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.