Nanoscopic materials: size-dependent phenomena
Emil Roduner
Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of Chemistry | 2006 | 286pp | HB | IN 9780854048571
Nanotechnology has been hailed as a key technology of the 21st century. The scope of this field is huge and could have a wide influence on many aspects of life. Nanoscience; the manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular level, and nanomaterials; materials so all that their behaviour and characteristics deviate from those of macroscopic specimens and may be predicted by scaling laws or by quantum confinement effects, are discussed in Nanoscopic Materials: Size - Dependent Phenomena.
The book focuses on a qualitative and quantitative approach discussing all areas of nanotechnology with particular emphasis on the underlying physico-chemical and physical principles of nanoscience. Topics include electronic structure, magnetic properties, thermodynamics of size dependence and catalysis. There is also a section discussing the future potential of the field and the ethical implications of nanotechnology. The book is ideal for graduate students of chemistry and materials science and researchers new to the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology.
Initially I thought: 'great, another book on nanophysics. Why?' I was therefore surprised to find that this is an accessible book for chemists who are starting out in the area.
After a brief introduction, the second, third and fourth chapters touch on important issues such as scaling laws, Wulff's theorem (key to understanding why spherical particles are not really spherical), magic numbers, geometry and electronic structure, although I'm not sure I agree with the definition of a quantum dot on page 42 (AlPb12+ is more a cluster, surely?)
The fifth chapter introduces us to magneti on the nanoscale, although I'm a little surprised we didn't see any real in-depth mention of magnetic nanoparticles, especially after the recent explosion in publications. The sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth chapters cover thermodynamics, surface chemistry and phase transitions - the hard core stuff, some parts of which at first glance seemed irrelevant but quickly linked to issues such as nucleation theory, shape control and similar phenomena.
Chapter eleven addresses speculation and applications whilst describing a sensible view of Drexler's version of nanotechnology. The chapter bravely addresses health, safety and the ethics of nanotechnology which may be beyond the book's scope. We have to be careful when addressing such issues that we don't make matters worse with the already generally misguided general public.
Overall, given the highly mathematical basis of nanoscale phenomena, the book carefully explains the concepts with useful key points and selective reading. This is an excellent book that addresses the relevant issue and an ideal companion to the other RSC book Nanochemistry: a chemical approach to nanomaterials by Ozin and Arsenault.
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