Investigations of the synthesis, growth, assembly and properties of inorganic and carbon nanostructures

Abstract

Nanoscience involves the study of properties and phenomena on the scale of 1- 100 nm (1 nm = 10−9 m). Nanotechnology involves the design, fabrication and application of nanomaterials, and the fundamental understanding of the relationships between physical properties or phenomena and materials dimensions. On nanometer scale, materials or structures may possess new physical properties or exhibit new physical phenomena which vary with change in their size and shape. Nanoscale materials often exhibit behavior that is intermediate between that of a macroscopic solid and an atomic or molecular species. This is partly due to the high surface to volume ratio of these materials and partly due to the size induced quantum confinement of the electrons. Due to these special properties, the research on this area is evolving and expanding very rapidly.