Nanotechnology development, stages

Furthermore, it should be noted that whereas nanomaterials produced by the methods discussed here are particularly useful in catalysis, significant advancements have taken place in biological and electronic applications, which are not covered in this chapter. Finally, nanotechnology is still in a developing stage, and research is particularly hindered by expensive instrumentation involved in this research. The future of nanotechnology is still somewhat unclear, but all indications are that developments in the field will be of particular relevance to catalytic applications. 

Ultimately, the integration of research and education is a community responsibility that can benefit from broad participation of faculty and co-workers at a variety of stages of professional development. With its broad and fundamental sweep, physical chemistry is an excellent platform for such an effort. The inclusion of examples from other disciplines and multidisciplinary fields like nanotechnology can enrich the physical chemistry curriculum and keep it perennially fresh and exciting for both instructors and students. 

Althought it is still in the early stage of development, not unlike that of computer and information technology in the 1950s, nanotechnology is a rapidly expanding scientific field. 

The application of STM is not restricted to analytical applications, but it can also be applied for a defined modification of electrode surfaces on the nanometer scale. At present the creation and manipulation of mesoscopic structures are still at an exploratory stage, but they gain increasing attention and may soon develop to an established nanotechnology. The stability of such structures, which is crucial for technical applications, can be investigated with STM under in-situ electrochemical conditions. Regarding the correlation of structure and reactivity, a synthetic approach can be envisaged since defined distributions of defined catalyst particles are accessible. 

In recent decades, polymer science has definitively shown that macromolecules can be excellent candidates to create highly fimctional materials. With the availabihty of thousands of different monomers and the possibilities opened by their different combinations, polymer science has succeeded on many occasions when a material was needed for a particular apphcation, from the simplest uses as bulk commodities to the most sophisticated and special biomedical, engineering, or nanotechnological ones. Very few other technical developments in history have shown both the rapid development and deep societal impact of polymer science. Currently, the number of different technologies enabled by the existence of the adequate polymer is amazing, and the crucial role of polymer science in the current stage of societal development and well-being is beyond question. 

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