Ongoing Research And Development Activities

Ongoing Research and Development Activities: The atomic-scale and cutting-edge field of nanotechnology which is considered to lead us to the next industrial revolution is likely to have a revolutionary impact on the way things will be done, designed and manufactured in the future. Nanotechnology is entering into all aspects of science and technology including, but not limited to, aerospace, agriculture, bioengineering, biology, energy, the environment, materials, manufacturing, medicine, military science and technology. It is truly an atomic and molecular manufacturing approach for building chemically and physically stable structures one atom or one molecule at a time. Presently some of the active nanotechnology research areas include nanolithography, nanodevices, nanorobotics, nanocomputers, nanopowders, nanostructured catalysts and nanoporous materials, molecular manufacturing, diamondoids, carbon nanotube and fullerene products, nanolayers, molecular nanotechnology, nanomedicine, nanobiology, organic nanostructures to name a few.
We have known for many years that several existing technologies depend crucially on processes that take place on the nanoscale. Adsorption, lithography, ion-exchange, catalysis, drug design, plastics and composites are some examples of such technologies. The "nano" aspect of these technologies was not known and, for the most part, they were initiated accidentally by mere luck. They were further developed using tedious trial-and-error laboratory techniques due to the limited ability of the times to probe and control matter on nanoscale. Investigations at nanoscale were left behind as compared to micro and macro length scales because significant developments of the nanoscale investigative tools have been made only recently.
The above mentioned technologies, and more, stand to be improved vastly as the methods of nanotechnology develop. Such methods include the possibility to control the arrangement of atoms inside a particular molecule and, as a result, the ability to organize and control matter simultaneously on several length scales. The developing concepts of nanotechnology seem pervasive and broad. It is expected to influence every area of science and technology, in ways that are clearly unpredictable.
Nanotechnology will also help solve other technology and science problems. For example, we are just now starting to realize the benefits that nanostructuring can bring to,

wear-resistant tires made by combining nanoscale particles of inorganic clays with polymers as well as other nanoparticle reinforced materials,
greatly improved printing brought about by nanoscale particles that have the best properties of both dyes and pigments as well as advanced ink jet systems,
vastly improved new generation of lasers, magnetic disk heads, nanolayers with selective optical barriers and systems on a chip made by controlling layer thickness to better than a nanometer,
design of advanced chemical and bio-detectors,
nanoparticles to be used in medicine with vastly advanced drug delivery and drug targeting capabilities,
chemical-mechanical polishing with nanoparticle slurries, hard coatings and high hardness cutting tools.

The following selected observations regarding the expected future advances are also worth mentioning at this juncture.

The most complex arrangements of matter known to us are those of living entities and organs. Functions of living organisms depend on specific patterns of matter on all various length scales. Methods of nanotechnology could provide a new dimension to the control and improvement of living organisms.
Photolithographic patterning of matter on the micro scale has led to the revolution in microelectronics over the past few decades. With nanotechnology, it will become possible to control matter on every important length scale, enabling tremendous new power in materials design.
Biotechnology is expected to be influenced by nanotechnology greatly in a couple of decades. It is anticipated that, for example, this will revolutionize healthcare to produce ingestible systems that will be harmlessly flushed from the body if the patient is healthy but will notify a physician of the type and location of diseased cells and organs if there are problems.
Micro and macro systems constructed of nanoscale components are expected to have entirely new properties that have never before been identified in nature. As a result, by altering and design of the structure of materials in the nanoscale range we would be able to systematically and appreciably modify or change selected properties of matter at macro and micro scales. This would include, for example, production of polymers or composites with most desirable properties which nature and existing technologies are incapable of producing.
Robotic spacecraft that weigh only a few pounds will be sent out to explore the solar system, and perhaps even the nearest stars. Nanoscale traps will be constructed that will be able to remove pollutants from the environment and deactivate chemical warfare agents. Computers with the capabilities of current workstations will be the size of a grain of sand and will be able to operate for decades with the equivalent of a single wristwatch battery.
There are many more observations in the areas of inks and dyes, protective coatings, dispersions with optoelectronic properties, nanostructured catalysts, high reactivity reagents, medicine, electronics, structural materials, diamondoids, carbon nanotube and fullerene products and energy conversion, conservation, storage and usage which are also worth mentioning.
Many large organic molecules are known to forming organic nanostructures of various shapes as shown in Figures 1 the deriving force of which is the intermolecular interaction energies between such macromolecules

Figure1. Organic nanostructure self-assemblies of various shapes.