophages. The remaining nanoparticles may be translocated to
other body cells by intracellular and transcellular migration. Hence, insoluble nanoparticles
may linger for months and years in the lungs and other body tissues and organs. It has also
been demonstrated that some of the nanoparticles can enter the bloodstream and the brain
tissues after being inhaled through the respiratory tract. Studies in rats have demonstrated
that direct absorption of particles through the nose and into the brain is possible. However,
possible adverse effects have not yet been sufficiently examined.
Dermal absorption With regard to dermal absorption, two pathways are conceivable: particles
can enter the skin through the upper layer of the skin or through the hair roots. However,
there is insufficient knowledge regarding intact and pre-damaged skin. It also remains unclear
whether toxic substances adhering to the particles may enter the body by the dermal route
of exposure. Investigations into the importance of this route of exposure should be given
priority since nanoparticles are already present in a great number of skincare products. In
addition to the deliberate uptake of nanoparticles through the mouth (such as ingredients of
pharmaceutical products), unintentional oral intake (such as those contained in certain food
items) should also be taken care of.
Intestines In principle, insoluble particles can be absorbed through the intestine and
thus enter the lymphatic system. From there, such particles may enter blood circulation
and spread throughout the body. However, no studies are available at present to provide
sufficient information about the assessment of possible risks involved in the ingestion of
nanoparticles.
Bloodstream The relative importance of the individual routes of exposure cannot be
described in quantitative terms at present. It is, however, understood that particles entering
the body via the bloodstream may be transported to a number of organs (heart, liver,
spleen, kidneys and bone marrow). Studies have indicated that nanoparticles are capable of
crossing biological barriers such as the bloodbrain barrier. Also, it has to be assumed that a
transfer of nanoparticles through the placenta into the foetus is possible. Irrespective of the
chances of a specific utilization of these mechanisms for therapeutic purposes, this may also
involve risks.
Cells At the cellular level, barriers such as cell membranes do not constitute obstacles for
nanoparticles. In nerve cells, particles were observed to move along the axis cylinders. A great
number of interactions with cell components is conceivable for particles penetrating into a
cell. However, the health implications of such possible interactions are still unknown. The
distribution of nanoparticles in the body seems to depend on their size, form and substance
properties. Biodegradable nanoparticles are not a problem as they can be metabolized and
222
excreted. However, non-bio degradable nanoparticles are a major concern. It has to be assumed
that accumulation will take place predominantly in the organs of detoxification. Whether or
not a risk may arise from such accumulation has not yet been sufficiently examined.
Ecological aspects
The environmental
nvironmental issues of nanotechnology are currently an increasingly important area of
research. There are still only few scientific studies available on the impact of nanoparticles
on the environment. However, it has to be assumed that due to their special properties,
nanoparticles will definitely pose a risk to the environment.
Water fleas (Daphnia) may die at relatively low concentrations of C60 molecules (buckminster
fullerenes) and nanoscale titanium dioxide in the water, depending on the type of administration.
Experiments performed in young largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) have revealed that
C60 nanoparticles are absorbed through their gills. They overcome the bloodbrain barrier
and cause damage to the brain, even at low concentrations. In zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos,
carbon nanotubes have been shown to cause a delay in the hatching of offspring. Further, the
bactericidal activity of some nanomaterials could produce adverse effects in sewage treatment
works and cause a change in the composition of the microbial population in water.
Likewise, studies on the impact of nanoparticles on soil ecosystems are almost completely
missing. As far as mammals are concerned, the results of laboratory studies modelling the
impact on human health can also be extrapolated to wild animals. So far, no studies that refer
to other vertebrates or invertebrates are available. Experiments using aluminium nanoparticles
have revealed a reduced growth of the roots of a number of crops. This effect was not seen
for larger aluminium particles. Due to their biocidal action, i.e., their ability to kill bacteria,
nanoparticles may interfere with the composition of the microbial population in the soil.
SUMMARY
Nanotechnology
anotechnology is bound to have an impact due to large-scale applications in industry
and household products.
Currently, conclusive information on possible adverse health effects on exposure to
different types of nanomaterials is not available.
There is a need to establish regulatory bodies for establishing guidelines and safe
limits for ensuring adoption of nanotechnology without causing environmental damage
or ecological imbalance.
In order to substantiate their positive potential, nanotechnological methods and
products have to be evaluated for advantages in comparison to conventional alternatives.
For example, the Federal Environment Agency supports inverse nanotechnology for the
treatment of sewage and water for human consumption.
The risks associated with nanotechnology have to be studied. There is an urgent need
to identify and assess possible risks for human health and the environment due to
nanotechnology.

Despite increasing numbers of scientic studies, there are considerable gaps as far as
information is concerned; hence, there is great need for further research.
EXERCISES
1. What is nanotoxicology?
2. What are the possible adverse effects of nanotubes on heath and the environment?
Glossary 225
Glossary of Terms
Aerogel: a porous solid formed from a gel in which the liquid is replaced with a gas with gas
entrapment
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning probe microscopy (SPM): a high-resolution device used
to map topography or other functional properties of the surface atoms at atomic resolution capabilities
Atomic manipulation: atom by atom modification of surface structure or chemistry made possible by
advanced techniques like atomic force microscope and scanning tunnelling microscope
Band gap: energy gap between the valence band and conduction band in a solid in which all electronic
energy states are forbidden
Biocompatibility: capability of a material in contact with a biological system to perform its intended
function without causing deleterious changes
Biomimetic: the science of imitating or reverse engineering from natural systems to the study and
design of engineered systems using modern technology
Bot: a robot or automated intelligent machine
Bottom-up: a strategy for synthesizing nanomaterials from atomic scale fundamental units where the
fundamental units link up to form nanoparticles/nanostructures
Buckminster fullerene: a spherical molecule with the formula C60, named in homage to Richard
Buckminster Fuller, due to its resemblance to the geodesic dome designed by him; Buckminster
fullerene is the first fullerene molecule to be discovered and is also the most common in terms of natural
occurrence, as it can be found in small quantities in soot
Catalyst: a substance that does not chemically take part in the reaction but results in increase in rate of
reaction by decreasing the activation energy
Charge-coupled device (CCD): a device that can gather position-sensitive charge information and
convert to digital data for manipulation, which is used extensively for digital imaging applications
Cell lysis: breaking down of a cell, often by viral, enzymic or osmotic mechanisms that compromise its
integrity
Chirality: a crystallographic arrangement of atoms in a molecule such that there is no internal symmetry
plane; it will give a non-superimposable mirror image
Complementary metaloxide semiconductor (CMOS): an emerging technology for the fabrication
of ICs and VLSI, the main advantage being low power consumption and high noise, enabling larger
density of devices within unit area
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Carbon nanotube (CNT): an allotrope of carbon with cylindrical nanostructure and having high aspect
ratios; their unusual electronic and magnetic properties find wide applications
Colloid: a homogenous suspension of a dispersoid in a continuous medium; it may be a solid, liquid
or gas
Chemical vapour deposition (CVD): a technique for depositing thin films on a substrate using gaseous
reactants
Cytotoxicity: the quality of an external chemical or system being toxic to cells; the cells may undergo
necrosis, lose membrane integrity and die rapidly as a result of cell lysis
Depletion zone: a region at the junction of semiconducting materials that is devoid of free charge
carriers
Dislocation: a crystallographic line defect involving irregularity in the periodic arrangement of atoms
(missing row of atoms in a plane) in a crystal
DNA chip: a sensor based on a semiconductor microchip used to identify mutations or alterations in
a gene
Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP): a severe plastic deformation technique for producing ultrafine
grain structures, which introduces a large amount of shear strain into the materials without changing its
shape or dimensions; equichannel angular extrusion (ECAE) is a similar process involving extrusion
Elastic modulus: a materials tendency to resist elastic deformation; it is the slope of the stressstrain
tensile curve of a material in the elastic regime
Electron microscope: a microscope that focusses a collimated accelerated electron beam on the
specimen to produce a magnified image at atomic resolution
Electronic nose: a device consisting of an array of chemical sensors to detect odours or flavours
Electronic tongue: a device consisting of an array of chemical sensors to detect and compare tastes
Epitaxy: growth of a secondary phase maintaining a perfect crystallographic registry (coherency) with
the underlying substrate
Fab: a microfabrication facility consisting of clean rooms and controlled deposition process for the
fabrication of semiconductor devices and ICs
Field effect transistor (FET): a transistor whose conductivity can be controlled by electrical field
Fuel cell: an electrochemical cell capable of producing electrical energy with fuel or reactant being used
up from an external source
Genetically modified organism (GMO): an organism whose genetic sequence has been modified using
genetic engineering techniques such as recombinant DNA technology
Genotoxicity: quality of potentially mutagenic or carcinogenic chemicals to destroy genetic material in
an organism
Giant magnetoresistance (GMR): quantum mechanical effect observed in thin film structures: the
electrical resistance decreases significantly when the ferromagnetic layer is exposed to a magnetic field
Global positioning system (GPS): a system that provides geographic location and time anywhere on
earth
Grain boundary: a 2D defect, the interface bordering two well-defined crystals
Glossary 227
Grain boundary migration: coordinated movement of grain boundaries activated either thermally or
by mechanical stress
HallPetch relation: the effect describing the inverse effect of grain size on the hardness of a crystalline
solid that arises mainly due to grain boundary strengthening
Hot isostatic pressing (HIPing): the process of using high hydrostatic pressure and temperature to
compress fine particles into coherent parts
Hydrophilic: a molecule that is attracted to water
Hydrophobic: the physical property of a molecule to repel water
In vitro: an experiment carried out in a test tube or controlled environment using synthetically generated
body fluids
In vivo: experimentation using living organisms
Kryders law: the memory storage capacity of hard drives doubles almost every year
Light-emitting diode (LED): a semiconductor light source working on the principle of electroluminescence, where the wavelength of light emitted depends on the band gap of semiconductors
Liquid crystal (LC): a state of matter with properties between a liquid and solid crystal; it is used
extensively in liquid crystal displays
Magic number: a critical number of atoms in a cluster size providing it higher structural and potential
stability
Mechanical alloying: a solid state process in which grain refinement occurs by repeated deformation,
fracturing and cold welding of powder particles in a high-energy ball mill
Melting point oscillation: the phenomenon of suppression of melting point followed by elevation as
the particle size is reduced from bulk to sub-nanometre size
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS): a microdimensional mechanical system driven by electrical
energy; when the dimensions of the mechanical devices approach nanometric range they are termed
nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS)
Mesoporous: porous materials with regularly arranged, uniform mesopores (250 nm in diameter);
their large surface areas make them useful as adsorbents or catalysts
Microcantilever: a cantilever beam with dimensions in the micrometer scale that is extensively used in
the field of MEMS, sensors, resonators, etc.
Microprocessor: a CPU integrated inside an electronic device; it is programmable and processes the
input data complimented with the instructions stored in its memory and accordingly gives an output
Molecular electronics: the study and application of molecules for electronic device applications
Moores law: a long-term trend in computing hardware suggesting that the number of transistors built
in a unit area of the device approximately doubles every 18 months
Metaloxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET): a transistor in which a voltage on the
oxide-insulated gate electrode can induce a conducting channel between the two other contacts called
source and drain
Multiply twinned particles (MTP): observed frequently with a pseudo five-fold symmetry in
nanocrystalline particles and thin films (deposited on crystalline substrates) of cubic face-centred
metals, diamond-type semiconductors (C, Si, Ge) and alloys
228
Multilayers: thin films of differing chemistry or structure deposited one over the other
Nano: Greek prefix meaning dwarf or something very small; depicts one billionth (109) of a unit
Nanobots: a robot (semi- or fully-automated intelligent machine) consisting of components of a few
hundred nanometre-dimensions; they are also referred to as nanorobots, nanoids, nanites, nanomachines
or nanomites
Nanofibre: fibres with diameter less than 100 nm
Nanofluid: colloidal suspension of nanoparticles of metals, ceramic, carbon nanotubes, etc.
Nanoindentation: an indentation hardness test applied to nanoscale volumes at small loads to obtain
the hardness of individual nanoparticles
Nanolithography: a nanofabrication technique for patterning nanoscale features; used extensively in
the fabrication of ICs and NEMS
Nanomaterial: class of materials in which at least one of the dimensions is on the nanoscale (<100 nm)
Nanoperm alloys: alloys based on the FeZrB system; contain larger concentrations of Fe and have
higher saturation induction compared to the Finemet alloys
Nanorods: 3D nanostructures with aspect ratio typically in the range of 35; all their dimensions are in
the range 1100 nm
Nanoshells: a thin coating over a core object a few tens of nanometres in diameter
Nanotechnology: study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale; generally deals with
structures sized between 1 and 100 nanometres in at least one dimension, and involves developing
materials or devices possessing at least one dimension within that size
Nanowires: 1D nanostructures with width of nanometric dimensions and exhibiting aspect ratios of
1000 or more
Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS): refer MEMS
Opto-electronics: an application of electromagnetic photons for electronic device applications; they
can be either electrical-to-optical or optical-to-electrical transducers
Photocatalysis: phenomenon of accelerating a chemical reaction rate using a photon beam in the
presence of a catalyst
Photoluminescence (PL): a process by which certain substances absorb electromagnetic radiations of
specific wavelengths and re-radiate photons of different wavelength
Photonic crystals: periodic dielectric or metallo-dielectric optical nanostructures that are designed
to affect the propagation of electromagnetic waves (EM) in the same way as the periodic potential in
a semiconductor crystal affects electron motion by defining allowed and forbidden electronic energy
bands
Photonics: electronics using light (photons) instead of electrons to manage data
Piezoresistive effect: phenomenon by which electrical resistance of a material varies with externally
applied mechanical pressure
Plasma: a state of matter containing a significantly large fraction of ionized matter; plasma properties
differ significantly from those of solids, liquids or gases
Physical vapour deposition (PVD): a variety of vacuum deposition technique involving vaporization
of atoms from target material to produce a thin film on a substrate
Glossary 229
Pyrolysis: Greek word denoting separation (lysis) under fire (pyr); a thermochemical method involving
decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen
Quantum computers: a computational device using quantum mechanical phenomena for operations
on input data
Quantum dots: 0D nanostructures in which electron energy states are confined in all three spatial
dimensions; their electronic properties are between that of clusters and bulk semiconductors
Qubit: a quantum-computing equivalent to a bit; with an additional dimension of quantum properties
of atoms
Resonant tunnelling devices (RTD): 2D quantum devices that consist of a long and narrow
semiconductor island, with electron confinement only in two directions
Resonant tunnelling transistors (RTT): see RTD
Scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM): illuminates a specimen through an aperture of a
size smaller than the wavelength of light used and with the specimen positioned within the near-field
regime of the source; by scanning the aperture across the sample through a conventional objective, an
image can be formed
Self-assembly: process in which the components interact within themselves to form aligned or organized
structures without any external force
Shape memory polymers: smart polymers capable of returning to their original shape after being
deformed by external forces, when triggered by an external stimulus such as temperature change
Single electron transistor (SET): devices that are capable of detecting very small variations in the
charge of the gate; charge differences of even one electron can cause the on-and-off switching function
of SET
Sintering: a powder consolidation technique taking place normally at high temperatures and
pressures.
Solgel method: a process that involves the generation of a colloidal suspension (sol), which is
subsequently converted to viscous gel and solid material
Spintronics (spin-based electronics): an emerging technology, which exploits the dual property of
electrons, namely charge and spin state; also known as magneto-electronics
Spark plasma sintering (SPS): a sintering technique using pulsed DC current that directly passes
through the graphite die, as well as the powder to be consolidated, in case of conductive samples
Superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID): a device capable of measuring extremely
weak magnetic fields
Stacking faults: crystallographic defects arising due to wrong stacking sequence of planar arrangement
of atoms
Scanning tunnelling microscope (STM): an instrument used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level;
it works on the principle of quantum tunnelling
Superplasticity: ability to deform a material well beyond the limits expected from normal tensile tests
Surface plasmon (SP): plasmons that are confined to surfaces and interact strongly with light resulting
in a polariton
230
Targeted drug delivery: administration of a pharmaceutical compound in desired amount to a localized

diseased cell/tissue for therapy
Thin film transistors (TFT): an FET made of thin film layers of semiconducting and dielectric materials;
used in LCD and digital radiography applications
Thin films: atomically engineered layers with film thickness usually in the range of nanometers to a
maximum of a few microns
Tissue engineering: science of structural and functional fundamentals of mammalian tissues and
application of biocompatible substitutes to restore, maintain or improve functions
Top-down: involves fragmentation of a microcrystalline material to yield a nanocrystalline material; all
solid state synthesis routes of nanostructures fall into this category
Toxicology: study of toxic or poisonous materials and their effect on living systems; the study of
biocompatibility and adverse effects of nanomaterials is termed nanotoxicology
Triple junction: a node at the intersection of three crystals or grains
Vapourliquidsolid method (VLS): a mechanism for the growth of one-dimensional nanostructures,
such as nanowires, from chemical vapour deposition; to enhance the efficiency and kinetics for the
growth of crystals, a catalytic liquid alloy phase which can rapidly adsorb a vapour to supersaturation
levels is used
Whiskers: thin fibrous growth of a dislocation free crystal
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS): a quantitative surface chemical analysis technique that
measures the elemental composition; the technique involves characterization of photoelectrons
produced by irradiating a solid material with x-rays
Zener pinning: pinning of grain boundaries by secondary precipitates, reducing the grain boundary
migration kinetics
Zeolite: a material that belongs to the family of hydrous aluminum silicate minerals, containing
additions of cations like sodium, potassium, etc., or a corresponding synthetic compound; used chiefly
as molecular filters and ion-exchange agents
Index
231
Index
A
accumulative roll bonding 96
acoustic energy 128
activation energy 39
adsorption 42, 70, 100, 122, 129, 170, 196, 207
aerogels 75
aerosol 74
alkoxide 75, 79, 208
allotropic transformations 87
amorphous 14, 32, 45, 72, 76, 80, 87, 101, 104,
151, 159, 172, 182, 186, 189, 192, 212
anatase 77, 175, 207
anisotropy 45, 52
anodic dissolution 62
anti-ferromagnetic 48
antifouling 141
antimicrobial 134, 139, 140, 145
agent 21
protection 19
antioxidant 136
armchair quantum wire 143
atom manipulation 74
atomic force microscopy (AFM)
atomization 74
attritor 85, 86
Auger electron spectroscopy 73
B
ballistic 54, 140, 143
batteries 20, 49, 142, 207
biocapsule 19
biochemical energy 22
biomolecule 19, 120, 129, 195, 220
biophotonics 19
biosensor 122, 125, 128, 134, 139, 145, 196, 207
Bragg
fibre 117
mirror 116
bottom-up 66
C
cancer therapy 20
cantilever 17, 128, 160, 163, 172
catalysis 20
catalyst 131
catalytic activity
combustion flame chemical vapour
condensation (CF-CVC) 74
characterization 2, 6, 10, 27, 120, 138, 149, 152,
155, 168, 176, 191, 220
charge coupled device (CCD) 19, 129, 131
chemical
aggregation 180
potential 37, 42, 165, 167
self-assembly 82
chemical vapour deposition 66, 70
chirality 184, 191, 194
cladding 117
ClausiusClapeyron equation 38
cluster 3, 5, 11, 13, 39, 42, 68, 76, 125, 178, 182,
189, 200
clustering 54
coercivity 8, 45, 198
cold isostatic pressing 102
cold welding 87
collector 111, 123, 130, 190
colloidal 75
combustion flame chemical vapour
condensation 74
combustion flame spraying 74

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complementary metal oxide semiconductor 19,

129
conshearing 94
consolidation 42, 60, 67, 95, 100, 105
contact mode 83, 128, 161
convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED)
156
coordination number 38
corrosion 62, 125, 128, 170
creep 59, 72
crystalline defect 30
crystallite size 41, 43, 87, 125, 149
crystallization 32, 43, 45, 50, 79, 86, 96, 154
cytotoxicity 216
D
damping 130, 138, 166
dendrimers 20, 99, 134
densification 76, 101, 102, 104
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) 19, 23, 84, 99,
126, 128, 135, 143, 161, 207, 217
deposition 66
desalination 138, 214
desorption 70
diagnostics 48, 122, 126
diamond-like carbon (DLC) 182
dielectric properties 49
diffusion bonding 146
diffusivity 39, 43
dilatometry 100
dip-pen nanolithography 99
disclination 32, 35
dislocation 31
drain 112, 181, 207
drug delivery 15, 19, 124, 128, 139
ductilebrittle transition 61
dynamic consolidation 100
dynamic recovery 60
E
elastic modulus 36
electric arc discharge 184
electrical
contact 90, 178
properties 49
electrochemical 66
electrolytic 66
electromagnetic wave 116
electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) 156
electronic
device 17, 24, 114, 116, 120, 191, 196, 198,
200, 204
nose 130
tongue 131
electrospinning 123
emitter 111, 187, 200, 204, 206
emitting diodes (LEDs) 111
energy density 49
energy minimization 80
epitaxial 73, 118, 150, 176, 200,
equal channel angular
extrusion 92
pressing 92
equichannel angular extrusion 66
evaporation 67
explosive 101, 127, 144, 217
F
fabrication method 94
ferroelectric 49, 77, 79
ferrofluid 16, 43
ferromagnetic 18, 34, 47, 114, 198
fibre sensor 141
fibreoptic
sensors 126
field effect 109, 111, 122, 177, 183, 198, 207
field effect quantum dot (FEQD) 178
field effect transistor 109
field ion microscopy (FIM) 2, 170
filler 124, 147
filtration 21, 138
Finemet 45
five-fold
symmetry 33
twinned 33
flow sensors 121, 195
fluorescence spectroscopy 51, 181
food packaging 21, 134
fracture stress 62
fuel cell 20, 133, 138, 142
Index
fullerene 12, 14, 182, 190, 222
G
gas chromatography 129, 131
gate 111, 112, 113, 123, 179, 198, 207
genetically modified organism (GMO) 215
genotoxicity 217
giant magnetoresistance 18, 48
GMR ratio 115
grain
boundaries 30, 55, 211
boundary diffusion 40, 59
boundary sliding 61, 86
coarsening 41
growth 41, 60, 89, 100
graphene 183, 193
H
HallPetch equation 56
hard magnet 46
hardness 172, 210
health risk 215, 217, 219
high-definition television (HDTV) 19
high-energy ball milling 86
high-pressure carbon monoxide (HiPCO)
method 189
high-pressure torsion 94
high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM)
6, 90
high-temperature SQUIDs 127
hot isostatic pressing 102
hydrogen storage 42, 138, 142
hydrolysis 75, 79, 83, 208
hydrophobic 22, 83
hydroxide 75, 208
I
icosahedral symmetry 5
image force 31, 212
imaging 16, 48, 73, 127, 140, 149, 153, 156, 159,
160, 166, 168, 171, 177, 181, 192
inert gas condensation 67
integrated circuits 109
intelligent bandaid 145
interferometry 121, 129, 195
233
intergranular
corrosion 63
fracture 62
intermetallic 55, 61, 87, 90, 95, 102, 104
J
Josephson junction 127
junction field effect transistor (JFET) 111
K
Kryders law 115
L
laser ablation 67, 69
laser CVD 72
lattice diffusion 40
light emitting diodes 19
liquid crystal display (LCD) 19, 182
lithographically made quantum dot (LGQD)
177
localised surface plasmon resonance 125
lotus leaf 22
low-temperature SQUIDs 127
Lycurgus cup 7
M
magic number 5
magnetic
force microscopy (MFM) 167
mapping 128
properties 8, 43, 45, 47, 64, 164, 198
resonance imaging (MRI) 48
storage 16, 43
magnetic random access memory 114
magneto-cardiogram (MCG) 127
magneto-electric effect 50
magnetostriction 46
magnetron sputtering 68, 202
mass spectroscopy 131
mean free path 52, 54, 59, 68, 73
mechanical alloying 85
mechanical properties 2, 7, 16, 26, 29, 55, 59,
102, 108, 123, 146, 162, 172, 175, 183, 189, 212
melting point 37, 42, 67, 71, 87, 89, 159, 184,
199
234
membrane 21, 38, 121, 131, 138, 147, 181, 195,

209, 214, 216, 221
metal organic chemical vapour deposition
(MOCVD) 203
microcantilever 17, 128
microcomposite 63, 90, 100
microcrystalline 3, 31, 33, 41, 48, 53, 59, 66, 88,
90, 100, 126
microdrill 19
micro-electromechanical devices 16
microfabrication 118
micromachining 118
microprocessor 17
microstructured polymer optical fibre (MPOF)
117
microwave plasma-enhanced CVD (MW-CVD)
71
migration 41, 55, 59, 74, 181
millipede 17
miniaturization 7, 15, 17, 19, 109,111
molecular
beam epitaxy 72
electronic devices 114
self-assembly 80
molecular switching device 114
monomer 76
Moores law 17
MOSFET 111
multilayer 52, 55, 211, 212
multiply twinned particles (MTP) 33
multi-walled carbon nanotubes 16
N
Nano Age 2, 149, 163, 172
nano-balance 16
nano-biosensor 19
nanobot 20, 145
nanocatalysts 134
nanochemistry 21
nano-clay 138
nanocluster 38, 152, 197, 200, 206
nanocomposite 21, 47, 56, 63, 77, 89, 100, 105,
108, 122, 134, 137, 144, 146, 147
nanocrystal quantum dot (NCQD) 177, 178
nanocrystallization 43, 50, 86
nano-electromechanical systems 118
nanofabrication 16, 80
nano-filtration 138
nanofluid 16, 53
nanoindentation 172
nano-lithography 66
Nanoperm 46
nanopowder 67, 77, 100, 103, 134, 138, 152, 208
nanorods 15
nanosensor 24, 119, 122, 125, 126, 128, 134, 138,
143, 204, 206
nanoshells 15
nano-spike 22
nano-spring 15
nanotechnology 2
nanotoxicology 215
nanotube 16, 28, 52, 71, 81, 120, 138, 183, 218
nano-twin 32
nanowires 13
necking 61
non-contact mode 128, 161
non-linear device 116
n-p-n junctions 109
n-type semiconductors 110
O
olation 75
optical properties 3, 6, 10, 50, 114, 117, 122,
176, 181
opto-electronic devices 19
organic LED (OLED) 19
Orowan strengthening 210
oxolation 75
P
packaging 21, 119, 134
patterned array 83
perovskite 79
pharmacology 140
phonon 52, 54, 194
phosphor 19, 110, 158, 169
photocatalyst 139, 208
photocatalytic device 21
photodiodes 110
photoluminescence 51, 178, 192
photonic
band gap 118
Index
crystal fibre 117
crystals 116
photosynthesis 22
physical self-assembly 82
physical vapour deposition 66
piezoresistive effect 118, 121, 195
piezotransducer 161
planetary ball mill 85
plasma polariton 51
plasma-assisted pyrolysis 74
plasma-enhanced CVD 71
plasmon 15, 51, 125,
p-n junctions 110
polarization 52, 63, 118, 196
pollutant 21, 134, 139
polymerization 75, 122
polymorphic transformation 87
precursor 17, 74, 79, 132, 162, 187, 189, 197,
203, 208
preform 117
p-type semiconductors 110
pulsed laser deposition (PLD) 202
purification 20, 133, 185, 191, 214
Q
quadruple nodes 34, 35
quantum
computer 19
confinement 10, 13, 52, 57, 197
dot 10, 11, 13
dot laser 19, 116
interference 126, 127
mechanical force 10
well 10, 12
wire 10, 11, 15, 143
qubit 115, 177, 181
R
rapid solidification processing 66
reflection high energy electron diffraction 73
remanence 47
remediation 21, 138
renewable energy 20
resistivity 8, 50, 91, 128, 202
resolution 2, 6, 90, 99, 128, 143, 149, 152, 155,
158, 161, 165, 180, 188, 192, 194
235
resonant tunnelling
diode 113
transistors 113
RF magnetron sputtering 68
reflection high energy
electron diffraction (RHEED) 73
rutile 77, 207
S
saturation magnetization 45
scanning
electron 149, 152, 172, 192
probe 149
tunnelling microscopy 73
Scherrers formula 150
scratch-resistant coating 21
segregation 16,42, 55, 171
selected area diffraction (SAD) 158
self-assembled monolayer (SAM) 82, 139
self-assembled quantum dot (SAQD) 179
self-assembly 80
self-cleaning 21, 136, 207
self-healing 80
semiconductor 6, 13, 15, 19, 33, 43, 50, 82, 108,
120, 125, 139, 149, 156, 177, 180, 195, 201,
204, 206
semiconductor quantum interference devices
126
severe plastic deformation (SPD) 66
shear
instability 59
localization 93
thickening fluid 145
shock absorber 138
shock wave consolidation 100
shrinkage 76, 104
Simoloyer 85, 100
single electron transistors (SET) 113
single-walled carbon nanotube 16
sintering 103
small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) 151
smart fibre 141
soft magnet 45, 48, 65
solar cells 142
solar energy 22, 134, 207
solgel 66
236
solid solubility 42, 87

solute drag 42, 69
spark plasma sintering (SPS) 103,
spin valve 115
spintronics 115
spray conversion 201, 212
spray pyrolysis 74
sputtering 67
stacking fault 30, 32
strain hardening 59,
sunscreen 135, 208
superalloy 85, 87
superparamagnetic 125
superplasticity 61, 146
supramolecule 80
surface plasmon 51, 125
surface-enhanced
fluorescence 126
Raman scattering 126
T
tapping mode 161, 164
template 83, 123, 152, 196, 198, 203, 209
template-assisted self-assembly (TASA) 83
template-assisted synthesis 199
tensile ductility 59
thermal
conductivity 52, 65, 138
properties 29, 52
thermally activated CVD 71
thermoelectric power 121, 195
thermomechanical processing 101
thermophotovoltaic 143
thin film 5, 6, 19, 33, 48, 67, 70, 74, 115, 125,
149, 171, 198, 200, 202, 208
thin film transistor 19
three-dimensional atom probe (3DAP) 171
tissue engineering 17, 19, 108, 140
titania nanotube (TNT) 209

top-down approach 85
toughness 9, 24, 29, 62, 137, 146
transistor 110
transmission electron microscopy (TEM) 149,
155, 188, 192
triple junction 32, 35
tunnelling magnetoresistance 18
twin(s) 30, 32, 33
U
ultrafiltration 21
ultrafine grain 93
V
vacuum tube 108
vapour phase epitaxy (VPE) 179, 196
vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) process 204
W
water filtration 138
water strider 22, 24
wet chemical synthesis 79
whisker 31, 33, 188, 199
wire explosion 70
Wootz steel 6
work hardening 55, 60, 86
X
xerogel 76
x-ray
diffraction 149, 191
photoelectric spectroscopy 73
Y
yield stress 56, 60, 62, 211
Z
Zener pinning 42
Plate 1
Fig. 1.3 (see page 6) The colours of stained glass panels depend on the particle size of gold and silver
nanoparticles introduced into them. Such colloids were made even in the 11th century when medieval artisans
mixed gold chloride with glass. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Muzeum_Su%C5%82kowskich__Zabytkowy_Witra%C5%BC.jpg).
145 nm
Partial supported
lipid bilayer
400 nm
Final supported
lipid bilayer
Fig. 1.4 (see page 6) Supported lipid bilayer formation on a surface covered with nanoparticles of different
sizes. Transmembrane pores (or holes) are formed around particles of approximately 1 to 20 nm diameter. The
3D figures shown here are the adapted representation of the series of tapping mode atomic force microscopy
images recorded under liquid buffer medium. (Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Supported_Lipid_
Bilayer_and_Nanoparticles_AFM.png).
Plate 2
10 nm
24 nm
Fig. 1.5 (see page 7) Nanoshells designed to absorb various wavelengths of light including infrared (vial at
far right). (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nano_Figure_1.png).
Fig. 1.6 (see page 7) Famous 4th century Roman cup, which appears green when illuminated from outside and
red when illuminated from within; the red colour is due to very small amounts of gold nanopowder (about 40 parts
per million). (Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lycurgus_cup_british_museum.JPG; http://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brit_Mus_13sept10_brooches_etc_046.jpg).
Plate 3
Fig. 1.17 (see page 16) Schematic illustration of nanotubes.

(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Types_of_Carbon_Nanotubes.png).
(a)
(b)
Fig. 1.21 (see page 22) Nanotechnology in nature: self-cleaning lotus leaf. The hydrophobic lotus leaf has
inspired nanotechnologists to develop a number of innovative products. (Source: (a) http://commons.wikimedia.
org/wiki/File:Tropaeolum-majus(Lotus-oben).jpg); (b) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lotus3.jpg).
Plate 4
(a)
(b)
Fig. 2.6 (see page 42) Grain growth restriction in CuW nanocomposites heated to 500C in (a) Cu10%W
and (b) Cu20%W. The as-prepared composite (by high-energy ball milling) shows a grain size of about
20 nm, which is very similar to that observed after heating to 500C. In comparison, nanocrystalline pure Cu
usually shows abnormal grain growth even at 200C. This clearly brings out the Zener pinning effect in the
nanocomposites. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras)
Fig. 2.19 (see page 52) Image of Don

Quixote. Similar figures have been made using
nanocrystalline VO2. The image is invisible below
341K. The visibility in the picture is due to a
drastic change in optical property associated with
phase transition in nanocrystalline VO2. This is
reported to be the worlds fastest optical shutter
known till date. (Source: http://upload.wikimedia.
org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Honor%C3%A9_
Daumier_017.jpg; http://www.vanderbilt.edu/
exploration/stories/vo2shutter.html (Credit: Ren
Lopez, Vanderbilt University))
Plate 5
Fig. 5.4 (see page 154) Ray diagrams for SEM and TEM.
(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SimpleSEMandTEM.jpg)
2.0
1.0
0
0
1.0
2.0 m
Fig. 5.10 (see page 165) AFM image of a CuTa nanocomposite. (Source: BS Murty, IIT Madras).
Plate 6
Fig. 5.12 (see page 169) Schematic diagram showing the principle of FIM. (Source: (a) http://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FIM.JPG; (b) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FIMtip.JPG)
Fig. 6.2 (see page 178) CdSe NCQDs that fluoresce into different colours depending on their size.
(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CdSeqdots.jpg).
Fig. 6.7 (see page 183) Ballstick model of a nanotube; the balls represent the carbon atoms and the sticks their bonds.
(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Semiconducting_nanotube.png)
Plate 7
Plate 8
Image of Barak Obama produced using nanoparticles. Each face is made of approximately 150 million tiny
carbon nanotubes; thats about how many Americans voted in the 2008 presidential election.
(With kind permission from John Hart, Sameh Tawfick, Michael De Volder from the University of Michigan, USA)

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What are some of the applications of nanoscience discussed in the document?

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Textbook of

Bangalore / Bhopal / Bhubaneshwar / Chandigarh / Chennai

About the Series

SERIES IN METALLURGY AND MATERIALS SCIENCE

Editorial Advisory Board

About the Authors

B S Murty, Professor, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Madras,

List of Colour Plates

Fig. 1.3 : Colours of stained glass panels

Fig. 1.5 : Nanoshells designed to absorb various wavelengths of light

Fig. 1.17 : Schematic illustration of nanotubes

Fig. 2.6 : Grain growth restriction in CuW nanocomposites

Fig. 5.4 : Ray diagrams for SEM and TEM

Fig. 5.12 : The principle of FIM

Fig. 6.7 : Ballstick model of a nanotube

1. The Big World of Nanomaterials

2. Unique Properties of Nanomaterials

Food and Agriculture Industry

5. Tools to Characterize Nanomaterials

6. Nanostructured Materials with High Application Potential

7. Concerns and Challenges of Nanotechnology

Chapter 1: The Big World of Nanomaterials 1

The Big World of Nanomaterials

Introduction to nanocrystalline materials

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Chapter 1: The Big World of Nanomaterials 3

HISTORY AND SCOPE

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Chapter 1: The Big World of Nanomaterials 5

CLUSTERS AND MAGIC NUMBERS

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Nanomaterials are not new

Chapter 1: The Big World of Nanomaterials 7

Early applications of nanotechnology: Nano-gold

Publications on nanoscience and nanotechnology

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

CAN SMALL THINGS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE?

Nanosize and properties

Change in properties of Ni as grain size is changed from 10 m to 10 nm

Chapter 1: The Big World of Nanomaterials 9

A large number of atoms reside at the grain boundaries,

Fig. 1.9 The hypothetical structure of a

Fig. 1.10 Increase in the intercrystalline region (grain

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Near field optical

Auger electron spectroscope

Defects and Structure

point of a free-standing particle is lowered if it is a few nanometres in size. Due to quantum

CLASSIFICATION OF NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS

Siegel classified nanostructured materials into four categories according to their

Chapter 1: The Big World of Nanomaterials 11

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Nanostructured materials belonging to the second family consist of crystallites with

Chapter 1: The Big World of Nanomaterials 13

QUANTUM CONFINEMENT: QUANTUM DOTS