UNIT I INTRODUCTION TO NANOSCALE SYSTEMS

Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is a technique through which atom can be controlled and design according to the
requirements
The Nanoparticle can be designed and controlled by using a powerful microscope known as scanning
tunneling microscope which was introduced in 1981 by Gerd Binning and Heinrich Roress.

Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials are a set of substance which has at least one dimensional less than approximate 100 nm
(Any one dimension of particle/ element should be at least 100 nanometer)
The chemical and physical properties of nanomaterials depends on their size and shapes
Nanomaterials are based on two things first one Nanoscience and second nanotechnology
● Nano science is the science of objects in the size regime of nanometer where the particles
perform some special properties (Knowledge of particle size).
● Nano technology is using object or structure or phenomena at nanometer scale

HISTORY OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

● In the fourth-century AD Roman glassmakers were fabricating glasses containing nanosized

metals. An artifact from this period called the Lycurgus cup resides in the British Museum in
London. The cup, which depicts the death of King Lycurgus, is made from soda lime glass
containing silver and gold nanoparticles. The color of the cup changes from green to deep red
when a light source is placed inside it. The great varieties of beautiful colors of the windows of
medieval cathedrals are due to the presence of metal nanoparticles in the glass.

● Photography is an advanced and mature technology, developed in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, which depends on production of silver nanoparticles sensitive to light. Photographic
films is an emulsion, a thin layer of gelatin containing silver halides, such as silver bromide, and
a base of transparent cellulose acetate. The light decomposes the silver halides, producing
nanoparticles of silver, which are the pixels of the image.

● In 1857, Michael Faraday published a paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society, which attempted to explain how metal particles affect the color of church windows,
Gustav Mie was the first to provide an explanation of the dependence of the color of the glasses
on metal size and kind. His paper was published in the German Journal Annalen der Physik in
1908.

● Richard Feynman was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1965 for his contributions to
quantum electrodynamics. In 1960 he presented a visionary and prophetic lecture at a meeting of
the American Physical Society, entitled "There is Plenty of Room at the Bottom", where he
speculated on the possibility and potential of nanosized materials. He envisioned etching lines a
few atoms wide with beams of electrons, effectively predicting the existence of electron-beam
 lithography, which is used today to make silicon chips. He proposed manipulating individual
atoms to make new small structures having very different properties. He envisioned building
circuits on the scale of nanometers that can be used as elements in more powerful computers. He
also recognized the existence of nanostructures in biological systems. Many of Feynman's
speculations have become reality, However, his thinking did not resonate with scientists at the
time.

● There were other visionaries. Ralph Landauer, a theoretical physicist working or IBM in 1957,
had idea on nanoscale electronics and realized the importance that quantum- mechanical effects
would play in such devices. Uhlir reported the first observation of porous silicon in 1956, but it
was not until 1990 when room temperature fluorescence was observed in this material that
interest grew. Other work in this era involved making alkali metal nanoparticles by vaporizing
sodium or potassium metal and then condensing them on cooler materials called substrates.
Magnetic fluids called ferrofluids were developed in the 1960s. They consist of nanosized
magnetic particles dispersed in liquids. The particles were made by ballmilling in the presence of
a surface- active agent and liquid carrier. Another area of activity in the 1960s involved electron
paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of conduction electrons in metal particles of nanodimensions
referred to as colloids. Structural features o metal nanoparticles such as existence of magic
numbers were revealed in the 1970s using mass spectroscopic studies of sodium metal beams.
Group at Bell Laboratories and IBM fabricated the first two-dimensional quantum wells in the
early 1970s. It was not until the 1980s with the emergence of appropriate methods of fabrication
of nanostructures that a notable increase in research activity occurred, and a number of significant
developments resulted.

● In 1981, a method was developed to make metal clusters using a high-powered focused. laser to
vaporize metals into a hot plasma. In 1985, this method was used tosynthesize the fullerene
(C60). In 1982, two Russian scientists, Ekimov and Omushchenko, reported the first observation
of quantum confinement. The scanning tunneling microscope was developed during this decade
by G.K. Bining and H. Roher of the IBM Research Laboratory in Zurich, and they were awarded
Nobel Prize in 1986 for this. The invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and the
atomic force microscope (AFM), provided new important tools for viewing, characterizing and
atomic manipulation of nanostructures. This period was marked by development of methods of
fabrication such as electron-beam lithography, which are capable of producing 10-nm structures.
Also in this decade layered alternating metal magnetic and nonmagnetic materials, which
displayed the fascinating property of giant magnetoresistance, were fabricated. The layers were a
nanometer thick, and the materials have an important application in magnetic storage device in
computers.

● In the 1990, lijima made carbon nanotubes, and superconductivity and ferromagnetism were
found in C60 structures. Efforts also began to make molecular switches and measure the electrical
conductivity of molecules. A field-effect transistor based on carbon nanotubes was demonstrated.
The study of self-assembly of molecules on metal surfaces intensified. Self-assembly refers to the
spontaneous bonding of molecules to metal surfaces, forming an organized array of molecules on
 the surface. Self-assembly of thiol and disulfide compounds on gold has been most widely
studied.

● In 1996, a number of government agencies led by National Science Foundation commissioned a

study to assess the current worldwide status of trends, research and development in nanoscience
and nanotechnology. Two general findings emerged from the study. The first observation was
that materials have been and can be nanostructured

CLASSIFICATIONS BASED NANO MATERIALS ON DIMENSIONS

Nanomaterials are conventionally defined as materials having at least one dimension

between 1 and 100 nm. Recent advances in fields like microscopy have provided
scientists with new tools to better understand and exploit phenomena that occur
naturally when the matter is organized at the nanoscale. These phenomena are based
on “quantum effects” and other simple physical effects like increased surface area.
Furthermore, because the majority of biological processes take place at the nanoscale,
scientists can use models and templates to imagine and build new processes that will
benefit their work in medicine, imaging, computing, printing, chemical catalysis,
materials synthesis, and a variety of other fields.

1) Zero dimensional nanomaterials

Zero-dimensional (0-D) structures include materials with all dimensions at nanoscales of 1 to 100
nm. Most of these materials are spherical in shape; however, cubes and polygonal shapes with
nano-dimensions are also found under this class.
 This materials are mostly in spherical shape
It is good physical chemical properties
It has good potential in iron detection measures and analysis gas stream biological recognition ,
disease diagnosis pathogen detection
Example fullerene , amorphous or crystallite nanoparticles

2) One Dimensional Nanomaterials

One-dimensional (1-D) structures are materials with two dimensions at the nanoscale and the
other dimension is beyond the nanoscale (>100 nm), meaning that one dimension is outside the
nanoscale.
● This Nano materials are in tube, rod needle shape
● These are define as linear structures with diameter less than one dimensional
● This material promise building blocks for electronic devices
● This nanomaterials offer large surface area , facile, strain relaxation upon cycling and
efficient electron transport pathway to achieve high.
● Examples carbon nanotube, silver Nano wires and copper Nano wires etc

3) Two Dimensional Nanomaterials

Two-dimensional (2-D) structures are materials with one dimension at the nanoscale, and two of the
dimensions are not confined to the nanoscale. 2-D nanomaterials exhibit platelike shapes.

4) Three Dimensional Nanomaterials

Three-dimensional (3-D) structures are materials having three arbitrary dimensions beyond the
nanoscale (>100 nm). However, these materials possess a nanocrystalline structure or involve the
presence of peculiarities at the nanoscale. They can be composed of multiple arrangements of
nanosize crystals, most typically in different orientations.

NANOPARTICLES

Any particles that comes between 1 to 100 nanometres are nanoparticles. Only few hundred
atoms are combined acid is very small in size it's ratio of surface area volume is more.

There are basically two types of synthesis for nanoparticles

1) Top- down synthesis
2) Bottom- up synthesis

Top down synthesis is a process where a bulk material or big material will break into pieces then grind it
into a powder form then converted into nanoparticles

Bottom up synthesis is a process where the small atoms are converted into a cluster then to nanoparticles
There are many types of nanoparticles synthesis such as physical synthesis, chemical synthesis and
biological synthesis.

Factors affecting synthesis of nanoparticles

1) Temperature
● For physical synthesis the temperature should be above 350 degree Celsius
● For chemical synthesis the temperature should be below 350 degree Celsius
● For biological process the temperature should be 100 degree Celsius below
2) Pressure
● Pressure is applied to the reaction medium , which should be applied according
to the material synthesis as the pressure have affect on shape and size of the
nanomaterials
3) Time and environment
● The synthesis of nanoparticles is also time dependent; each particle has a specific time
duration; if the particle synthesis occurs outside of the time limit, the Nanoparticle will be
affected.
● The synthesis of nanoparticles is also affected by the environment in which they are
created.
4) Particle size and shape
● Different nanomaterials have varied sizes and shapes, which has an impact on how well
nanoparticles are created.
5) PH value
● The nanoparticles also depend on the pH value of the element. At pH 6, only small
nanoparticles were visible, whereas from pH 7.0 to 11.0 the average size of the
nanoparticles decreased with increasing pH. The largest particles were observed are at pH
7.0, while the smallest were observed at pH 11.0. TEM images of the silver nanoparticles
reduced by citric acid at pH 6.0 to 11.0.

TYPES OF NANOPARTICLES

1) Carbon-Based Nanoparticles
Predominantly, carbon-based nanoparticles are split into carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and fullerenes. The
use of these nanoparticles tends to focus on structural reinforcement as they are 100 times stronger than
steel.

CNTs can be classified into single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi-walled carbon
nanotubes (MWCNTs). CNTs are unique as they are thermally conductive along the length and non-
conductive across the tube.

Fullerenes are carbon allotropes with a hollow cage structure of sixty or more carbon atoms. The structure
of C60 is called Buckminster fullerenes, and resembles a hollow football.
The carbon units in these structures have a pentagonal and hexagonal arrangement. The applications of
these carbon-based nanoparticles are diverse. They have many commercial applications due to their
electrical conductivity, structure, high strength, and electron affinity.

So far, CNTs have been used to build transistors, aircraft, sensors and biosensors, drug delivery vehicles,
batteries and other energy storage, they are also used to reinforce concrete and treat water.

2) Ceramic Nanoparticles

These types of nanoparticles are inorganic solids composed of oxides, carbides, carbonates and
phosphates. Ceramic nanoparticles have high heat resistance and chemical inertness and have
applications in photocatalysis, photodegradation of dyes, and biological imaging.

One of the most important applications of ceramic nanoparticles is in drug delivery. By

controlling their specific characteristics like size, surface area, porosity, and surface area-to-
volume ratio, these nanomaterials perform as good drug delivery agents. They have been used
effectively as a drug delivery system for several diseases like bacterial infections, glaucoma, and
cancer. More recently, scientists have developed these nanoparticles for use in bone repair.

3) Metal Nanoparticles

Metal nanoparticles are types of nanoparticles prepared from metal precursors and can be
synthesized by chemical, electrochemical, or photochemical methods.

In chemical methods, the metal nanoparticles are obtained by reducing the metal-ion precursors
in solution with chemical reducing agents. The resultant nanomaterials can adsorb small
molecules and have high surface energy.

The most common types of metal nanoparticles include silver, gold, palladium, titanium, zinc,
and copper nanoparticles.

Metal nanoparticles are utilized across several research fields, including the detection and
imaging of biomolecules and in environmental and bioanalytical applications. For example, gold
nanoparticles are used to coat the sample before scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis to
enhance SEM and produce high-quality electron microscopy images.

Metal nanoparticles also have important applications in drug delivery when they are extensively
used for a variety of therapeutic agencies, including antibodies, nucleic acids, peptides, and more.

4) Semiconductor Nanoparticles

Semiconductor nanoparticles are a type of nanoparticle with properties like those of metals and
non-metals, and are found in the periodic table in groups II-VI, III-V or IV-VI. These
 nanoparticles have wide bandgaps, which upon tuning show different properties. Some examples
of semiconductor nanoparticles are GaN, GaP, InP, InAs from group III-V, ZnO, ZnS, CdS,
CdSe, CdTe are II-VI semiconductors and silicon and germanium are from group IV.
Semiconductor nanoparticles are applied to photocatalysis, electronics devices, nanophotonics
and water-splitting applications. Modern devices such as computers, cell phones, television
remote controls, satellite dishes, and fiber networks often contain semiconductor nanoparticles.

5) Polymeric Nanoparticles

Polymeric nanoparticles are organic-based nanoparticles. Depending upon the preparation

method, these types of nanoparticles have structures shaped like nanocapsules or nanospheres.

A nanosphere nanoparticle has a matrix-like structure, whereas nanocapsules have core-shell

morphology. In nanosphere polymeric nanoparticles, the active compounds and the polymer are
uniformly dispersed, while in nanocapsule nanoparticles, the active compounds are confined and
surrounded by a polymer shell.

Some advantages of polymeric nanoparticles include controlled release, protection of drug

molecules as they travel within the internal and external environment, the ability to combine
therapy and imaging, and specific targeting.

Polymeric nanoparticles have applications in drug delivery and diagnostics. Drug delivery
systems with polymeric nanoparticles have the benefit of being highly biodegradable and
biocompatible.

Applications of nanoparticles

● Biomedical- use in nano therapeutics and cancer drug also use in improve of damage arteries
● Gene delivery such as bio maker mappings or molecular imaging
● Cosmetics such as sunscreen, deodorants etc
● Composite materials such as modern rubber tyres for vehicles (inorganic fillers)
● Fabrics, wall paints and sports products etc

NANOCLUSTERES

Nanoclusters are atomically precise, crystalline materials most often existing on the 0-2
nanometer scale. They are often considered kinetically stable intermediates that form during the
synthesis of comparatively larger materials such as semiconductor and metallic nanocrystals. The
majority of research conducted to study nanoclusters has focused on characterizing their crystal
structures and understanding their role in the nucleation and growth mechanisms of larger
materials. These nanoclusters can be composed either of a single or of multiple elements, and
exhibit interesting electronic, optical, and chemical properties compared to their larger
counterparts.

Buckminsterfullerene (formula: C60) is an atomic cluster.

Materials can be categorized into three different regimes, namely bulk, nanoparticles and
nanoclusters. Bulk metals are electrical conductors and good optical reflectors and metal
nanoparticles display intense colors due to surface plasmon resonance.However, when the size of
metal nanoclusters is further reduced to form a nanocluster, the band structure becomes
discontinuous and breaks down into discrete energy levels, somewhat similar to the energy levels
of molecules. This gives nanoclusters similar qualities as a singular molecule and does not
exhibit plasmonic behavior; nanoclusters are known as the bridging link between atoms and
nanoparticles. Nanoclusters may also be referred to as molecular nanoparticles.

Properties of Nanoclusters

1) Electrical conductivity
● The parallel layers of the nano clusters provide them good electrical conductivity.
2) The nanoclusters have good strength and elasticity properties due to its stiffness
3) Thermal conduction and expansion
● The nanotubes are the best example where it aid to transmission of vibration
throughout the nanotube which results in good heat tolerant
4) High melting point
● The nanoclusters have a high melting point because one carbon atom is attached
to three other atoms by a strong covalent bond that shares electrons, resulting in a
high melting point for the nanoclusters.

APPLICATIONS

1. Water filters
2. Medicine absorption
3. Optical and electrical properties

NANOWIRES
A nanowire is a nanostructure solid rod like material in the form of a wire
with the diameter of the order of a nanometre (10−9 metres). More
generally, nanowires can be defined as structures that have a thickness or
diameter constrained to tens of nanometers or less and an unconstrained
length. At these scales, quantum mechanical effects are important—which
coined the term "quantum wires".

Typical nanowires exhibit aspect ratios (length-to-width ratio) of 1000 or more. As such they are
often referred to as one-dimensional (1-D) materials. Nanowires have many interesting
properties that are not seen in bulk or 3-D (three-dimensional) materials. This is because
electrons in nanowires are quantum confined laterally and thus occupy energy levels that are
different from the traditional continuum of energy levels or bands found in bulk materials.

Made up of semiconductor metal or carbons this Nanowires have good physical, chemical and
optical properties. This Nanowires should be produced in controlled condition manufacture with
several processes vapour deposition , vapour liquid synthesis etc.

This Nanowires wires her highly flexible and strength enhance a good surface volume.

NANODOTS

Nanodot can refer to several technologies which use nanometer-scale localized structures.
Nanodots generally exploit properties of quantum dots to localize magnetic or electrical fields at
very small scales. Applications for nanodots could include high-density information storage,
energy storage, and light-emitting devices. They ser made up of 10 to 50 atoms.

PROPERTY CHANGES AT NANOSCALE

1. Scale at which quantum effects dominate

When particles are created with dimensions of about 1-100 nanometers, the materials' properties
can change significantly from those at larger scales. This is the size scale where quantum effects
can rule the behaviour and properties of particles. A fascinating and powerful result of the
quantum effects of the nanoscale is the concept of "tunability" of properties. That is. by changing
the size of the particle, a scientist can literally fine-tune a material property of interest. At the
nanoscale, properties such as melting point, fluorescence, electrical conductivity, magnetic
permeability, and chemical reactivity can change as a function of the size of the particle.
Nanoscale gold illustrates the unique properties that occur at the nanoscale. Nanoscale gold can
appear red or purple depending on the size of the particle. Gold nanoparticles interact differently
with light compared to larger-scale gold particles due to quantum effects.

2. Scale at which surface behaviour plays a larger role

Nanoscale materials have far larger surface area-to-volume ratio than bulk materials. As surface
area per volume increases, materials can become more reactive.

a single cubic centimeter of cubic nanoparticles has a total surface area that is even bigger than
the area of a football field! Because of this higher surface area, more of the material is exposed
to the surrounding environment, which can greatly speed chemical reactions of these materials,
or reactivity, One benefit of greater surface area and improved reactivity-in nanostructured
materials is that they have helped create better catalysts. An everyday example of catalysis is the
catalytic converter in a car, which cleans the exhaust and reduces air pollution. The higher
surface area of nanoscale catalysts has enabled modern catalytic converters to use far less
precious metal in the catalytic converter than was previously needed to achieve the same
reductions in polluting gases. Engineers are taking advantage of the increased reactivity at the
nanoscale to design better batteries, fuel cells, and catalysts for cleaner and safer energy
generation and storage systems.

3. Scale at which much biology occurs

Over millennia. nature has perfected the art of biology at the nanoscale. Many of the inner
workings of cells naturally occur at the nanoscale. For example, haemoglobin, the protein that
carries oxygen through the body, je 55 moneters in diameter A strand of DNA, one of the
building blocks of life, is only about 2 nanometers in diameter.

Drawing on the natural nanoscale of biology, many medical researchers are working on
designing tools, treatments and therapies that are more precise and personalized than
conventional ones. Nanomedicine formulations can be designed to deliver therapeutics directly
to a specific site within the body, which can lower the dose required to achieve therapeutic effect
and reduce adverse side effects. Nanomaterials also are being used to develop affordable and
easy-to-use diagnostics and monitoring devices for a broad range of applications that includes
glucose monitoring, pregnancy tests, and viral detection. Advanced nanomaterials are used to
improve chemical, physical. and mechanical performance of prosthetics materials, with benefits
that can include better biocompatibility, strength-to-weight ratios, and antimicrobial properties to
reduce risk of infection.

Other fields are also benefiting from an understanding of natural nanotechnology. Some
scientists are exploring the use molecular self-assembly, self-organization, and quantum
mechanics to create novel computing platforms. Other researchers are using nanomaterials to
develop nature-inspired systems for artificial photosynthesis to harness solar energy.

Optical Properties.

1) The properties like colour and transparency are considered as optical properties. These
properties are observed to change at nanoscale level. For example bulk gold appear yellow in
colour while in nanosize gold appear red in colour.

2.) Bulk silicon appears grey in colour while nanosized silicon appears red in colour. 3.) Zinc
oxide, which at bulk scale blocks ultraviolet light and scatters visible light and gives white
appearance. While nanoscale zinc oxide is very small in particle size compared with wavelength
of visible light and it does not scatters it. Thus it appears transparent.

Reason for change in optical properties in nanoscale

1.) The main reason for change in optical properties at nanoscale level is that nanoparticles are so
small that electrons in them are not as much free to move as in case of bulk material. Due to this
restricted movement of electrons, nanoparticles react differently with light as compared to bulk
material.

Electrical properties of nanomaterials:

Nanomaterials have lower thermal and electrical conductivities than bulk materials. The
classical free electron theory of metals states that the movement of electrons within a metallic
solid lead to electrical conductivity. Nanomaterials have a high density of grain boundaries,
which makes electric-phonon and phonon-phonon scattering effective and reduces conductivity.

EFFECT OF ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD

The properties of a material to understand its interactions with electromagnetic radiation can be
linked to the permittivity and permeability of the material. The permittivity of a material is
related to how the material interacts with electric fields while the permeability corresponds to the
interaction with magnetic fields. These properties are complex functions are both frequency- and
temperature-dependent functions that vary with the type of material. For nanoscale materials,
these functions are also size-dependent. In relation to this research, these parameters affect the
heating of materials in microwave reactors, and on how the nanoparticles can affect the
properties of the nanocomposite they are embedded in, or in the ability of the nanoparticles to
quench the fluorescence of dye molecules.

The frequency of the dielectric function, is a positive value that describes the ability of the
material to absorb or allow the electric field to penetrate the material while the component
describes how easily this energy is lost (that can occur through conversion to thermal losses).The
dielectric response of a material is based upon the response of its electrons, charges and dipoles.
The electric field, depending on the frequency will affect how the components of the material
will react. For a typical dielectric material (not a pure metal), various responses can be
observed .The ratio of the loss component over the absorptive component is referred to as the
loss tangent (tan 6,="/e). The more 'lossy a material is, the higher the tan (Note: The magnetic
loss tangent is denoted by tan delta_{mu} and is the ratio equal to "/")

The penetration depth (dp) of materials (or skin depth for metals) is defined as the distance from
the surface of the material at which the amplitude of the wave (or electric/magnetic field) drops
to a value of 1/e of its original value within the material. The penetration depth of a material
depends on the frequency of the radiation as well as the permittivity and permeability properties
of the material. Metallic elements that also have magnetic characteristics such as nickel and iron
are able to attenuate EM radiation even better because of their high permeability values, with
loss mechanisms related to the magnetic nature of the material

In the quasi-static limit, where the electric field is homogeneous across a nanoparticle (that is
smaller in size than the wavelength of the EM radiation). Mie theory is able to predict the
scattering and absorptive properties of nanoparticles. The scattering function scales as function
of the sixth power of the radius while the absorption scales as a function of the third power of the
radius (cubic), and the sum of the scattering and absorption cross-sections gives the total
extinction cross section of the nanoparticle.

Nanoparticles under 20 mm in diameter can be considered to be purely absorptive, while those

above 20 nm can scatter the incident radiation much stronger. The properties of the nanoparticle
however are modified by changing the shapes

As in the case of the size-dependent permittivity (dielectric function) for nanoparticles as a

function of frequency, a size-dependent permeability function can be described by the Landan-
Lifshitz-Gilbert expression. However as the magnetic field strength is much weaker than the
electric field strength, the influence of the permittivity is more significant in many cases.

EFFECT OF GRAVITATIONAL FIELD IN NANOTECHNOLOGY

Gravitational acceleration affects important colloids by changing sedimentation , convection, and

the resulting mechanical stresses. The gravitational level can affect the crystallization of
macromolecules, proteins, viruses, semiconductors and the formation of ionic crystals from
solution, for example calcium phosphate.
Gravity also changes the distribution of particles in composites that are prepared from colloidal
precursors, thus affecting bulk properties. Nanocomposites contain nanoparticles in polymer or
other matrices, where they tune mechanical, dielectric or optical properties. The resulting
properties depend on the composition, shape and size of the nanofillers, their volume fraction
and their spatial distribution inside the matrix . The particle distribution is commonly tuned in
order to change key material properties . A homogeneous distribution of nanoparticles can be
used to enhance mechanical strength without decreasing flexibility. Percolating superstructures
of conductive or porous particles such as silver or carbon black increase electrical or ion
transport. The structure of nanocomposites has been tuned beyond random particle distribution
by external manipulation or through particle self-assembly. For example, carbon black networks
were aligned by applying an electrical field on the composite . Self-assembly has been used to
obtain nanowires networks for nanoelectronics , to arrange semiconductor nanorods in solar cells
, and to combine gold nanorods guided by DNA into drug carriers , for example.

The sedimentation of nanoparticles or their superstructures and their convective transport during
material preparation can establish concentration gradients inside the composite that change
material properties. It is difficult to assess the relevance of gravity in composite preparation
because the density of the matrix changes during processing, filler particle densities cannot be
easily changed, and growing superstructures increase their sedimentation and friction
coefficients. Gravity experiments are one of very few practical approaches to study nanoparticle
dynamics during materials formation. Microgravity conditions can be realized in drop tower
facilities , during parabolic flights, with sounding rockets, or on the international space station .