PHD
  1. Inorganic chemistry  1.1. Coordination chemistry  1.1.1. Ligand field theory  1.1.2. Crystal field theory  1.1.3. Molecular Orbital Theory for Coordination Compounds  1.1.4. Stability of Coordination Compounds  1.1.5. Electronic spectra of coordination compounds  1.1.6. Isomerism in Coordination Compounds  1.1.7. Kinetics and mechanism of coordination reactions  1.2. Organometallic Chemistry  1.2.1. Metal Carbonyls  1.2.2. Metal alkyl and aryl  1.2.3. Fischer and Schrock carbonaceans  1.2.4. Oxidative Addition and Reductive Elimination  1.2.5. Metal Hydrides  1.2.6. Catalysis by organometallic compounds  1.2.7. Metallocenes and Sandwich Complexes  1.2.8. CH activation  1.3. Solid state chemistry  1.3.1. Crystal structures and lattices  1.3.2. Band theory and electrical properties  1.3.3. Defects in the crystal  1.3.4. Synthesis of solid state materials  1.3.5. Magnetic and optical properties of solids  1.3.6. Superconductivity  1.3.7. Solid state ionics  1.4. Bio-inorganic chemistry  1.4.1. Metalloproteins and enzymes  1.4.2. Metal ion transport and storage  1.4.3. The role of metals in medicine  1.4.4. Bioinspired catalysis  1.4.5. Metal–DNA interactions  1.4.6. Metal Complexes in Medical Science  1.5. Lanthanides and Actinides  1.5.1. Electronic configuration and oxidation states in lanthanides and actinides  1.5.2. Spectral and Magnetic Properties in Lanthanides and Actinides  1.5.3. Separation and Extraction of Lanthanides and Actinides  1.5.4. Coordination chemistry of f-block elements  1.6. Main Group Chemistry  1.6.1. Chemistry of boron compounds  1.6.2. Chemistry of Silicon and Germanium Compounds  1.6.3. Chemistry of Phosphorus and Sulfur Compounds  1.6.4. Organosilicon chemistry  1.6.5. Noble Gas Chemistry
  2. Organic chemistry  2.1. Reaction mechanism  2.1.1. Nucleophilic substitution reactions  2.1.2. Electrophilic addition and substitution reactions  2.1.3. Elimination reactions  2.1.4. Rearrangement reactions  2.1.5. Radical reactions  2.1.6. Pericyclic Reactions  2.1.7. Photochemical reactions  2.2. Stereoscopic  2.2.1. Chirality and optical activity  2.2.2. Structural analysis  2.2.3. Stereoelectronic effects  2.2.4. Asymmetric synthesis  2.2.5. Dynamic Stereochemistry  2.3. Organometallic Chemistry in Organic Synthesis  2.3.1. Organolithium and organomagnesium reagents  2.3.2. Transition metal catalyzed coupling reactions  2.3.3. Palladium-catalyzed reactions  2.3.4. Olefin Metathesis  2.3.5. Gold and silver catalysis  2.4. Natural products chemistry  2.4.1. Alkaloids and terpenoids  2.4.2. Steroids and Flavonoids  2.4.3. Total synthesis of natural products  2.4.4. Biosynthesis of natural products  2.5. Supramolecular Chemistry  2.5.1. Host-Guest Chemistry  2.5.2. Self-assembly and molecular recognition  2.5.3. Supramolecular Catalysis  2.5.4. Molecular Machines
  3. Physical Chemistry  3.1. Thermodynamics  3.1.1. Laws of Thermodynamics  3.1.2. Chemical Potential and Equilibrium  3.1.3. Statistical thermodynamics  3.1.4. Non-equilibrium thermodynamics  3.2. Quantum Chemistry  3.2.1. Schrödinger equation and its applications  3.2.2. Molecular orbital theory  3.2.3. Density functional theory  3.2.4. Post-Hartree–Fock methods  3.3. Chemical kinetics  3.3.1. Reaction rate theory  3.3.2. Mechanism and rate laws  3.3.3. Catalysis and enzyme kinetics  3.3.4. Reaction dynamics  3.4. Spectroscopy and molecular structure  3.4.1. Infrared Spectroscopy  3.4.2. UV-visible spectroscopy  3.4.3. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy  3.4.4. Mass Spectrometry  3.4.5. Raman Spectroscopy  3.5. Surface and Colloid Chemistry  3.5.1. Absorption and Catalysis  3.5.2. Surfactants and micelles  3.5.3. Colloidal Stability  3.5.4. Nanomaterials and Interfaces
  4. Analytical chemistry  4.1. Chromatography  4.1.1. Gas Chromatography  4.1.2. High Performance Liquid Chromatography  4.1.3. Thin Layer Chromatography  4.1.4. Ion Chromatography  4.2. Electroanalytical techniques  4.2.1. Voltammetry and Polarography  4.2.2. Conductometry and potentiometry  4.2.3. Colometry  4.3. Spectroscopic Methods  4.3.1. Atomic absorption spectroscopy  4.3.2. Fluorescence Spectroscopy  4.3.3. X-ray diffraction  4.3.4. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy  4.4. Chemometrics  4.4.1. Data processing and statistical methods  4.4.2. Multidisciplinary analysis  4.4.3. Machine Learning in Analytical Chemistry
  5. Theoretical and Computational Chemistry  5.1. Molecular dynamics simulation  5.2. Quantum chemistry methods  5.3. Computational drug design  5.4. Machine Learning in Chemistry  5.5. Ab initio molecular dynamics
  6. Biophysics and Medicinal Chemistry  6.1. Drug discovery and design  6.2. Enzyme kinetics and inhibition  6.3. Chemical biology approach  6.4. Protein-ligand interactions  6.5. Bioorthogonal chemistry
  7. Materials chemistry  7.1. Polymer chemistry  7.1.1. Polymerization mechanism  7.1.2. Functional Polymers  7.1.3. Biodegradable Polymer  7.1.4. Conducting and semiconducting polymers  7.2. Nano Chemistry  7.2.1. Nanoparticles and nanostructures  7.2.2. Carbon-based nanomaterials  7.2.3. Quantum dots  7.3. Energy and Environmental Chemistry  7.3.1. Battery and Fuel Cell Chemistry  7.3.2. Green chemistry and sustainable materials  7.3.3. Photocatalysis

PHD → Materials chemistry → Nano Chemistry ↓


Nanoparticles and nanostructures


Nanochemistry is a subfield of chemistry that focuses on the study of nanoparticles and nanostructures. These are the fundamental elements that allow scientists to understand and manipulate matter on a scale of less than 100 nanometers. In this document, we will delve deep into the world of nanoparticles and nanostructures, analyzing their characteristics, fabrication, applications, and implications. This exploration will provide insight into how these tiny structures have revolutionized materials science and continue to influence various industry sectors.

What are nano particles?

Nanoparticles are particles that exist on the nanometer scale. A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter. To put this into perspective, a human hair is about 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide. Nanoparticles typically range in size from 1 to 100 nanometers. These particles exhibit unique physical and chemical properties due to their small size, which surpass the conventional properties of bulk materials.

Nanoparticles can be made of metals, metal oxides, carbon-based materials, and more. Their properties often differ significantly from their corresponding bulk materials due to quantum effects, which become important at the nanoscale.

The quantum world of nanoparticles

In nanoparticles, quantum mechanics dominates the behaviour, since their small size ensures that atoms on the surface play a significant role in their overall properties.

Properties such as:
- Melting point
- electrical conductivity
- Chemical reactivity
- Optical characteristics

These properties can be varied and are highly controllable through particle size adjustments and surface modifications.

Fabrication of nanoparticles

There are many ways to synthesize nanoparticles. These methods are broadly classified into top-down and bottom-up methods.

Top-down approach

In the top-down approach, bulk materials are broken down into nanoparticles. This can be achieved through mechanical milling, lithography, or other physical processes.

Bottom up approach

Bottom-up approaches involve building nanoparticles atom-by-atom or molecule-by-molecule. Techniques such as chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel methods or self-assembly fall into this category.

Visual representation of nanoparticle synthesis

In this diagram, the block on the left represents the bulk material that can be broken down into nanoparticles using a top-down approach. On the right, the bottom-up approach involves individual atoms coming together to form nanoparticles.

Properties of nanoparticles

At the nanoscale, materials often exhibit unique properties that are quite different from those they have at the normal scale. Here are some notable properties:

Size-dependent properties

The properties of nanoparticles change dramatically with size because the ratio of surface area to volume is much larger than their bulk counterparts. This significantly affects melting point, magnetism, catalytic activity, and electrical conductivity.

Surface area and reactivity

Nano-sized particles have a large surface area relative to their volume. This large surface area increases chemical reactivity, making nanoparticles excellent catalysts. They are used in many chemical reactions to speed up the process without being consumed in the process.

Optical properties

Nanoparticles interact with light in unique ways, which are used in a variety of applications such as sensors and imaging. For example, gold nanoparticles can appear different colors depending on their size, which arises from a phenomenon called surface plasmon resonance.

In this visual example, the differently sized circles represent different sizes of gold nanoparticles. The smallest circles appear blue, while the larger ones are gold. This shows how the size of the particle can affect the color and that this is a direct result of surface plasmon resonance.

Applications of nanoparticles

Nanoparticles have found a place in every industry due to their special properties and easy tunability. Below are some of the important application areas:

Medicine

In the medical field, nanoparticles are used to deliver drugs. Nanoparticles are particularly beneficial in cancer treatment because they can be designed to target cancer cells without affecting nearby healthy tissue.

Another pharmaceutical application involves using nanoparticles to enhance imaging techniques, making disease detection more effective.

Electronics

Nanoparticles are used in electronics to develop smaller and more efficient components. They enable transistors, sensors and other components to be miniaturized, greatly improving performance and reducing costs.

Environmental applications

In environmental science, nanoparticles help in pollution control and cleaning the environment. Nanoparticles can break down pollutants or capture toxins from the environment due to their high reactivity.

Nanostructure

While nanoparticles are an important aspect of nanochemistry, nanostructures represent a broader category that includes any structure on the nanoscale. Nanostructures can be zero-dimensional, one-dimensional, two-dimensional, or three-dimensional, depending on their physical dimensions.

Dimensions of nanostructures

- Zero-dimensional (0D): nanoparticles where all dimensions are within the nanoscale.
- One-dimensional (1D): nanowires, nanorods whose length is much greater than the width.
- Two-dimensional (2D): nanoplates, nanosheets that have a large surface area and a characteristic thickness in the nanometer range.
- Three-dimensional (3D): structures made up of many repeating patterns, like nanoflowers.

Examples of nanostructures

Many types of nanostructures have applications in a wide variety of fields:

Graphene

Graphene is a two-dimensional nanostructure consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. It is known for its exceptional strength and high electrical conductivity.

Graphene's structure gives it impressive properties, making it useful in semiconductors, batteries and composite materials.

Future prospects

The exploration and exploitation of nanoparticles and nanostructures are expected to transform industries. Innovations in nanochemistry could lead to breakthroughs in energy conversion, medicine and electronics, thereby transforming the technological landscape in the coming decades.

As research continues to advance, the precise manipulation and understanding of nanoscale structures has the potential to solve some of the biggest challenges facing humanity, from energy shortages to health crises.

Conclusion

By investigating nanoparticles and nanostructures, we realize their immense potential in advancing technology and improving the quality of life. These nanoscale entities bring diverse and adaptable properties that can be tailored to meet many technological demands. Their application spans medicine, electronics, and environmental science, and their potential continues to expand as scientific research reveals more information about their capabilities. The field of nanochemistry promises a future where innovation is bound only by the limits of our imagination.


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