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Nanotech materials are created by manipulating materials at the molecular level to build new objects between 1 and 100 nanometers. Examples include carbon nanotubes, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, silver and gold nanoparticles, and clay-based polymers. While there are concerns about toxicity and energy consumption, these materials offer potential benefits in electronics, textiles, manufacturing, and medicine.
Nanotech materials are building things between 1 and 100 nanometers, with a single nanometer equal to one-billionth of a meter. Essentially, all materials found in nature are built at the nanoscale, but objects manipulated by humans at the molecular level to build something new constitute nanotechnological materials. The best early example of this technology is a carbon nanotube, made by changing the size of carbon molecules in a honeycomb lattice. Carbon nanotubes create a graphite sheet that is significantly lighter and stronger than steel. Products such as bicycle frames, batteries and tennis rackets are examples of what can be made from carbon nanotubes.
A common example of nanotech materials is titanium dioxide, which is manipulated to create products such as sunscreen that block ultraviolet (UV) rays while still allowing for tanning. Another important product of titanium dioxide is a solar panel that intensifies the energy received from sunlight, making it a more efficient and powerful energy source. Researchers have found that zinc oxide is another example of nanotech materials with similar benefits to titanium oxide, including the ability to block UV rays and enhance the effects of light capture in solar panels.
Both silver and gold particles are powerful nanotech materials, offering new solutions in a wide variety of industries. Silver nanoparticles, for example, have been heralded as the solution to everything from better toothpaste to a possible cure for infectious disease. Gold nanoparticles also have potentially important medical applications, from detecting early-stage cancer to treating arthritis. Both silver and gold nanoparticles can be used for electronic wiring, which provides more flexibility and power than traditional methods.
Many nanotech materials also come from more common sources. The nano-level manipulated clay particles create a stronger polymer that is also lighter and more temperature resistant. Generally, clay-based polymers can be used in clothing, household items, and automobile parts. The construction industry is looking for ways to improve common items like concrete and glass to create new materials that are more energy efficient, easier to produce, and more environmentally sustainable.
Many nanotech materials have been controversial. Manipulating materials at the molecular level leads to the possibility of toxicity of both the materials themselves and the by-product. Other concerns are the energy consumption in creating the materials and the fact that they have yet to prove their worth over time. Despite this, nanotech materials are being developed due to the promise of greater innovation for electronics, textiles, manufacturing, and their potentially game-changing effect on medicine.
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