Nanomaterials are materials with at least one dimension measuring 100 nanometers or less. They can be created through a variety of methods, including bottom-up assembly from molecules and atoms, or top-down fabrication from larger pieces of matter. Nanomaterials exhibit unique properties that arise from their small size, including high surface area to volume ratios, quantum confinement of electrons, and the ability to self-assemble into complex structures.
Applications for nanomaterials are vast and varied. They are used in electronics as conducting wires, semiconducting devices, and insulating materials; in energy storage as batteries and fuel cells; in sensing as optical and magnetic sensors; in medical applications as drug delivery vehicles and diagnostic tools; in optoelectronics as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and solar cells; in cosmetics; and in a host of other industries.
The study of nanomaterials is an interdisciplinary field that draws upon knowledge from many different disciplines, including physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and materials science. As such, it presents unique challenges for researchers who must be able to understand complex phenomena at multiple length scales—from the atomic scale up to the macroscopic level—and across multiple time scales—from picoseconds to years. Despite these challenges