Nanostructures future applications

The introduction of a new architecture such as nanomaterials necessitates the need for new terminology and methods of classification and characterization. We must also understand the mechanisms by which individual nanostructures may assemble into larger materials, as this will greatly affect the properties of the bulk device for a particular application. This chapter will focus on all of these important issues, with an introduction to the various types of nanomaterials, laboratory techniques used for their synthesis, and (perhaps most importantly) their role in current/future applications. 

Device application and integration. It is clear that self-assembled nanostructures hold great promise for future applications. Nanorod structures have been studied for nearly a decade now however, very httle progress has been made in the implementation of these structures into/as devices. Further work is required in order to integrate these structures into devices. Future work in our laboratory will study the catalytic efficiency of RUO2 nanorods in a microthruster device. 

As summarized in Table 10.1, NDs, CNTs and graphene have different properties related to their structural arrangement. Due to their features, these carbon nanostructures have attracted a wide variety of research dedicated to the synthesis, functionalization and future applications of them, where the use of these nanomaterials as reinforcement of polymers... 

A very recent research line is the initiation and investigation of chemical reactions at surfaces for the fabrication of oligomeric/polymeric nanostructures from molecular monomers and thereby, going from supramolecular to covalent interactions. The prospect of obtaining molecular structures with improved mechanical stability as well as intermolecular charge transport by interlinking the monomeric units is very exciting. Moreover, there are clear indications that this research field will pave the way toward the realization of robust and functional molecular nanostructures for future applications in (molecular) electronics, sensors, catalysis, and so on. 

Carbon onions are a member of the family of nanometer-scale graphite-like aU-carbon allotropes, the emergence of which was catalyzed by the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the first member, the fullerene, by Kroto et al. in 1985. Initially, carbon onions were observed by lijima in 1980, and were brought to popular attention by the experiments of Ugarte in 1992. Structurally, they consist of concentric spherically closed carbon shells and receive their name from the close resemblance between their nanoscale structure and the more familiar concentric layered structure of an onion. Closely related to carbon onions is a class of material known as onion-like carbons (OLCs), which include polyhedral nanostructures such as ideal nested fullerenes. This material, rather than ideal spherical carbon onions, can be currently produced in macroscopic quantities, and, hence, be used for future applications. 

This chapter highlights representative research accomplishments in the area of fundamental and applied studies of the tunable LSPR. Specific applications in the Van Duyne laboratory include exploitation of the LSPR as a signal transduction mechanism for sensing applications and optimization of SERS signals. The optical properties of metallic nanostructures will find future application in the areas of dichroic filters. 

The future applications of these innovative nanomaterials include the development of multifunctional hybrid nanostructured composite materials able to provide, simultaneously, mechanical, thermal and electromagnetic specific behaviours for aerospace, military, navy and communication applications. 

In the last few years there have been new creative methods of preparation of novel hydrophilic polymers and hydrogels that may represent the future in drug delivery applications. The focus in these studies has been the development of polymeric structures with precise molecular architectures. Stupp et al. (1997) synthesized self-assembled triblock copolymer, nanostructures that may have very promising applications in controlled drug delivery. Novel biodegradable polymers, such as polyrotaxanes, have been developed that have particularly exciting molecular assemblies for drug delivery (Ooya and Yui, 1997). 

So, what s next Of course, research on all fronts will advance, with the approaches in Sect. 4 receiving perhaps the highest attention. The rapid development of nanoscopic and nanostructured materials has specially opened the path to sophisticated sensing ensembles Sousa and Vogtle would not even have dreamed about [228, 229]. However, for many applications, small molecules as reporters are indispensible, simply because of their size and the possibilities of interaction at the molecular level so that their future exploration is also essential. Finally, since technology will advance, new instrumental techniques and possibilities will appear and automatically fuel research on powerful fluorescent reporters. 

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