Nanostructures: Synthesis, Functional Properties and Applications (NATO Science Series II: Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry)

The essence of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology is the ability to fabricate and engineer materials, structures and systems where the manipulation of the properties and functionalities is a result of the control of the material's building blocks whose dimension is in the nanometer regime. This book presents an in-depth description of nanostructures and the many ways that they can be advantageously engineered by the controlled assembly of suitable nano-objects as building blocks. Nanotechnology is here considered as an enabling technology by which existing materials, virtually all man-made, can acquire novel properties and functionalities, making them suitable for novel applications varying from structural and functional to advanced biomedical in-vivo and in-vitro uses.The book emphasizes the development of useful implementations and applications of nanotechnology. One key issue addressed is how to access, from the macroscopic world, the extremely high information density of nanostructured systems. One way to do this is by using bio-inspiration - techniques where we apply lessons learned from living systems to design new materials with localized feedback mechanisms. Specifically, the book evaluates the most advanced and innovative syntheses of nanostructures, the most novel properties and functionalities and the most potential applications as components of advanced technological systems and as materials tailored for a great variety of special needs.Nanostructures: Synthesis, Functional Properties and Applications (NATO Science Series II: Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry), 1 was published 2003 under ISBN 9781402017520 and ISBN 1402017529.