Definition of Terms used in Nanotechnology

Nanoscale

  • length range approximately from 1nm to 100nm.

Nano-objects

  • material with one, two or three external dimensions in thenanoscale.

Nanofibre

  • nano-object with two external dimensions in the nanoscale and the third dimension significantly larger.

Nanorod

  • solid nanofibre.

Nanotube

  • hollow nanofibre.

Nanoparticle

  • nano-object with all three external dimensions in the nanoscale.

Nanoplate

  • nano-object with one external dimension in the nanoscale and the two other external dimensions significantly larger.

Nanowire

  • electrically conducting or semi-conducting nanofibre.

Nanostructured Material

  • material having internal nanostructure or surface nanostructure.

Nanostructured

  • having internal or surface structure in the nanoscale.

Nanopore

  • cavity with at least one dimension in the nanoscale which may contain a gas or liquid.

Nanocomposite

  • solid comprising a mixture of two or more phase-separated materials, one or more being nanophase.
  • Polymer matrix nanocomposite : nanocomposite with at least one major polymeric phase.
  • Polymer clay nanocomposite : polymer matrix nanocomposite with a nanostructured clay phase.
  • Metal matrix nanocomposite : nanocomposite with at least one major metallic phase.
  • Ceramic matrix nanocomposite : nanocomposite with at least one major ceramic phase.

Nanodispersion

  • material in which nano-objects or a nanophase are dispersed in a continuous phase of a different composition.

Nanofoam

  • liquid or solid matrix, filled with a second, gaseous phase, typically resulting in a material of much lower density with a nanostructured matrix, for example having nanoscale struts and walls, or a gaseous nanophase consisting of nanoscale bubbles (closed nanofoam), or both.

Nanophase

  • physically or chemically distinct region or collective term for physically distinct regions of the same kind in a material with the discrete regions having one, two or three dimensions in the nanoscale.

Engineered Nanomaterial

  • nanomaterial designed for a specific purpose or function.

Manufactured Nanomaterial

  • nanomaterial intentionally produced for commercial purposes to have specific properties or specific composition.

Incidental Nanomaterial

  • nanomaterial generated as an unintentional by-product of a process.

Nanoribbon

  • nanoplate with the two larger dimensions significantly different from each other.

Nanomaterial

  • material with any external dimension in the nanoscale or having internal structure or surface structure in the nanoscale

Nanotechnologies

  • a group of emerging technologies, characterized by the production, manipulation, control and application of matter in the nanoscale in order to make use of size- and structure-dependent properties and phenomena, as distinct from those associated with individual atoms or molecules or with bulk materials.

Nanostructure

  • composition of inter-related constituent parts, in which one or more of those parts is a nanoscale region.