Nanotechnology – taking it to the people
Key text
This topic is sponsored by the Australian Research Council Nanotechnology Network.
The business of working with the ultra small promises
to become mega big. But what you’ll actually see in the
marketplace may not look all that different from what’s around us today.
Unlike information technology – where it’s easy to spot new products like computers, iPods or mobiles – consumers won’t be buying ‘nanotechnology products’ so much as products developed or enhanced through nanotechnology.
Just because nanotechnology may not always be easy to spot, that doesn’t mean that it won’t be making big impacts on the world in the next decade.
How might nanotechnology impact on your world in the next 10 to 20 years? Let's consider the two biggest investments made by most families – the house and car.
The nanohouse
Related site: Nanohouse
Describes an ultra-energy efficient house that exploits the new materials being developed by nanotechnology.
(Institute for Nanoscale Technology, Australia)
A house making use of products emerging from nanotechnology would be extremely energy-efficient, due to radiative cooling paint on its outer surface. It would have self-cleaning surfaces, cold lighting systems and dye-sensitised solar cells to generate electricity. It would be easy to assemble and take apart, cheap to run and comfortable to live in.
Scientists at the CSIRO and the University of Technology Sydney have developed a model nanohouse demonstrating these features. The nanohouse shows how new materials, products and processes emerging from nanotechnology research and development can be used in the buildings we live and work in.
The nanocar
The nanocar would likely be made of superlight, superstrong, recyclable fibre composites. It would run on hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen combined in fuel cells to produce electricity. The fuel cells and fibre composites could both be products of nanotechnology and advanced materials research in the decades ahead.
The hydrogen that powers the nanocar is a very attractive transport fuel because it is abundant, renewable and its consumption in fuel cells produces no greenhouse emissions. But hydrogen, being a volatile gas, does come with some safety problems. Gas cylinders and hydrogen liquid in cryogenic containers are a hazard in the event of an accident. One way around this hazard would be to store the gas in fuel tanks consisting of arrays of carbon nanotubes. Because of their structure and size, the nanotubes have the ability to absorb hydrogen gas in large quantities. The hydrogen can then be released when required by mild heating.
Related site: Rice scientists build world's first single-molecule car
Describes the use of nanotechnology to build a nanocar.
(Rice University, USA)
On a different scale, scientists have created the world's smallest working car – only one molecule big and complete with a chassis, axles and wheels.
The products showcased in the nanohouse and nanocar come from different areas of nanotechnology, but what is nanotechnology?
What is nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology is engineering at the molecular or atomic level. It’s about manipulating matter over the scale of 1 to 100 nanometres. A nanometre is one-millionth of a millimetre. Nanoscience is the knowledge of how to manipulate and characterise matter at the nanoscale.
Related site: Nanoscience – working small, thinking big
Provides an introduction to nanoscience and working at the nanoscale.
(Nova: Science in the news, Australian Academy of Science)
Nanoscience and nanotechnology overlap in scope but they are different. Without nanoscience, nanotechnology would not be possible. However, without economic returns and improvements derived from nanotechnology, there would be no further investment in nanoscience.
New nanotechnology developments are announced every day. By examining the three areas of nanopowders, nanotubes and nanomembranes it’s easy to appreciate how nanotechnology might be changing the world around us.
Nanopowders
Nanopowders contain particles that are under 100 nanometers in size. Particles of this size are invisible to the naked eye because they are smaller than the wavelength of visible light. Such small particles also have an enormous surface area to volume ratio (Box 1: Putting nanopowders to work).
The addition of nanoparticles to existing materials is creating a range of new products and applications including:
- transparent plastics that are resistant to abrasion, conductivity or UV light;
- synthetic bone and bone cement;
- drugs that target specific cells with improved solubility, greater efficacy and fewer side effects; and
- catalysts to clean up car exhausts.
Improved catalysts will enhance existing technologies to such an extent that whole new markets might take off. For example, nanostructured catalysts are likely to make fuel cells a commercial reality, which could transform industries that generate and distribute power.
Nanotubes
Nanotubes are hollow cylinders of atoms measuring only nanometres in thickness. Scientists first discovered nanotubes made of carbon atoms, but recently they have discovered how to make tubes from other elements too.
Products that include nanotubes already exist. Samsung has produced a prototype version of a flat panel display screen where electrons are fired at a screen from the tips of nanotubes. And scientists from CSIRO have discovered a way to spin carbon nanotubes into yarn.
Related site: IPE nanotube primer
Provides information on the structure, properties and applications of nanotubes.
(Institut de Physique des Nanostructures, Switzerland)
The size and structure of nanotubes give them a range of unique physical, electrical and chemical properties. It's believed they might provide us with a new generation of high-strength, light-weight materials. They could serve as 'fountain pens' that deposit atoms instead of ink. The electrical properties of nanotubes mean they'd make great nano circuits. They may be engineered to build engines with gears only two nanometres across.
Nanomembranes
Nanomembranes – filters that have the ability to efficiently separate molecules in liquids or gases – have many uses.
The idea of filtering molecules with nanoscale membranes comes from living cells that use membranes to remove salt from blood, and to transfer oxygen and carbon dioxide. Large membrane surface areas reduce the energy requirement for the transport of molecules. Nanotechnologists aim to achieve the same filtering effect used by nature with nanomembranes that filter molecules of different sizes.
Scientists at the CSIRO have developed a membrane that uses organic polymers in a mesh of silica nanoparticles. The membrane contains nanometer-sized holes and can be used to separate large and small molecules. This new membrane may soon be used to purify medicines, make better fuels and to desalinate sea water. Researchers in the Unites States and Israel are looking at nanomembranes that clean polluted water by sifting out bacteria, viruses, heavy metals and organic material.
Nanomembranes are also being developed to separate carbon dioxide and hydrogen from flue gases produced when burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. The carbon dioxide can be captured – preventing it from being released into the atmosphere – and a pure stream of hydrogen can be obtained for use as an additional source of energy. Other types of membranes can selectively block or release gases to protect food from spoilage.
Nanopowders, nanotubes and nanomembranes are just a subset of what nanotechnology encompasses but they give you a taste of the enormous potential of this developing field.
A disruptive technology
Nanotechnology is rapidly becoming ubiquitous and all pervasive in our modern world, with potential to transform the way we live.
Because of its enormous potential for change, nanotechnology is often referred to as a disruptive technology. This is not to suggest that nanotechnology is bad – rather it is expected that the increasing uptake of nanotechnology will disrupt existing enterprises and ways of doing things. For example the mining industry might be able extract minerals using bio-leaching without disturbing the landscape. The food industry might be able to eliminate contamination with tailor-made polymer protective coatings and wraps. Solar cell paints might transform energy generation while new biomaterials may revolutionise tissue and organ replacement. New high strength, low-weight building materials may radically alter the way we design and build houses, while advances in integrated built-in computer sensors and systems might change the way we work, learn and play.
While it's easy to see how we can benefit from enhanced processes and products created by nanotechnology, it's just as important that the community also explore the possible social, ethical and safety concerns connected to the widespread use of these new technologies (Box 2: Beyond the grey goo).
While no-one knows what tomorrow may bring, it seems likely that nanotechnology will be shaping a large part of it.
Boxes
1. Putting nanopowders to work
2. Beyond the grey goo
Related Nova topics
Nanoscience – working small, thinking big
Buckyballs – a new sphere of science
Posted March 2006.