Abstract

Nanoparticles: Properties and applications

Author(s): Stephen Miller

A nanoparticle is a tiny particle with a size of 1 to 100 nanometers. Nanoparticles, which are invisible to the naked eye, can have drastically different physical and chemical characteristics than their bigger material counterparts. As the size of a substance approaches the atomic scale, its characteristics change. This is due to an increase in the surface area to volume ratio, resulting in the surface atoms of the material dominating the material's activity. When compared to bulk materials such as powders, plates, and sheets, nanoparticles have a relatively significant surface area to volume ratio due to their extremely tiny size. Because nanoparticles are tiny enough to contain their electrons and create quantum effects, they can have surprising optical, physical, and chemical characteristics.