Nanotechnology case research

Recently, however, the development of nanotechnology may provide the changes on the research and development of practical catalysts. As mentioned in the previous section we can now design and synthesize a metal nanoparticle with not only various sizes and shapes, but also with various combinations of elements and their locations. Thus, we can now design the synergetic effect of two elements. In the case of core/shell structured bimetallic nanoparticles, the shell element can provide a catalytic site and the core element can give an electronic effect (a ligand effect) on the shell element. Since only the atoms on the surface can be attached by substrates, the thickness of the shell should be an important factor to control the catalytic performance. 

The term nanotechnology is sometimes used ambiguously, however. In some cases, it is used simply to describe objects and events with "very small" dimensions, such as a few microns in size. A micron (pm) is a micrometer, or 1 millionth (10 6) of a meter. Unarguably, a micron is a very small dimension a human hair, for example, is about 10 pm in diameter. Still, a micron is 1,000 times as large as a nanometer, and research conducted at the micron level is more accurately known as microtechnology. Studies that involve objects... 

So what s in a name Does it make any difference whether a researcher calls her work "microtechnology" or "nanotechnology" In some cases, the answer is yes, and often for completely nonscientihc reasons. Since the 1990s, nanotechnology has become a hot topic. In... 

Computers and circuitry are not the only areas of investigation for nanotechnology, however. Another major area of nanoscale research involves the construction of tiny analogs of macroscale devices, such as pens, motors, balances, tweezers, and even railroad trains. In some cases, the only purpose in making such devices is to demonstrate the ability to do so ("We did it because we could ). 

The last example of these small-scale trace detectors is one based on nanotechnology platform and principles. This TSA funded project with NASA Ames Research Center involves the use of carbon nanotubes (CNT) as surface sensitive trace explosives sensors. In this case, the individual molecules of an explosive vapour interact on the atomic scale with a molecule(s) from the CNT surface. Figure 8 illustrates the NASA Ames conductive CNT explosives detector the CNT bridges between the source and drain of the transistor, and the change in conductance of the CNT bridge is measured as the molecular interaction with its surface (an array of CNT wires). 

The field of nanotechnology is one of the most popular areas for current research and development in basically all technical disciplines. This chapter presents five case studies on nanopolymers and their chemicals complexities. 

In the nanotechnology field, carbon-based materials and associated composites have received special attention both for fundamental and applicative research. In the first kind, carbon compounds may be included, often taking the form of a hollow spheres, ellipsoids, or mbes. Spherical and ellipsoidal carbon nanomaterials are referred to as fullerenes, while cylindrical ones are called nanombes and nanofibers. In the second class, one includes composite materials that combine carbon nanoparticles with other nanoparticles, or nanoparticles with large bulk-type materials. The unique properties of these various types of nanomaterials provide novel electrical, catalytic, magnetic, mechanical, thermal, and other features that are desirable for applications in commercial, medical, military, and enviromnental sectors. This is the case for conducting polymers (CPs) and carbon nanombes (CNTs) [1-5]. 

Micro-social. The only previous case study in this book that dealt with engineering research - Case 03, the Schon case - focused on research misconduct and several ethically problematic research practices linked with collaborative research. Here I shall examine ethical responsibilities related to several different ethically questionable research practices, only the first of which is specific to nanotechnology. 

In the large field of nanotechnology, polymer-based nanocomposites have become a prominent area of current research and development for biomedical applications.In principle, nanocomposites are an extreme case of composite materials in which interface interactions between the two phases, the matrix and the reinforcement, are maximized. In the literature, the term nanocomposite is used for polymers with sub-micrometre dispersions. In polymer-based nanocomposites, nanometre sized particles of inorganic or organic materials are homogeneously dispersed as separate particles in a polymer matrix. Researchers have tried a variety of processing techniques to obtain dense polymer nanocomposite films. The incorporation of nanostructures into polymers can generally be done in different ways as indicated below ... 

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