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Nanomaterials: Toxicity, Health and Environmental Issues edited by Challa S. S. R. Kumar (Nanotechnologies for the Life Sciences: Wiley-VCH) Nanotechnologies for the Life Sciences is the first comprehensive source covering the convergence of materials and life sciences on the nanoscale, a wide field of research which brings together the main technology drive of the 21st century and existing, multibillion dollar markets.
Written by international experts describing the various facets of nanofabrication, the ten volumes of NtLS provide the underlying nanotechnologies for the design, creation and characterization of medical, biological and cybernetic applications. Each volume addresses in detail one particular facet of the field.
Tailor-made nanomaterials find widespread new opportunities in diagnostic and monitoring microdevices, microsurgery tools and instruments, tissue engineering, drug delivery or artificial organs, and many more. Making information available from all kinds of specialized sources throughout the disciplines involved, NtLS is essential reading for all scientists working in this field from medicine and biology through chemistry, materials science and physics to engineering.

Volume 5 surveys the health issues of nanoscale particles and covers the novel aspects of both environmental protection from as well as with nanomaterials in depth. nanomaterials and their toxicity are examined, as are their implications s for the delicate balance of aqueous systems.

Excerpt: It is my pleasure to welcome the readers back to Nanotechnologies for the Life Sciences with the first volume published in 2006. I am presenting to you, on behalf of yet another dedicated team of contributors and supporters, the fifth volume, Nanomaterials – Toxicity, Health and Environmental Issues, of the ten volume series. We are bringing the fifth volume while the fourth is still in print for a number of reasons. The most important being the fact that a potential $1 trillion nanotechnol­ogy market hinges on understanding the toxic effects of nanomaterials on our health and environment. With continuous world-wide increase in both government and private funding in nanoscience and nanotechnology touching close to $35 bil­lion, the stakes are even higher. With increase in stakes, there is a worldwide awak­ening to understand the toxic effect of nanomaterials and the scholarly chapters presented in this book are testimony to the efforts of several research groups to understand these effects. While the current knowledge base is small compared to what needs to be understood, it certainly provides a scaffold for this knowledge base to take definite shape.

Some of the critical risk assessment issues that are currently being investigated by the health & environmental nano researchers are toxicology, exposure assess­ment, environmental and biological fate, transport, persistence, transformation, recyclables and overall sustainability of manufactured nanomaterials. I am aware that the scientific data generated so far is very scanty and requires more worldwide concerted effort in this direction. Nevertheless, the amount of information pre­sented by the authors covers almost everything of what is currently available in the literature. The book is divided into three distinct sections in an attempt to em­phasize the three major issues related to nanomaterials, which are toxicology, health and environment. The boundaries are only artificial and have been created for the sake of clarity. I am aware that the three issues are interrelated, yet unique in their own way. I am also aware the field is very nascent and hence there could be some amount of overlap in terms of information that is presented in the chapters. However, the USP of the book is that all the chapters provide very unique and in­tellectually stimulating perspectives on the most important topics in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

The first section of the book deals. in general. with issues around the toxicity of nanomaterials and begins with a scholarly report on the toxic effects of metal oxide nanoparticles which are by far, commercially, the most significant materials as they find applications in cosmetics, sunscreens, fillers in dental materials, water filtra­tion processes, catalysis, glare-reducing coating for glasses, and so on. Amanda M. Fond and Gerald J. Meyer from the Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, USA have reviewed the literature, in addition to capturing their own findings, on biotoxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles keeping the emphasis more on in vitro rather than in vivo studies. In this chapter entitled, Biotoxicity of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles, their critical analysis provides to the reader possible mecha­nisms by which the metal oxide nanoparticles enter the environment and the body, and the potential health impacts that might be expected. Eva Oberdörster from Southern Methodist University, Patricia McClellan-Green from NC State Uni­versity and Mary Haasch from University of Mississippi have collaborated to pre­sent their critical evaluation in the second chapter, Ecotoxicity of Engineered Nano-materials, impact of nanomaterials on the environment, and more specifically on air, water and soil. In addition, readers will find very useful the authors' insight into how the activity of nanomaterials is effected by extraneous factors such as abiotic factors, microbial degradation/activation and identification of biomarkers associated with nanoparticle exposure.

In the second section of the book, illuminating perspectives on the effect of nanomaterials on health are presented. Relative to the increased use of nanomate­rials in a variety of industrial applications, the amount of information regarding their health effects is limited. Peter Hoet from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Bel­gium, Irene Bruske-Hohlfeld from GSF-Forschungszentrum fur Umwelt and Ge­sundheit, Germany, and Oleg V. Salata from Sir William Dunn School of Pathol­ogy, University of Oxford, UK, teamed up in order to review the epidemiological studies of the technogenic nanoparticles and to highlight the apparent health ef­fects associated with the inhalation of ultrafine particulate matter. The third chap­ter by them, aptly entitled Possible Health Impact of Nanomaterials, provides infor­mation on likely pathways for nanoparticulates in general and nanofibers in particular inside the body, the effects associated with their interactions on the cel­lular level, and analysis of the origins of bioactivity of nanomaterials. Continuing on the same theme, chapter number four, Dosimetry, Epidemiology and Toxicology of Nanoparticles, describes the dosimetry, epidemiology and toxicology of nanopar­ticles with reference to generally well established principles and paradigms. The chapter is contributed by Wolfgang G. Kreyling, Manuela Semmler and Winfried Willer from GSF-National Research Centre for Environment & Health, Institute for Inhalation Biology, Focus-Network Aerosols and Health, and Clinical Research Group 'Inflammatory Lung Diseases' respectively, from Germany. The highlight of the chapter, in my view, is described best by the authors themselves: "extrapolating findings and principles observed in particle inhalation toxicology into recommen­dations for an integrated concept of risk assessment of nanoparticles for a broad range of use in science, technology and medicine." Focusing more specifically on ceramic and metallic nanoparticles, the team lead by Kirsten Peters from Institute of Pathology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Germany, discusses in chapter five their effects on primary human endothelial cells which are highly relevant for nanoparticle transmigration from the blood into tissues. The chapter, Impact of Ceramic and Metallic Nano-Scaled Particles on Endothelial Cell Functions in vitro, clearly helps readers to understand, with an example of pro-inflammatory stimula­tion of endothelial cells by nanoparticles, that even though it is clear that the nano-particles exert effects that are relevant in vitro, these cannot be easily interpreted and may not be of relevance in vivo. The sixth chapter, Toxicity of Carbon Nanotubes and its Implications for Occupational and Environmental Health, written by the team lead by Chiu-Wing Lam from the Division of Space Life Sciences, NASA Johnson Space Center, and Wyle Laboratories, Houston, USA, is a comprehensive review on the toxicological risk of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and the impurities present in them due to inhalation exposures using both rodent and in vitro cell culture stud­ies. In addition, the authors discuss the mechanisms of CNT pathogenesis in the lung and other toxicological manifestations. In view of the growing expectations that CNTs will find extraordinary applications in the field of not only life sciences but also in electronics, computer, and aerospace industries, the chapter is timely and will be a single source of information for the readers. The final chapter in this section is the seventh chapter, wherein the authors review the latest results from various studies on the biological effects of nanoparticles that may be the basis for adverse effects, especially in humans. The chapter, Toxicity of Nanomaterials –New Carbon Conformations and Metal Oxides, provides a comparative study on two most important classes of nanomaterials, viz carbon and metal oxide based nano-materials, with respect to their cellular uptake and possible influence on important cellular mechanisms in vitro. The chapter is a testimony to the intensive analysis on the topic carried out by the authors Harald F. Krug, Katrin Kern, Jorg M. WorleKnirsch, and Silvia Diabate from the Institute of Toxicology and Genetics at For­schungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany.

The final section and the most important one, in my view, is dedicated to the in­vestigations related to impact of nanomaterials on environment. While the chap­ters 1-7 in the previous sections dealt with possible negative effects of nanomate­rials, this sections portrays the positive aspects of nanomaterials. The first chapter in this section (8th in the book) is contributed by Glen E. Fryxell and Shas V. Mat­tigod of Materials Chemistry and Surface Research Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA. In this chapter, Nanomaterials for Environmental Reme­diation, the authors address one of the key global political and economic issues of the 21st century – how does one ensure that the majority of the world population has clean environment in general and air & water in particular in future? An anal­ysis of nanoparticle-based remediation technologies for air and water treatment including field tests on actual waste streams is presented. Moving into the ninth chapter, readers will find more specific information regarding the variety of ap­proaches being utilized for treatment of water with nanomaterials. In this chapter, entitled Nanomaterials for Water Treatment, Peter Majewski of Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Australia, is upbeat about various technol­ogies currently under development and more specifically about the approach using magnetic iron exchange resin (MIEX) which is already commercially applied in water treatment. It is heartening to read the next chapter, chapter ten, wherein Heather Coleman from the Centre for Particle and Catalyst Technologies of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, elaborates on how nanotechnol­ogies are proving to be playing a major role in alleviating the concerns about the release into the aquatic environment of natural and synthetic oestrogens and com­pounds that have the ability to mimic oestrogens. In this chapter, Nanoparticles for the Photocatalytic Removal of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Water, the author de­scribes nanoscale titanium dioxide photocatalysis for the degradation of the natural and synthetic oestrogens in water. Chapter eleven by Wan Y. Shih and Wei-Heng Shih, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Phila­delphia, USA, is very unique in the sense that the authors describe their own in­vestigations into the development of piezoelectric microcantilever sensors of differ­ent sizes and types that can perform rapid, in-situ, in-water pathogen detection with sensitivities well above that of the current techniques. The chapter describes both theoretical and experimental studies that were carried out to characterize the sensors. While the information provided in the chapter, Nanosensors for Envi­ronmental Applications, clearly demonstrates that we have a long way to go before realizing the dream of fabricating truly nanosize sensors, it is hoped that the chap­ter will form a strong basis for readers in designing their own nanosensors for environmental applications. The final chapter, Toxicology of Nanoparticles in Envi­ronmental Air Pollution by Ken Donaldson and his collaborators, puts forward the evidence that nano-sized air pollutants play adverse role on our health. I confess that this chapter could have been included in the previous section. However, since the chapter describes nanosized partriculate matter present in the natural environ­ment, I have decided to include it in this section. As a final chapter, I also wanted the reader to take home the message that while certainly nanomaterials can be utilized to clean up our environment and treat variety of diseases, one needs to be aware of the deleterious effects of nano-sized particulate matter in the environment.

Nanophysics and Nanotechnology: An Introduction to Modern Concepts in Nanoscience by Edward L. Wolf (John Wiley & Sons) Providing the first self-contained introduction to the physical concepts, techniques and applications of nanotechnology, this is of interest to readers grounded in college chemistry and physics. As such, it is suitable for students and professionals of engineering, science, and materials science and to research workers of varied backgrounds in the interdisciplinary areas that make up nanotechnology.
The author covers the spectrum from the latest examples of nanoscale systems, quantum concepts and effects, self-assembled nanosystems, manufacturing, scanning probe methods of observation and fabrication, to single-electron and molecular electronics. In so doing, he not only comprehensively presents the scientific background, but also concludes with a look at the long-term outcomes. 

From the contents:

• Introduction

• Systematics of Making Things Smaller

• What are Limits to Smallness?

• Quantum Nature of the Nanoworld

• Quantum Consequences for the Macroworld

• Self-assembled Nanostructures in Nature and Industry

• Physics-based Experimental Approaches to Nanofabrication and Nanotechnology

• Looking into the Future

Excerpt: Technology has to do with the application of scientific knowledge to the economic (profitable) production of goods and services. This book is concerned with the size or scale of working machines and devices in different forms of technology. It is par­ticularly concerned with the smallest devices that are possible, and equally with the appropriate laws of nanometer-scale physics: "nanophysics", which are available to accurately predict behavior of matter on this invisible scale. Physical behavior at the nanometer scale is predicted accurately by quantum mechanics, represented by Schrodinger's equation. Schrodinger's equation provides a quantitative understand­ing of the structure and properties of atoms. Chemical matter, molecules, and even the cells of biology, being made of atoms, are therefore, in principle, accurately described (given enough computing power) by this well tested formulation of nano-physics.

There are often advantages in making devices smaller, as in modern semiconduc­tor electronics. What are the limits to miniaturization, how small a device can be made? Any device must be composed of atoms, whose sizes are the order of 0.1 nanometer. Here the word "nanotechnology' will be associated with human-designed working devices in which some essential element or elements, produced in a controlled fashion, have sizes of 0.1 nm to thousands of nanometers, or, one Angstrom to one micron. There is thus an overlap with "microtechnology" at the micrometer size scale. Microelectronics is the most advanced present technology, apart from biology, whose complex operating units are on a scale as small as micro-meters.

Although the literature of nanotechnology may refer to nanoscale machines, even "self-replicating machines built at the atomic level,” it is admitted that an "assem­bler breakthrough" [2] will be required for this to happen, and no nanoscale machines presently exist. In fact, scarcely any micrometer gm scale machines exist either, and it seems that the smallest mechanical machines readily available in a wide variety of forms are really on the millimeter scale, as in conventional wrist-watches. (To avoid confusion, note that the prefix "micro" is sometimes applied, but never in this book, to larger scale techniques guided by optical microscopy, such as "microsurgery'.)

The reader may correctly infer that Nanotechnology is presently more concept than fact, although it is certainly a media and funding reality. That the concept has great potential for technology, is the message to read from the funding and media attention to this topic.

The idea of the limiting size scale of a miniaturized technology is fundamentally interesting for several reasons. As sizes approach the atomic scale, the relevant phys­ical laws change from the classical to the quantum-mechanical laws of nanophysics. The changes in behavior from classical, to "mesoscopic", to atomic scale, are broadly understood in contemporary physics, but the details in specific cases are complex and need to be worked out. While the changes from classical physics to nanophysics may mean that some existing devices will fail, the same changes open up possibilities for new devices.

A primary interest in the concept of nanotechnology comes from its connections with biology. The smallest forms of life, bacteria, cells, and the active components of living cells of biology, have sizes in the nanometer range. In fact, it may turn out that the only possibility for a viable complex nanotechnology is that represented by biology. Certainly the present understanding of molecular biology has been seen as an existence proof for "nanotechnology" by its pioneers and enthusiasts. In molecu­lar biology, the "self replicating machines at the atomic level" are guided by DNA, replicated by RNA, specific molecules are "assembled" by enzymes and cells are replete with molecular scale motors, of which kinesin is one example. Ion channels, which allow (or block) specific ions (e.g., potassium or calcium) to enter a cell through its lipid wall, seem to be exquisitely engineered molecular scale devices where distinct conformations of protein molecules define an open channel vs. a closed channel.

Biological sensors such as the rods and cones of the retina and the nanoscale magnets found in magnetotactic bacteria appear to operate at the quantum limit of sensitivity. Understanding the operation of these sensors doubtless requires application of nanophysics. One might say that Darwinian evolution, a matter of odds of survival, has mastered the laws of quantum nanophysics, which are famously prob­abilistic in their nature. Understanding the role of quantum nanophysics entailed in the molecular building blocks of nature may inform the design of man-made sensors, motors, and perhaps much more, with expected advances in experimental and engineering techniques for nanotechnology.

This book is intended to provide a guide to the ideas and physical concepts that allow an understanding of the changes that occur as the size scale shrinks toward the atomic scale. Our point of view is that a general introduction to the concepts of nanophysics will add greatly to the ability of students and professionals whose undergraduate training has been in engineering or applied science, to contribute in the various areas of nanotechnology. The broadly applicable concepts of nanophysicsare worth study, as they do not become obsolete with inevitable changes in the fore-front of technology. 

What is What in the Nanoworld: A Handbook on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology by Victor E. Borisenko, Stefano Ossicini (John Wiley & Sons) This introductory, reference handbook summarizes the terms and definitions, most important phenomena, and regulations discovered in the physics, chemistry, technology, and application of nanostructures. These nanostructures are typically inorganic and organic structures at the atomic scale. Fast progressing nanoelectronics and optoelectronics, molecular electronics and spintronics, nanotechnology and quantum processing of information, are of strategic importance for the information society of the 21st century.
The short form of information taken from textbooks, special encyclopedias, recent original books and papers provides fast support in understanding "old" and new terms of nanoscience and technology widely used in scientific literature on recent developments. Such support is indeed important when one reads a scientific paper presenting new results in nanoscience. A representative collection of fundamental terms and definitions from quantum physics, and quantum chemistry, special mathematics, organic and inorganic chemistry, solid state physics, material science and technology accompanies recommended second sources (books, reviews, websites) for an extended study of a subject.
Each entry interprets the term or definition under consideration and briefly presents main features of the phenomena behind it. Additional information in the form of notes ("First described in: ?", "Recognition: ?", "More details in: ?") supplements entries and gives a historical retrospective of the subject with reference to further sources.
Ideal for answering questions related to unknown terms and definitions of undergraduate and Ph.D. students studying the physics of low-dimensional structures, nanoelectronics, nanotechnology.
The handbook provides fast support, when one likes to know or to remind the essence of a scientific term, especially when it contains a personal name in its title, like in terms "Anderson localization", "Aharonov-Bohm effect", "Bose-Einstein condensate", e.t.c
More than 1000 entries, from a few sentences to a page in length. 

Excerpt: Nanotechnology and nanoscience are concerned with material science and its application at, or around, the nanometer scale (1 nm = 10–9 m, 1 billionth of a meter). The nanoscale can be reached either from the top down, by machining to smaller and smaller dimensions, or from the bottom up, by exploiting the ability of molecules and biological systems to self-assemble into tiny structures. Individual inorganic and organic nanostructures involve clusters, nanoparticles, nanocrystals, quantum dots, nanowires, and nanotubes, while collections of nanostructures involve arrays, assemblies, and superlattices of individual nanostructures.

Rather than a new specific area of science, nanoscience is a new way of thinking. Its revolutionary potential lies in its intrinsic multidisciplinarity. Its development and successes depend strongly on efforts from, and fruitful interactions among, physics, chemistry, mathe­matics, life sciences, and engineering. This handbook intends to contribute to a broad com­prehension of what are nanoscience and nanotechnology.

It is an introductory, reference handbook that summarizes terms and definitions, most important phenomena, regulations, experimental and theoretical tools discovered in physics, chemistry, technology and the application of nanostructures. We present a representative collection of fundamental terms and most important supporting definitions taken from general physics and quantum mechanics, material science and technology, mathematics and information theory, organic and inorganic chemistry, solid state physics and biology. As a result, fast progressing nanoelectronics and optoelectronics, molecular electronics and spintronics, nano-fabrication and -manufacturing, bioengineering and quantum processing of information, an area of fundamental importance for the information society of the 21st century, are covered. More than 1300 entries, from a few sentences to a page in length, are given, for beginners to professionals.

The book is organized as follows: Terms and definitions are arranged in alphabetical order. Those printed in bold within an article have extended details in their alphabetical place. Each section in the book interprets the term or definition under consideration and briefly presents the main features of the phenomena behind it. The great majority of the terms have addi­tional information in the form of notes such as "First described in: ... ", "Recognition: ... ", "More details in: ... ", thus giving a historical perspective of the subject with reference to fur­ther sources of extended information, which can be articles, books, review articles or websites. This makes it easier for the willing reader to reach a deeper insight. Bold characters in formu­las symbolize vectors and matrices while normal characters are scalar quantities. Symbols and constants of a general nature are handled consistently throughout the book (see Fundamental Constants Used in Formulas). They are used according to the IUPAP convention.

The book will help undergraduate and Ph. D students, teachers, researchers and scientific managers to understand properly the language used in modern nanoscience and nanotechnol­ogy. It will also appeal to readers from outside the nanoworld community, in particular to scientific journalists.

Nanoengineering Of Structural, Functional And Smart Materials edited by Mark J. Schulz, Ajit D. Kelkar, Mannur J. Sundaresan (CRC Press) In chapters contributed by 24 visionary laboratories, Nanoengineering of Structural, Functional, and Smart Materials combines wide-ranging research aimed at the development of multifunctional materials that are strong, lightweight, and versatile. This book explores promising and diverse approaches to the design of nanoscale materials and presents concepts that integrate mechanical, electrical, electrochemical, polarization, optical, thermal, and biomimetic functions with nanoscale materials to support the development of polymer composites, thin films, fibers, pultruded materials, and smart materials having a superior combination of properties.

Interrelating the many different aspects of nanoscience vital to developing new material systems, this book is organized into three parts that cover the major areas of focus: synthesis, manufacturing techniques, and modeling. The book defines functional materials and discusses techniques designed to improve material properties, durability, multifunctionality, and adaptability. It also examines sensors and actuators fabricated from nanostructured microdevices for structural health and performance monitoring. Shifting its focus to nanomechanics and the modeling of nanoscale particles, the book discusses vibration properties, thin films, and pulse laser deposition, low cost manufacturing of ceramic composites, hybrid nanocomposites, and various types of nanotubes. The book combines atomistic modeling with molecular dynamics simulations to clarify design considerations and discusses coupling between atomistic models and classical continuum mechanics models. The authors also advocate the current and potential development of commercial applications, such as nanocoatings to create "artificial skin" and functionalized nanotubes used to enhance the properties of composite materials and for hydrogen sensing and storage.

Features

• Compiles cutting-edge research for the synthesis, modeling, simulation, performance evaluation, and characterization of nanoscale materials

• Explores novel nanotechnology and nanoengineering applications in the development of advanced structural, electronic, biosensor and other types of materials

• Provides background on barrier problems and ways to produce high-return nanotechnology

• Addresses fundamental areas considered critical to combining nanoscale materials and chemical and evolutionary processes found in nature

• Highlights the development of commercial applications in composite materials, electronics, biosensing, and smart materials

• Includes exercises at the end of each chapter

Nanoengineering of Structural, Functional, and Smart Materials provides an overview of current trends and cutting-edge research in the area of nanoengineered materials. It offers new directions for the production of functionally tailored materials that can self-monitor their health and provide enduring performance.

Excerpt: In most areas of science and engineering, there is research underway related to nanotechnology. However, the research is in different disciplines and the basic and applied research is often not in step. The intent of this hook is therefore to connect science and technology under the umbrella of nanoengineering in order to design and build practical and innovative materials and devices from the nanoscale upward. Nanoengineering is fast becoming a cross-cutting held where chemists, physicists, medical doctors, engineers, business managers, and environmentalists work together to improve society through nanotechnology. Nanoscale materials such as nanotubes, nanowires, and nanobelts have extraordinary properties and unique geometric features, but utilizing these properties at the nanoscale and bringing these properties to the macroscale are very challenging problems. The authors of the 24 chapters of the book explain these problems and have attempted to develop well integrated coverages of the major areas where materials nanotechnology has shown advances and where the potential to develop unique structural, functional, and smart materials exists.

Structural materials are defined as load bearing and are designed mainly based on mechanical properties. Examples where nanoscale materials can improve mechanical properties include polymer and metallic materials reinforced with nano-particles and thin films to increase the surface hardnesses of the materials. Functional materials are designed to have special properties, and are not primarily used for their mechanical characteristics. Functional materials can have tailored or functionally graded physical attributes such as electrical and thermal conductivity, magnetic properties, gas storage, and thermoelectric properties, and sometimes graded mechanical properties such as hardness. Nanoscale functional materials can be used in high-tech applications including magnetic devices, electronics conducting thermoplastics. anisotropic polymer nanocomposites, surface coatings, biomaterials, sensor materials, catalysts. polymers, gels, ceramics, thin films, and membranes. Smart or intelligent materials have sensing or actuation properties such as piezoelectric or electrochemical transduction activities. Carbon nanotubes are smart materials because their electrochemical and elastic properties are coupled, and they have higher theoretical actuation energy densities than existing smart materials. 

Scope of the Book. Our goal is to provide readers with background in the various areas of research that are needed to develop unique atomically precise multifunctional materials that may he the strongest, lightest, and most versatile materials ever made. The background needed to accomplish this encompasses synthetic chemistry, biotechnology, self-organization, supramolecular self-assembly, nanophased particles, films and fibers, chemical vapor deposition, oxide evaporation, and various approaches to develop extraordinary strength, toughness, and net shape processing of multifunctional materials and structures. In addition, molecular sensors, active nanocomposites, thin film skins, power generation, high thermal and electrical

conductivities, and biomimetics are all discussed with the aim of optimizing material systems to monitor their performance and maintain their integrity. These processes may exploit the large elastic and transduction properties of carbon nanotube materials for developing extraordinary multifunctional capabilities. Moreover, because the nanotube structure is not limited to carbon, the benefits of nanoscale inorganic fullerene-like materials and nanotubes for developing multifunctional and polar materials are also examined. Many elements and compounds are known to form stable two-dimensional sheets, and hence create many exciting possibilities for developing new types of nanoscale materials. Most materials that can be formed by physical or chemical vapor deposition have the potential to form nanotubes, nano-belts, nanowires, or some form of nanostructure, and many of these new materials are discussed in this book. One goal of nanoscale research is to produce synthetic analogic bionic materials that evolve their own nanostructures, sense and react to their environments, self-monitor their conditions, and have super-elastic and self-healing properties to provide enduring performance.

This book provides engineers and scientists the broad foundation needed to attack barrier problems and produce high-payoff nanotechnology. As you will see, this book contains quite a variety of research representing different approaches and viewpoints about nanotechnology. Nanoengineering is a new field, and this book serves as a focal point and reference that can be used to conceptualize and design new materials and systems. It was made possible by the generous contributions of scientists from around the world, and presents state-of-the-art nanoscience and nanotechnology including comments on future directions for research. The book will help researchers, students, managers, those working in industry, and investors understand where we are and where we are headed in the area of nanoscale, nanophase, and nanostructured materials and systems. Many figures and detailed descriptions of the synthesis, processing, and characterization of nanoscale materials are included so that the book serves as a learning tool for nanoengineering, and so that readers can reproduce the results presented. Problems are included at the end of each chapter to test understanding of the concepts presented and to provoke further investigations into the subject. This book is also meant to be used as a textbook for graduate level nanotechnology courses. It is hoped that the book will inspire students of all ages and disciplines to study nanotechnology and to think of different ways to use it to help humanity.

Multifunctional Materials. This book also explores the multifunctionality that is common in nature. Multifunctional materials have several important properties simultaneously, such as a structural material that can also sense and actuate. Presently, no smart material is also a structural material. Multifunctionality is actually a universal trait of biological materials and systems. Since the beginning of time, biological materials and systems have been designed by nature from the smallest components upward, and they have capabilities unmatched by man-made materials. Therefore, it makes sense to integrate biomimetics and nanoengineering; biomimetics provides the architecture for materials design, whereas nanoengineering essentially provides the route to build materials starting on the atomic scale, as in nature. Biologically inspired nanotechnology or bionanotechnology can be described as the process of mimicking the chemical and evolutionary processes found in nature to synthesize unique almost defect-free multifunctional material systems starting from the nanoscale up. Bionanotechnology is becoming a new frontier in the development of advanced biomedical, structural, and other materials. Bionanotechnology is exemplified through biological materials constructed in layered anisotropic and self-assembled designs that provide strength and toughness at the same time and biological systems in which sensing and actuation are performed using millions of identical parallel nerves and muscle fibers. This architecture allows billions of bits of sensory information to be processed in the neural, auditory, and visual systems in an efficient hierarchical order and millions of identical micro-actuators to work in harmony. In the book, initial concepts are discussed to mimic the basic functions of nerves and muscles using nanoscale materials. These concepts may someday lead to digitally controlled intelligent and enduring materials and structures.

Applications and Benefits. The socio-economic benefit of nanoengineering will be ubiquitous and lead to improved safety, security, and standard of living throughout the world. Future materials and structures will have vastly improved properties and durability. Smart machines will control their own performance, preserve their integrity, and partially self-repair when damaged, and when they are worn out or obsolete, they will be programmed to demanufacture and be recycled into new machines. Building without machining may be another outgrowth of nanoengineering. Nanoengineering will produce new launch vehicles, lightweight agile aircraft, and may allow the human exploration of space. Major areas of impact include future space missions that will use hybrid nanocomposites to provide a wholesale reduction in weight in space vehicle systems through material substitution, redesign, and integration; autonomous reconfigurable structures will increase speeds, reduce fuel consumption, reduce pollution, reduce noise, and provide lasting performance for aircraft; intelligent materials will provide structural health and performance monitoring to prevent degradation and failure of structures in all types of critical applications; nanocoatings, fillers, sprays, and films will provide protection from abrasion, EMI, heat, and provide artificial skins for materials. Commercial applications of nanocomposite materials potentially include all composite material products, brake disks, turbine engine shrouds, composite bushings, brake parts, metallic composites, smart materials, biosensing, and power harvesting. New applications will emerge as our knowledge increases. Nanoengineering is also important in fuel cells where functionalized nanotubes may store hydrogen safely for use in automobiles. Electronics, medicine, and computing are other areas where nanotechnology promises advances. Indeed, our vision of nanoengineering is to obtain nanoscale control over the synthesis of matter to build designer materials that can be used to solve the most difficult scientific and medical problems that face humanity.

Outline of the Book. The book is organized into an introduction and three parts that cover the major areas of focus in nanoscale materials development. The Introduction to Nanoengineering chapter gives an insightful overview of where we are in understanding nanoscale phenomena, and possible future directions for research. Part 1 of the book is focused on Synthesis of Nanoscale Materials and contains beautiful microscopy images of different synthetic materials, a comprehensive exposition of the properties and synthesis of carbon nanotubes and bismuth nanowires, unique methods of producing zinc oxide nanobelts, advanced methods for carbon nanotube synthesis, synthesis of self-assembled nanodots, and a ball milling-annealing method to synthesize boron nitride nanotubes.

Part 2 concentrates on Manufacturing Using Nanoscale Materials and includes a technique for functionalizing nanoscale materials for material property improvements, techniques for producing structural and metal–ceramic nanocomposites, the use of low-cost carbon nanofibers to form fibers and films, a comprehensive overview of techniques for producing macroscopic fibers from single-walled carbon nano-tubes, a means of fabricating microdevices through self-assembled monolayers, using nanotubes to improve the strength of polymers, properties and applications of nanoscale intelligent materials, thermal properties of nanostructured polymers, and pultruded nanocomposite materials.

Part 3 of the book focuses on Modeling of Nanoscale and Nanostructured Materials. Nanomechanics and modeling of nanoscale particles and their vibration properties are discussed, along with methods of continuum and atomistic modeling of the nanoindentation of thin films. Modeling of thin film heterostructures, polarization in nanotubes, uneven stress distribution in nanocrystalline metals, carbon nanotube polymer composites, and multi-scale heat transport are also discussed.

In summary, this book provides a broad synopsis of the nanomaterials research conducted in university and government labs. Because the size of the book is limited, much of the important research in the field could not be included. Readers are therefore encouraged to use this book as a starting point from which to explore the literature on nanotechnology, which is becoming more exciting every day.

Mark J. Schulz is an associate professor of mechanical engineering and co-director of the Cincinnati Smart Structures Bio-Nanotechnology Laboratory. This laboratory integrates nanotechnology and biomimetics to develop new smart materials and devices for structural and medical applications. The laboratory includes a nanotube synthesis lab, a processing lab for nanoscale materials, and a smart structures and devices lab. Research in the labs focuses on building structural neural systems using continuous piezoceramic and carbon nanotube neurons and electronic logic circuits for structural health monitoring, carbon nanotube array biosensors for cancer diagnostics, active catheters for diagnostics and surgery, reinforcing polymers using carbon nanotubes and nanofibers, and developing wet and dry carbon nanofiber hybrid actuators to control large structures. His contribution to the book is dedicated to the memory of his parents, Jeanne and Joseph.

Ajit D. Kelkar is a professor of mechanical engineering and associate director of the Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures (CAMSS) and the founding member of Center for Composite Materials Research (CCMR) at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC. He is also a member of the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA). His research interests include finite element modeling, atomistic modeling, performance evaluation and modeling of thin films, and nanomechanics. Some of the projects he is presently involved with include continuum and atomistic modeling of thin films, nanoindentation studies of thin films, low-cost manufacturing of ceramic composites using a nanoparticle alumina matrix, and the effects of alumina nanoparticles on the mechanical behaviors of epoxy resins. In addition he is involved in the low-cost manufacturing of composite materials, damage characterization of thin and thick composite laminates subjected to low-velocity impact loading, fatigue behavior of textile composites, and finite element modeling of woven and braided textile composites.

Mannur J. Sundaresan is an associate professor of mechanical engineering and the director of the Intelligent Structures and Mechanisms Laboratory at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. This laboratory is dedicated to developing novel sensors, instrumentation, and signal processing techniques applicable to smart structures and structural health monitoring. It also integrates the micromechanics of damage evolution in heterogeneous materials and structural health monitoring techniques for the life prediction of such materials. He has worked in the areas of micromechanics of damage evolution, development of novel processing techniques for carbon—carbon composite materials, and experimental mechanics.

Introduction to Nanotechnology by Charles P. Poole, Frank J. Owens (Wiley-Interscience) This self-confessed introduction provides technical administrators and managers with a broad, practical overview of the subject and gives researchers working in different areas an appreciation of developments in nanotechnology outside their own fields of expertise. Practical, general introduction to various aspects of nanotechnology. Uses representative examples of research results to illustrate important features of each individual area of investigation. Authors noted for their original research in the field.

Currently receiving vast amounts of research funding from government and industry alike, nanotechnology is the science of matter at the scale of one-billionth of a meter or 1/75,000th  the size of a human hair. In addition to the numerous advantages provided by this scale of miniaturization, quantum physics effects at this size range provide additional novel properties. By manipulating atoms at this building-block level, scientists can create stronger, lighter materials with tailored properties. Combining research from many disciplines, near-future nanotechnology applications involve everything from scratch-proof glass to internal drug delivery systems to a sugar cube–sized computer capable of storing the information from the entire United States Library of Congress.

In this fascinating overview of the field the authors provide broad coverage of nan­otechnology and its applications, with an eye toward giving researchers in different areas an appreciation of nanotechnological developments outside their own fields of expertise. Rather than focusing on the latest developments in nanotechnology, the authors use representative examples of research in many fields to focus on the diver­sity of its applications. Included is coverage of:

• Carbon nanostructures

• Organic compounds and polymers

• Bulk nanostructured materials

• Self-assembly

• Nanostructured ferromagnetism

• Catalysis

• Optical and vibrational spectroscopy

• Biological materials

• Quantum wells, wires, and dots

• Nano machines and devices

In recent years nanotechnology has become one of the most important and exciting forefront fields in Physics, Chemistry, Engineering and Biology. It shows great promise for providing us in the near future with many breakthroughs that will change the direction of technological advances in a wide range of applications. To facilitate the timely widespread utilization of this new technology it is important to have available an overall summary and commentary on this subject which is sufficiently detailed to provide a broad coverage and insight into the area, and at the same time is sufficiently readable and thorough so that it can reach a wide audience of those who have a need to know the nature and prospects for the field. The present book hopes to achieve these two aims.

The current widespread interest in nanotechnology dates back to the years 1996 to 1998 when a panel under the auspices of the World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC), funded by the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies, undertook a world-wide study of research and development in the area of nanotechnology logy, with the purpose of assessing its potential for technological innovation. Nanotechnology is based on the recognition that particles less than the size of 100 nanometers (a nanometer is a billionth of a meter) impart to nanostructures built from them new properties and behavior. This happens because particles which are smaller than the characteristic lengths associated with particular phenomena often display new chemistry and physics, leading to new behavior which depends on the size. So, for example, the electronic structure, conductivity, reactivity, melting temperature, and mechanical properties have all been observed to change when particles become smaller than a critical size. The dependence of the behavior on the particle sizes can allow one to engineer their properties. The WTEC study concluded that this technology has enormous potential to contribute to significant advances over a wide and diverse range of technological areas ranging from producing stronger and lighter materials, to shortening the delivery time of nano structured pharmaceuticals to the body's circulatory system, increasing the storage capacity of magnetic tapes, and providing faster switches for computers. Recommendations made by this and subsequent panels have led to the appropriation of very high levels of funding in recent years. The research area of nanotechnology is interdisciplinary,

covering a wide variety of subjects ranging from the chemistry of the catalysis of nanoparticles, to the physics of the quantum dot laser. As a result researchers in any one particular area need to reach beyond their expertise in order to appreciate the broader implications of nanotechnology, and learn how to contribute to this exciting new field. Technical managers, evaluators, and those who must make funding decisions will need to understand a wide variety of disciplines. Although this book was originally intended to be an introduction to nanotechnology, due to the nature of the field it has developed into an introduction to selected topics in nanotechnology, which are thought to be representative of the overall field. Because of the rapid pace of development of the subject, and its interdisciplinary nature, a truly comprehensive coverage does not seem feasible. The topics presented here were chosen based on the maturity of understanding of the subjects, their potential for applications, or the number of already existing applications. Many of the chapters discuss present and future possibilities. General references are included for those who wish to pursue further some of the areas in which this technology is moving ahead.

In 1857 Michael Faraday published a paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, which attempted to explain how metal particles affect the color of church windows. Gustav Mie was the first to provide an explanation of the dependence of the color of the glasses on metal size and kind. His paper was published in the German Journal Annalen der Physik (Leipzig) in 1908.

Richard Feynman was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1965 for his contributions to quantum electrodynamics, a subject far removed from nanotechno­logy. Feynman was also a very gifted and flamboyant teacher and lecturer on science, and is regarded as one of the great theoretical physicists of his time. He had a wide range of interests beyond science from playing bongo drums to attempting to interpret Mayan hieroglyphics. The range of his interests and wit can be appreciated by reading his lighthearted autobiographical book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman. In 1960 he presented a visionary and prophetic lecture at a meeting of the American Physical Society, entitled "There is Plenty of Room at the Bottom," where he speculated on the possibility and potential of nanosized materials. He envisioned etching lines a few atoms wide with beams of electrons, effectively predicting the existence of electron-beam lithography, which is used today to make silicon chips. He proposed manipulating individual atoms to make new small structures having very different properties. Indeed, this has now been accomplished using a scanning tunneling microscope, discussed in Chapter 3. He envisioned building circuits on the scale of nanometers that can be used as elements in more powerful computers. Like many of present-day nanotechnology researchers,

he recognized the existence of nanostructures in biological systems. Many of Feynman's speculations have become reality. However, his thinking did not resonate with scientists at the time. Perhaps because of his reputation for wit, the reaction of many in the audience could best be described by the title of his later book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman. Of course, the lecture is now legendary among present-day nanotechnology researchers, but as one scientist has commented, "it was so visionary that it did not connect with people until the technology caught up with it." There were other visionaries. Ralph Landauer, a theoretical physicist working for IBM in 1957, had ideas on nanoscale electronics and realized the importance that quantum-mechanical effects would play in such devices.

Although Feynman presented his visionary lecture in 1960, there was experi­mental activity in the 1950s and 1960s on small metal particles. It was not called nanotechnology at that time, and there was not much of it. Uhlir reported the first observation of porous silicon in 1956, but it was not until 1990 when room-temperature fluorescence was observed in this material that interest grew. The properties of porous silicon are discussed in Chapter 6. Other work in this era involved making alkali metal nanoparticles by vaporizing sodium or potassium metal and then condensing them on cooler materials called substrates. Magnetic fluids called ferrofluids were developed in the 1960s. They consist of nanosized magnetic particles dispersed in liquids. The particles were made by ballmilling in the presence of a surface-active agent (surfactant) and liquid carrier. They have a number of interesting properties and applications, which are discussed in Chapter 7. Another area of activity in the 1960s involved electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of conduction electrons in metal particles of nanodimensions referred to as colloids in those days. The particles were produced by thermal decomposition and irradiation of solids having positive metal ions, and negative molecular ions such as sodium and potassium azide. In fact, decomposing these kinds of solids by heat is one way to make nanometal particles, and we discuss this subject in Chapter 4. Structural features of metal nanoparticles such as the existence of magic numbers were revealed in the 1970s using mass spectroscopic studies of sodium metal beams. Herman and co-workers measured the ionization potential of sodium clusters in 1978 and observed that it depended on the size of the cluster, which led to the development of the jellium model of clusters discussed in Chapter 4.

Groups at Bell Laboratories and IBM fabricated the first two-dimensional quantum wells in the early 1970s. They were made by thin-film (epitaxial) growth techniques that build a semiconductor layer one atom at a time. The work was the beginning of the development of the zero-dimensional quantum dot, which is now one of the more mature nanotechnologies with commercial applications. The quantum dot and its applications are discussed in Chapter 9.

However, it was not until the 1980s with the emergence of appropriate methods of fabrication of nanostructures that a notable increase in research activity occurred, and a number of significant developments resulted. In 1981, a method was de­veloped to make metal clusters using a high-powered focused laser to vaporize metals into a hot plasma. This is discussed in Chapter 4. A gust of helium cools the vapor, condensing the metal atoms into clusters of various sizes. In 1985, this method was used to synthesize the fullerene (C60). In 1982, two Russian scientists, Ekimov and Omushchenko, reported the first observation of quantum confinement, which is discussed in Chapter 9. The scanning tunneling microscope was developed during this decade by G. K. Binnig and H. Roher of the IBM Research Laboratory in Zürich, and they were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1986 for this. The invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM), which are described in Chapter 3, provided new important tools for viewing, characterizing, and atomic manipulation of nanostructures. In 1987, B. J. van Wees and H. van Houten of the Netherlands observed steps in the current–voltage curves of small point contacts. Similar steps were observed by D. Wharam and M. Pepper of Cambridge University. This represented the first observation of the quantization of conductance. At the same time T. A. Fulton and G. J. Dolan of Bell Laboratories made a single-electron transistor and observed the Coulomb blockade, which is explained in Chapter 9. This period was marked by development of methods of fabrication such as electron-beam lithography, which are capable of producing 10-nm structures. Also in this decade layered alternating metal magnetic and nonmagnetic materials, which displayed the fascinating property of giant magne­toresistance, were fabricated. The layers were a nanometer thick, and the materials have an important application in magnetic storage devices in computers. This subject is discussed in Chapter 7.

Although the concept of photonic crystals was theoretically formulated in the late 1980s, the first three-dimensional periodic photonic crystal possessing a complete bandgap was fabricated by Yablonovitch in 1991. Photonic crystals are discussed in Chapter 6. In the 1990s, Iijima made carbon nanotubes, and superconductivity and ferromagnetism were found in C60 structures. Efforts also began to make molecular switches and measure the electrical conductivity of molecules. A field-effect transistor based on carbon nanotubes was demonstrated. All of these subjects are discussed in this book. The study of self-assembly of molecules on metal surfaces intensified. Self-assembly refers to the spontaneous bonding of molecules to metal surfaces, forming an organized array of molecules on the surface. Self-assembly of thiol and disulfide compounds on gold has been most widely studied, and the work is presented in Chapter 10.

In 1996, a number of government agencies led by the National Science Foun­dation commissioned a study to assess the current worldwide status of trends, research, and development in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The detailed recommendations led to a commitment by the government to provide major funding and establish a national nanotechnology initiative.

The first observation was that materials have been and can be nanostructured for new properties and novel performance. The underlying basis for this, which we discuss in more detail in later chapters, is that every property of a material has a characteristic or critical length associated with it. For example, the resistance of a material that results from the conduction electrons being scattered out of the direction of flow by collisions with vibrating atoms    impurities, can becharacterized by a length called the scattering length. This length is the average distance an electron travels before being deflected. The fundamental physics and chemistry changes when the dimensions of a solid become comparable to one or more of these characteristic lengths, many of which are in the nanometer range. One of the most important examples of this is what happens when the size of a semiconducting material is in the order of the wavelength of the electrons or holes that carry current. As we discuss in Chapter 9, the electronic structure of the system completely changes. This is the basis of the quantum dot, which is a relatively mature application of nanotechnology resulting in the quantum-dot laser presently used to read compact disks (CDs). However, as we shall see in Chapter 9, the electron structure is strongly influenced by the number of dimensions that are nanosized.

If only one length of a three-dimensional nanostructure is of a nanodimension, the structure is known as a quantum well, and the electronic structure is quite different from the arrangement where two sides are of nanometer length, constituting what is referred to as a quantum wire. A quantum dot has all three dimensions in the nanorange. Chapter 9 discusses in detail the effect of dimension on the electronic properties of nanostructures. The changes in electronic properties with size result in major changes in the optical properties of nanosized materials, which is discussed in Chapter 8, along with the effects of reduced size on the vibrational properties of materials.

The second general observation of the U.S. government study was a recognition of the broad range of disciplines that are contributing to developments in the field. Work in nanotechnology can be found in university departments of physics, chem­istry, and environmental science, as well as electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering. The interdisciplinary nature of the field makes it somewhat difficult for researchers in one field to understand and draw on developments in another area. As Feynman correctly pointed out, biological systems have been making nanometer functional devices since the beginning of life, and there is much to learn from biology about how to build nanostructured devices. How, then, can a solid-state physicist who is involved in building nanostructures but who does not know the difference between an amino acid and a protein learn from biological systems? It is this issue that motivated the writing of the present book. The book attempts to present important selected topics in nanotechnology in various disciplines in such a way that workers in one field can understand developments in other fields. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to include in each chapter some introductory material. Thus, the chapter on the effect of nanostructuring on ferromagnetism (Chapter 7) starts with a brief introduction to the theory and properties of ferro-magnets. As we have mentioned above, the driving force behind nanotechnology is the recognition that nanostructured materials can have chemistry and physics different from those of bulk materials, and a major objective of this book is to explain these differences and the reasons for them. In order to do that, one has to understand the basic chemistry and physics of the bulk solid state. Thus, Chapter 2 provides an introduction to the theory of bulk solids. Chapter 3 is devoted to describing the various experimental methods used to characterize nanostructures. Many of the experimental methods described such as the scanning tunneling microscope have been developed quite recently, as was mentioned above, and without their existence, the field of nanotechnology would not have made the progress it has. The remaining chapters deal with selected topics in nanotechnology. The field of nanotechnology is simply too vast, too interdisciplinary, and too rapidly changing to cover exhaustively. We have therefore selected a number of topics to present. The criteria for selection of subjects is the maturity of the field, the degree of understanding of the phenomena, and existing and potential applications. Thus most of the chapters describe examples of existing applications and potential new ones. The applications potential of nanostructured materials is certainly a cause of the intense interest in the subject, and there are many applications already in the commercial world. Giant magnetoresistivity of nanostructured materials has been introduced into commercial use, and some examples are given in Chapter 7. The effect of nanostructuring to increase the storage capacity of magnetic tape devices is an active area of research, which we will examine in some detail in Chapter 7. Another area of intense activity is the use of nanotechnology to make smaller switches, which are the basic elements of computers. The potential use of carbon nanotubes as the basic elements of computer switches is described in Chapter 5. In Chapter 13 we discuss how nanosized molecular switching devices are subjects of research activity. Another area of potential application is the role of nanostructuring and its effect on the mechanical properties of materials. In Chapter 6, we discuss how consolidated materials made of nanosized grains can have significantly different mechanical properties such as enhanced yield strength. Also discussed in most of the chapters are methods of fabrication of the various nanostructure types under discussion. Development of large-scale inexpensive. methods of fabrication is a major challenge for nanoscience if it is to have an Impact on technology. As we discuss in Chapter 5, single-walled carbon nanotubes have enormous application potential ranging from gas sensors' to g elements in fast computers.

However, methods of   of the tubes will have to be developed before they will have an impact on technology. Michael Roukes, who is working on development of nanoelectromechanical devices, has pointed out some other challenges in the September 2001 issue of Scientific American. One major challenge deals with communication between the nanoworld and the macroworld. For example, the resonant vibrational frequency of a rigid beam increases as the size of the beam decreases. In the nanoregime the frequencies can be as high 1010 Hertz, and the amplitudes of vibration in the picometer (10-12) to femtometer (10-15) range. The sensor must be able to detect these small displacements and high frequencies. Optical deflection schemes, such as those used in scanning tunneling microscopy discussed in Chapter 3, may not work because of the diffraction limit, which becomes a problem when the wavelength of the light is in the order of the size of the object from which the light is to be reflected. Another obstacle to be overcome is the effect of surface on nanostructures. A silicon beam 10 nm wide and 100 nm long has almost 10% of its atoms at or near the surface. The surface atoms will affect the mechanical behavior (strength, flexibility, etc.) of the beam, albeit in a way that is not yet understood.

Nano-Engineering in Science and Technology: An Introduction to the World of Nano-Design by Michael Rieth (World Scientific Publishing) provides a vivid introduction to the procedures, tech­niques, problems and difficulties of computational nano-engineering and design. The reader is given step by step the scientific background information, for an easy reconstruction of the explanations. The focus is laid on the molecular dynamics method, which is well suited for explaining the topic to the reader with just a basic knowledge of physics. Results and conclusions of detailed nano-engineering studies are presented in an instructive style. In summary, the book puts readers immediately in a position to take their first steps in the field of computational nano-engineering and design.

The idea of building unimaginable small things at the atomic level is nothing new. Already in 1959, R. Feynman, the 1965 Nobel prize winner in physics, described during his famous dinner talk, "There's plenty of room at the bottom!" how it might be possible to print the whole 24 volumes of the Encyclopedia Brittanica on the head of a stick pin. He even speculated on how to store information at atomic levels or how to build molecular-sized machines:

"I am not afraid to consider the final question as to whether, ultimately in the great future we can arrange atoms the way we want; the very atoms, all the way down! ... 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 ... but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big ... The problems of chemistry and biology can be greatly helped if our ability to see what we are doing, and to do things on an atomic level, is ultimately developed - a development which I think cannot be avoided".

Now, some decades later, new laboratory microscopes can not only visu­alize but manipulate individual atoms. With this recently developed ability to measure, manipulate and organize matter on the atomic scale, a revo­lution seems to take place in science and technology. And unfortunately, wherever structures smaller than one micrometer are considered the term nanotechnology comes into play. But nanotechnology comprises more than just another step toward miniaturization!

While nanotechnology may be simply defined as technology based on the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules to build structures to complex atomic specifications, one has to consider further that at the nanometer scale qualitatively new effects, prop­erties and processes emerge which are dominated by quantum mechanics, material confinement in small structures, interfacial volume fraction, and other phenomena. In addition, many current theories of matter at the micrometer scale have critical lengths of nanometer dimensions and there­fore, these theories are not adequate to describe the new phenomena at the nanometer scale.

Nevertheless, the concept of nanotechnology goes much further. It is an anticipated manufacturing technology giving thorough, inexpensive control of the structure of matter where other terms, such as molecular manufacturing, nano-engineering, etc.. are also often applied. In other words, the cen­tral thesis of nanotechnology is that almost any chemically stable structure that can be specified can in fact be built. Researchers hope to design and program nano-machines that build large-scale objects atom by atom. With enough of these assemblers to do the work, along with replicators to build copies of themselves, we could manufacture objects of any size and in any quantity using common materials like dirt, sand, and water. Computers 1000 times faster and cheaper than current models; biological nano-robots that fix cancerous cells; towers, bridges, and roads made of unbreakable diamond strands; or buildings that can repair themselves or change shape on com­mand might be futuristic but likely implications of nanotechnology.

Today, while nanotechnology is still in its infancy and while only rudimentary nanostructures can be created with some control, this seems like science fiction. But respected scientists agree that it is possible, and more and more of the pieces needed to do it are falling into place. Nanotech­nology has captured the imaginations of scientists, engineers and econo­mists not only because of the explosion of discoveries at the nanometer scale, but also because of the potential societal implications. A White House letter (from the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Office of Management and Budget) sent in the fall of 2000 to all Federal agen­cies has placed nanotechnology at the top of the list of emerging fields of research and development in the United States. The National Nanotech­nology Initiative was approved by Congress in November 2000, providing a total of $422 million spread over six departments and agencies. And this certainly doesn't seem like science fiction!

Now, let us discuss nanotechnology from the educational point of view. What might be the most important scientific branch with respect to the development of nanotechnological applications?

To apply nanotechnology, researchers have to understand biology, chem­istry, physics, engineering, computer science, and a lot of other special top­ics, such as protein engineering or surface physics. But the complexity of modern science forces scientists to specialize and the exchange of informa­tion between different disciplines is unfortunately not very common. So the breadth is one of the reasons why nanotechnology proves so difficult to develop.

But even today, one tendency is clearly visible: nanotechnology makes design the most important part of any development process. If nanotech­nology comes true, the traditional production costs would drop to almost nothing, while the amount of design work would increase enormously due to its complexity. Further, the field of engineering design will become much more complex. Someone has to design these atomic-sized assemblers and replicators as well as nano-materials and others. And if we can build any­thing in any quantity, the practical question of "What can we build?" be­comes a philosophical one: "What do we choose to build?". And this in turn is a design question. Answering it and planning for the widespread change each nano design could bring makes design planning incredibly important.

As a conclusion, we may summarize: design will change radically under nanotechnology and for nano-engineers or nano-designers, respectively, a broad knowledge will become even more important in the future.

As long as we are still far away from the realization of complex nanotechnological applications, nano-engineering and nano-design almost exclusively take place on computers. Computational nano-engineering is an important field of research aimed at the development of nanometer scale modeling and simulation methods to enable and accelerate the design and construction of realistic nanometer scale devices and systems. Comparable to micro-fabrication which has led to the microelectronics revolution in the 20th century, nano-engineering and design will be a key to the nanotech­nology revolution in the 21st century.

Therefore, the intention of this monograph is to give an introduction into the procedures, techniques, problems and difficulties arising with com­putational nano-engineering and design.

For the sake of simplicity, the focus is laid on the Molecular Dynamics method which is well suited to explain the topic with just a basic knowledge of physics. Of course, at some points we have to go further into detail, i.e.. quantum mechanics or statistical mechanics knowledge is needed. But such subsections may be skipped without loosing the picture.

Tiarks F, Willert M, Landfester K, The controlled generation of nanosized structures in miniemulsions .

Antometti M: Hartl W, Beck C: The glass transition and propagating transverse phonons in colloidal systems

Nagy NM, Konya J, Beszeda M, Lead accumulation on montmorillonite

Beszeda I, Kalmln E, Keresztes Z, Papp K: Pozsgay A, Papp L, Frater T, Polypropylene /montmorillonite nanocomposites prepared by the Pukanszky B: delamination of the filler

Beck C. Hartl W: Fullerenes as new colloidal model systems

Socoliuc V, Bica D: Experimental investigation of magnetic‑induced phase‑separation kinetics in aqueous ferrofluids

Surfactants, polymers

Varga I, Gilanyi T, Meszlros R: Characterisation of ionic surfactant aggregates by means of activity measurements of a trace probe electrolyte

Gilanyi T, Meszdros R, Varga I: Determination of binding isotherms of ionic surfactants in polymer gels

Csiszar A, Bota A, Novak C, Changes in the thermotropic and the structural behaviour

Klumpp E, Subklew G: of 1,2‑dipalmitoyl‑sn‑glycero‑3‑phosphatidylcholine/water liposomes effected by 2,4‑dichlorphenol

Marton A, Miyazaki Y: Correlation between equilibrium and NMR spectroscopic data in the study of the selectivity of cross‑linked ionic polymers

Halasz L, Nemeth Z, Structural and viscoelastic properties of lamellar systems formed Horanyi JPT, Bota A: from concentrated nonionic surfactant solutions

Kiss E. Lam CNC, Duc TM, Surface characterization of polylactide/polyglycolide coplymers

Vargha‑Butler El: Kilian H‑G, Koepf M, Vettegren V: Model of reversible aggregation: universal features of fluctuating ensembles

Pawlowski D, Tieke B: Change of structure and phase behaviour during homo‑ and copolymerisation of (2‑methacryloyloxyethyl)dodecyldimethylammonium bromide in a hexagonal lyotropic mesophase

Borbas R, Kiss E, Nagy M: Elastic properties of protein gels obtained by three‑phase partitioning

Kolaric B, Forster S, Interactions between polyelectrolyte brushes in free‑standing liquid yon Klitzing R: films: Influence of ionic strength

Colfen H, Qi L: The mechanism of the morphogenesis of CaC03 in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol)‑b ‑poly(methyl methacrylic acid)

Dispersions

Benna M, Kbir‑Ariguib N, Card‑house microstructure of purified sodium montmorillonite Clinard C, Bergaya F: gels evidenced by filtration properties at different pH

Horvath O, Hegyi J: Light‑induced reduction of heavy‑metal ions on titanium dioxide dispersions Fetter G, Horanyi T, Bota A: In situ structural investigations of the Synperonic(A7) ‑ water system undershear

 

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