UNIT-IV NANOMATERIALS AND NANOTECHNOLOGY

Part-A
1. What is nanotechnology? The nanotechnology is defined as: direct control of materials and devices on a molecular and atomic scale, including fabrication of functional nanostructures with engineered properties, synthesis and processing of nanoparticles, supramolecular chemistry, self assembly and replication techniques, sintering of nanostructured metallic alloys, use of quantum effects, creation of chemical and biological templates and sensors, surface modification and films. 2. What are nanomaterials? Nano materials or nanophase materials are the materials which are made of grains that are about 100nm in diameter and contain less than few ten thousands of atoms. 3. Define Quantum well. When the size or dimension of a material is continuously reduced from a large or macroscopic size, such a metre or centimetre, to a very small size, the properties remain the same at first, then small changes begin to occur, until finally when the size drops below 100 nm, dramatic changes in properties can occur. If one dimension is reduced to the nanorange while the other dimensions remain large, them we obtain a structure known as quantum well. 4. Define Quantum wire. (Dec 2011) If two dimensions of the material are so reduced and one remains large, the resulting structure is referred to as a quantum wire. The extreme case of this process of size reduction in which all three dimensions reach the low nanometer range is called a quantum dot. 5. Define Quantum dots. (May 2008, May 2009) The size of the material reduction in which all three dimensions reach the low nanometer range is called a quantum dot. 6. Write few applications of Quantum dots. (July 2008) The quantum structures are useful in the fabrication of high efficiency solar cells, infrared detectors, quantum dot lasers etc. The semiconductors like PbS, GaAs, CdS etc., can be synthesized in the nanometer level and they are called as semiconductor quantum dots. Their properties like band gap, luminescence etc., always differs from their bulk counterpart. 7. What are the unique properties of nanomaterials? They have very high magneto resistance , They have lower melting point, high solid state phase transition pressure, lower Debye temperature and high self diffusion coefficient They have high catalytic activity and lower ferroelectric phase transition temperature . 8. Define single walled carbon nanotubes. A single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) consists of a single graphene cylinder

9. Define multi walled carbon nanotubes. A multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) comprises of several concentric graphene cylinders. 10. What are the unique properties carbon nanotubes? High Electrical Conductivity Very High Tensile Strength Highly Flexible- can be bent considerably without damage Very Elastic ~18% elongation to failure High Thermal Conductivity Low Thermal Expansion Coefficient Good Field Emission of Electrons Highly Absorbent High Aspect Ratio (length = ~1000 x diameter) 11. What are the applications of carbon nanotubes? VFD(Vacuum Fluorescent Display), LCD(Liquid Crystal Display), CRT(Cathode Ray Tube) FED(Field Emission Display),SET(single Electron Transistor),STM(Scanning tunneling Miceoscope) and AFM(Atomic force Microscope) 12. What are the advantages of sol-gel techniques? Can produce thin bond-coating to provide excellent adhesion between the metallic substrate and the top coat. Can produce thick coating to provide corrosion protection performance. Can easily shape materials into complex geometries in a gel state. Can produce high purity products because the organo-metallic precursor of the desired ceramic oxides can be mixed, dissolved in a specified solvent and hydrolyzed into a sol, and subsequently a gel, the composition can be highly controllable. Can have low temperature sintering capability, usually 200-600C. Can provide a simple, economic and effective method to produce high quality coatings.

13. Mention any four methods used to synthesize nanophase materials. (Dec 2008) Sol-Gel Method, Chemical Vapour Deposition, Arc-discharge method and Laser ablation (vaporization) 14. What is the principle of CVD methods? (May 2008) Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) results from the chemical reaction of gaseous precursor(s) at a heated substrate to yield a fully dense deposit. Thermodynamics and kinetics drive both precursor generation and decomposition. Control of thermodynamics and kinetics through temperature, pressure, and concentrations yields the desired deposit. 15. What are the advantages of CVD? (May 2011)

Can be used for a wide range of metals and ceramics Fabricates net or near-net complex shapes Is self-cleaningextremely high purity deposits (>99.995% purity) Conforms homogeneously to contours of substrate surface Has near-theoretical as-deposited density Has controllable thickness and morphology Forms alloys Infiltrates fiber preforms and foam structures Coats internal passages with high length-to-diameter ratios Can simultaneously coat multiple components Coats powders

16. What are the applications of CVD? Surface modification to prevent or promote adhesion Photoresist adhesion for semiconductor wafers Silane/substrate adhesion for microarrays (DNA, gene, protein, antibody, tissue) MEMS coating to reduce stiction BioMEMS and biosensor coating to reduce "drift" in device performance Promote biocompatibility between natural and synthetic materials Copper capping Anti-corrosive coating

17. What is meant by physical vapour deposition? Physical vapour deposition (PVD) is fundamentally a vaporisation coating technique, involving transfer of material on an atomic level. It is an alternative process to electroplating

18. What are the drawbacks of physical vapour deposition method of material synthesis? (July 2008)

It is a line of sight technique meaning that it is extremely difficult to coat undercuts and similar surface features High capital cost Some processes operate at high vacuums and temperatures requiring skilled operators Processes requiring large amounts of heat require appropriate cooling systems The rate of coating deposition is usually quite slow

19. What are the advantages and disadvantages of PVD? Advantages Materials can be deposited with improved properties compared to the substrate material Almost any type of inorganic material can be used as well as some kinds of organic materials

The process is more environmentally friendly than processes such as electroplating

Disadvantages It is a line of sight technique meaning that it is extremely difficult to coat undercuts and similar surface features High capital cost Some processes operate at high vacuums and temperatures requiring skilled operators Processes requiring large amounts of heat require appropriate cooling systems The rate of coating deposition is usually quite slow 20. What is the principle of AFM? In principle the AFM resembles a record player and a stylus profilometer. The ability of an AFM to achieve near atomic scale resolution depends on the three essential components: (1) a cantilever with a sharp tip, (2) a scanner that controls the x-y-z position, and (3) the feedback control and loop. 21. What is the principle of SEM.? Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is a new branch of microscopy that forms images of surfaces using a physical probe that scans the specimen. An image of the surface is obtained by mechanically moving the probe in a raster scan of the specimen, line by line, and recording the probe-surface interaction as a function of position. 22. What is the principle of TEM? TEMs work the same way except that they shine a beam of electrons (like the light) through the specimen(like the slide). Whatever part is transmitted is projected onto a phosphor screen for the user to see. 23. Write the significance of nano materials. (May 2005) Improved transportation , Atom computers. ,Military applications , Solar energy , Less Pollution, Low Production Cost, Mass Production of Food & Consumables, It is possible to make surgical instruments with high precision and deftness that one could operate on the cells and even molecules from which we are made, It is possible to continue the revolution in computer hardware right down to molecular gates and wires -- something that today's lithographic methods (used to make computer chips). 24. What is the principle of microwave synthesis of materials (May 2009, May 2010, Dec 2011) There are two specific mechanisms of interaction between materials and microwaves: (1) dipole interactions and (2) ionic conduction. Both mechanisms require effective coupling between components of the target material and the rapidly oscillating electrical field of the microwaves.

Prepared by Dr. A. Senthil

Approved By HOD / PHYSICS