MATERIAL SCIENCE

Materials science is a branch of science and engineering that focuses on creating and improving
different materials to meet specific needs. It blends chemistry, physics, and engineering to
develop materials used in everything from electronics to medical implants.

Since it sits between science and engineering, the field is often called "materials science and
engineering." Experts in this field work on designing and testing new materials by using
knowledge from math, physics, chemistry, and even biology.

Why Is Material Science Important?

 It helps create stronger, lighter, and more durable materials.

 It plays a big role in plastics, metals, ceramics, and electronic materials.
 It is essential for industries like aerospace, healthcare, energy, and construction.

NANOTECHNOLOGY
Nanotechnology is a genre based on the application of nanoscience that utilizes ultra-small
materials ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers with unique properties. It is sometimes also known
as engineering at the molecular level. It is a natural evolutionary way of miniaturizing that is
deeply integrated into medicine, agriculture, food, cosmetics, and energy.

Richard Feynman, a noble prize winning physicist in 1959 gave the concept of nontechnology in
his famous lecture, "There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom". Later on the term nanotechnology
was officially coined by Japanese scientist Norio Taniguchi in the year 1974.But the word was
greatly recognized in 1986 with the publication of “ Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of
Nanotechnology”, by K. Eric Drexler.

Nanomaterials are tiny but powerful, making a big impact in many fields. They help in medicine
by improving drug delivery and cancer treatment, enhance electronics by making batteries last
longer, and support environmental efforts by purifying water and air. In automobiles and
aerospace, they create lighter and stronger materials, their small size and unique properties make
them essential for future innovations.

Nanoparticles
According to ISO(International Organization for Standardization), nanoparticles are the nano-
objects having dimensions in the nano scales. Thanks to their extremely small size and large
surface area, nanomaterials behave differently from regular materials, showing unique physical,
chemical, and biological properties.
Nanoparticles can be of different shapes, sizes and structures. They can be cylindrical, spherical,
conical, spiral etc. or irregular in shapes. They can be crystalline or amorphous. Nanoparticles
can either be uniform or have multiple layers. In layered nanoparticles, there are three main
parts: the surface layer, the shell layer, and the core layer, each playing a role in their unique
properties and behavior. The surface layer interacts with the environment, the shell layer
modifies stability and reactivity, and the core layer determines the nanoparticle's main properties
and functionality.

Nanoparticles are used in medicine for drug delivery and imaging, in electronics for better
batteries and solar cells, and in environment for water and air purification. They also enhance
aerospace and automotive materials and improve cosmetics and textiles with UV protection and
antibacterial coatings.

Classification of Nanomaterials

Classification Based on nature of origin

Nanomaterials can be classified in different ways, with one common approach being based on
their origin—whether they occur naturally or are artificially engineered.
1. Natural Nanomaterials

These are found in nature in various forms, including viruses, protein molecules, and minerals
like clay. Natural colloids, such as milk and blood, are also examples, along with fog (aerosol
type), gelatin (gel type), and mineralized materials like shells, corals, and bones. Additionally,
insect wings, spider silk, lotus leaves, and gecko feet exhibit nanostructures that contribute to
their unique properties. Other natural sources include volcanic ash and ocean spray, which
contain nanoparticles formed through natural processes.

2. Artificial Nanomaterials
These nanomaterials are engineered through controlled processes to achieve specific properties.
Examples include carbon nanotubes and quantum dots (QDs), which are semiconductor
nanoparticles used in electronics and medical imaging. Based on their composition, artificial
nanomaterials can be further classified as metal-based, dendrites, or composite materials.

Classification Based on Structure and Composition

Nanomaterials can also be grouped according to their structural makeup, broadly categorized
into organic, inorganic, carbon-based, and composite materials.

1.Organic Nanomaterials

These are derived from organic compounds at the nanoscale. Examples include liposomes,
dendrimers, micelles, and ferritin. Liposomes and micelles are biodegradable nanoparticles with
hollow interiors, making them effective in drug delivery as they respond to heat, electromagnetic
fields, and light.

2. Inorganic Nanomaterials

Inorganic nanoparticles are nanoparticles that lack carbon atoms and are further classified as:

Types of Inorganic Nanomaterials

1. Metal-Based Nanoparticles

These are tiny particles made from metals like gold, silver, iron, zinc, aluminum, and copper.
Their small size gives them unique properties, such as high reactivity, antibacterial effects, and
strong optical and electrical behavior. Because of this, they are widely used in biosensors,
medical imaging, and environmental treatments.
2. Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

These nanoparticles combine metal ions with oxygen atoms, forming materials like silica (SiO₂),
titanium dioxide (TiO₂), zinc oxide (ZnO), and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃). They are valued for
their stability, ability to interact with light, and biocompatibility, making them useful in
sunscreens, drug delivery, and pollution control.

3. Semiconductor Nanomaterials

These materials behave partly like metals and partly like insulators. They are classified into:

 Magnetic Semiconductors – Naturally show magnetic properties and are used in

specialized applications.
 Non-Magnetic Semiconductors – Used in electronics and communication devices but do
not have magnetic properties.
 Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors – Made magnetic by adding specific elements, helping
in advanced computing and spintronics.

4. Ceramic Nanomaterials

These are tough, heat-resistant materials made from oxides, carbides, and phosphates. Their
durability makes them ideal for drug delivery, catalysis, pollution control, and biomedical
imaging.

5. Lipid-Based Nanomaterials

These nanoparticles have a fat-based core and are commonly used in medicine. They act as
carriers for drug delivery and RNA-based therapies, particularly in treating diseases like cancer.

6. Carbon-Based Nanomaterials
These are entirely made of carbon and include:

 Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) – Thin, tube-like structures with high strength and electrical
conductivity, used in electronics and composite materials.
 Graphene – A single layer of carbon atoms with remarkable flexibility and conductivity,
making it useful in batteries, sensors, and flexible screens.
 Fullerenes (Buckyballs) – Hollow, ball-shaped molecules that can carry other substances,
used in drug delivery and nanomedicine.
 Carbon Nanofibers & Carbon Black – Found in paints, coatings, and filtration systems.

  Each of these nanomaterials has unique characteristics that make them valuable in
healthcare, electronics, energy storage, and environmental solutions.

7. Composite Nanomaterials:

Composite nanomaterials combine nanoparticles with other materials to enhance strength, heat
resistance, and durability. They are widely used in automobile parts, construction, and packaging
for improved performance and longevity.

Classification Based on Dimension

Nanomaterials can be classified based on their dimensions:

 Zero-dimensional (0D) nanomaterials: These have all three dimensions confined

within the nanoscale, meaning they are smaller than 100 nm in every direction. Examples
include quantum dots, fullerenes, and nanoparticles. They can have different structures,
such as amorphous or crystalline, and exist in metallic or ceramic forms.
 One-dimensional (1D) nanomaterials: These have two dimensions within the
nanoscale, while one extends beyond it. This category includes nanofibers, nanotubes,
nanorods, and nanowires. They can be either crystalline or amorphous and may exist as
standalone materials or embedded in metals, ceramics, or polymers.
 Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials: These have a plate-like structure, where
only one dimension falls within the nanoscale range. These include thin films,
nanosheets, and coatings. 2D nanomaterials can be integrated into different materials
like polymers or metals and can be either crystalline or amorphous.
 Three-dimensional (3D) nanomaterials: These are bulk materials
composed of nanoscale building blocks but are not restricted to the
nanoscale in any dimension. They include nanoparticle dispersions,
nanowire bundles, and multilayered nanostructures. Examples of 3D
nanomaterials include porous thin films, colloids, and free nanoparticles
with diverse shapes.
VANADIUM
Vanadium is a transition metal known for its strong resistance to corrosion and ability to
withstand exposure to acids, alkalis, and saltwater. Despite of being a component of non ferrous
metals it is often called ferrous metal. It naturally occurs in more than 60 minerals, including
vanadinite, carnotite, roscoelite, and patronite.

Vanadium, a transition metal with atomic number 23, naturally occurs as a blend of two isotopes:
50V, which makes up 0.24%, and 51V, comprising 99.76%. It plays a crucial role in various
industrial and scientific applications due to its unique properties.

Physical Properties:
It was discovered in 1801 by Spanish mineralogist A.M DEL RIO and has following physical
properties:

Density - 6.1gm/cm3

Melting point – 2183K

Boiling point – 3680K

Specific Heat - 498 j/(kg.K)

Thermal conductivity – 30.7W/(m.K)

Resistivity – 19.7nΩm

Evaporation Heat - 457.7kg/mole

It can used for following ways:

1. To make steel alloys that can be used in aircraft carriers, nuclear reactors etc.
2. It can be used as a pigment in the ceramics.
3. Research on the use of Vanadium in vehicles is undergoing at present.
4. It can be used as a catalyst in the manufacture of dyes and printing fabrics.
5. Vanadium gallium tape is used in superconducting materials.

6. In the medical sphere, vanadium is used to treat a number of ailments, including

diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol. It has also been used in the cathodes of
batteries for implantable cardioverter defibrillators.
VANADIUM PENTOXIDE [V2O5]
Vanadium has many oxides i.e., Vanadium Monoxide (VO), Vanadium dioxide (VO 2) and many
more. One of the oxides with the great stability and great application is Vanadium Pentoxide (V 2
O5)

It is an orange to brick red solid, tasteless, toxic, and crystalline solid and is slightly soluble in
water and has density larger than that of water. It is most common and stable oxide of Vanadium,
widely used in various industrial applications. But it can be highly toxic in nature and is found as
a rare mineral.

The aqueous solution if Vanadium Pentoxide is generally yellow and acidic. This is extracted
from the Vanadium slag (including FeO.V 2O3), stone like coal mineral and coproduction of
Vanadium during the steelmaking with Vanadium containing Iron ore.

It has excellent crystallinity, high yield and recyclability which are one of the main reason for

this compound to be a good photocatalyst.

Properties of Vanadium Pentoxide (V₂O₅) in Simple Terms

 Chemical Formula: V₂O₅ (This represents its composition: two vanadium atoms and
five oxygen atoms).
 Appearance: It looks like a yellow to orange crystalline powder.
 Solubility: It doesn't dissolve easily in water but mixes well with acids and alkalis.
  Melting Point: It melts at around 690°C, which is quite high.
 Oxidation State: Vanadium in this compound has an oxidation state of +5, meaning it
has lost five electrons in chemical reactions.

Structure of V2O5
Many interrelated factors i.e., electronic and structural factors lead to the formation of different
oxides of vanadium including Vanadium Pentaoxide. An oxide of Vanadium with highest state
of oxygen is the most stable oxide of Vanadium. It is basically a transition metal oxide having
multiple distinctive polymorphs, including α- V 2O5 (Orthorhombic), β-V2O5 (monoclinic or
tetragonal) and γ- V2O5 (orthorhombic). The latter two i.e., β-V 2O5 and γ- V2O5 can be
transformed from α- V2O5 under high pressure and temperature as it is the most common and
thermodynamically more stable (the unit cell structure belongs to the Pmnm space group with
lattice parameter of a= 11.150m-10, b=3.563m-10 and c=4.370m-10).

The each layer of α- V 2O5 may be consired to be composed of either distorted trigonal bipyramid
(five V-O bond lengths of 1.58-2.02 ,~), distorted tetragonal pyramid or a distorted octahedron
(the sixth V-O bond length of 2.79 A). This forms the ribbon like structure of edge and corner
sharing square pyramids or tetragonal pyramids. The sheets formed have one row pointing up
another row pointing down.

The adjacent sheets or layers are bonded with weak VanDer Waal force which are stacked one
over the other so that apices of pyramids of one sheet are positioned over vanadium ions located
in the centers of basal planes of pyramids of the sheet beneath, thus completing the distorted
octahedron These weak V-O bonds give rise to perfect cleavage between the sheets. The lamellar
structure has orthorhombic symmetry with the space group Dzh-Pmmn [3,4], the principal axes
being defined as" a=11.51 ,~, b=4.37 A, c=3.56 A.

The b-direction is assumed to be that of weak cohesion of the crystal, the sheets being parallel to
(0 1 0) crystal plane, with the ribbons stretching in the c-direction. Note that sometimes the b-
and c-axes are interchanged, as is the case in the ASTM tables, in which the sheets are denoted
as (0 0 1) planes. The crystal structure of V205 is characterized by the existence of channels in
the [0 0 1] and [0 1 0] directions which have the effective diameter of 2 , and thus permit a facile
diffusion of oxygen. The vanadium atoms form five bonds with oxygen atoms, their positions
being displaced from the centers of distorted square pyramids lying in the (0 1 0) plane. The
vanadyl oxygen O(1) atoms form only one strong bond (V-O=1.58 ,~, close to the value found
for the vanadyl group in VOC13). The bridging oxygen O(2) atoms form two bonds (V--O=1.77
A) with the V-O(2)-V angle of 125 °. The bridging oxygen O(3) atoms form three bonds, two at
1.88 ,~ and one at 2.02 ,~. Because of the short distances O(3) must imply very strong repulsive
forces between the oxygen atoms. Its structural properties make it very much suitable for the
energy storage applications but it has limiting efficiency for some of the applications such as
catalysis, gas sensing or batteries.

It is a semiconductor with low conductivity in its pure form along with limited selectivity for gas
sensing etc. But can be made better with doping.

DOPING
The intentional addition of another element called a dopant into the material that act as a host is
known as the process of doping. It enhances and improve the performance of the host material ny
modifying the physical, chemical and electrical properties. Doping can be regulated in a wide
range of application. It is basically the addition of dopant in the lattice of the host.

The nanocrystals of transition metal oxide that is being doped hold premises for wide variety of
applications if the properties of the dopant are properly and efficiently harnessed. Based on the
behavior of dopant material there are two types of doping,

1. Substituional Doping: In this type of doping the dopant atoms replace the host atoms in
the lattice.
2. Interstitial doping: In this type of doping the dopant occupy the spaces between the host
atoms lattice.

V2O5 is very common in nature, costs little, and may exist in several oxidation states. It is being
used in variety of applications such as photo detectors, water splitting, super capacitors, sensors
etc. Based on the vanadium pentoxide's chemical reactivity and capacity it is possible to detect
gases such as trimethylamine through the technique of selective oxidation.

IRON(Doping element)
Iron the mainstay metal of human technology plays an important role in the chemistry of living
organism itself. It is the 8th most abundant metal on the lithosphere making up to the 1.5% of it.
In 1983 the use of Iron by manufacturing industries made it 5 th most used element after
Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen and Calcium. At present it is the 4 th most abundant element the
world. Along with this it has even higher cosmic abundance due to its highly stable nuclei. But
due to poor solubility of its oxide in water it is less abundant in ocean.

Pure iron can be obtained by the reduction of its oxide using Hydrogen. A variety of iron ores are
available beneath the Earth surface that are unique in different ways and are as follows:
 1. Hematite (Fe2O3) is one of the most abundant and significant iron ores. With its deep,
reddish –brown color it has an amazing iron content of about 70%
2. Magnetite (Fe₃O₄) a black or brownish-black hue stands out with its magnetic
properties contains up to 72.4% iron.
3. Goethite (FeO(OH)) in shades of yellowish to reddish-brown and is a iron-bearing
minerals with an iron content around 62.9%.
4. Limonite (FeO(OH)·nH₂O) yellow to brown in color isn't a single mineral but a
combine term for hydrated iron oxide minerals, primarily goethite and lepidocrocite. It
has a very low iron content.
5. Siderite (FeCO₃) found in sedimentary deposits brings a twist to the iron ore family
with its carbonate composition. Its iron content is about 48%.
6. Taconite is a low-grade iron ore containing about 25-30% iron, primarily magnetite and
hematite, embedded in chert or quartz.

Physical properties of iron

From its Latin name – ‘Ferrum‘, Iron derives its abbreviated chemical name of ‘Fe’. It’s atomic
number is 26, with an electronic configuration which is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d6 4s2. Belonging to
the group of transition metals, the standard atomic weight of Iron is known to be 55.845 g/mol. It
is a group 8 element, belonging to the fourth period and known as a d block element.
.
SYNTHESIS OF NANOPARTICLES

Synthesis in material science means combining of two or more compounds to create a new
compound. When we say synthesis of nanoparticles it means the combining of basic building
blocks such as atoms, molecules or ions using different methods or the creation of particles that
have at least one dimension in the nanometer scale (1-100nm).

The approaches for the synthesis of nanoparticles are of three types: physical, chemical and
biological. The physical approach is also called the top-down approach, while chemical and
biological approaches are collectively called the bottom-up approach. The biological approach is
also known as green systems of nanoparticles.

Factors affecting the synthesis of nanoparticles–

 Temperature

 Pressure

 Time

 Particle size and shape

Cost of preparation

Poresize

The two types of approaches are as follows:

Top-Down / Physical Approach