Outline of nanotechnology

Updated on Nov 29, 2023

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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to nanotechnology:

Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers.

Branches of nanotechnology

Green nanotechnology – use of nanotechnology to enhance the environmental-sustainability of processes currently producing negative externalities. It also refers to the use of the products of nanotechnology to enhance sustainability.

Nanoengineering – practice of engineering on the nanoscale.

Wet nanotechnology – involves working up to large masses from small ones.

Multi-disciplinary fields that include nanotechnology

Nanobiotechnology – intersection of nanotechnology and biology.

Ceramic engineering – science and technology of creating objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials.

Materials science – interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various areas of science and engineering. It investigates the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties.

Nanoarchitectonics – arranging nanoscale structural units, which are usually a group of atoms or molecules, in an intended configuration.

Molecular engineering

Nanoscience

Nanoelectronics – use of nanotechnology on electronic components, including transistors so small that inter-atomic interactions and quantum mechanical properties need to be studied extensively.

Nanomechanics – branch of nanoscience studying fundamental mechanical (elastic, thermal and kinetic) properties of physical systems at the nanometer scale.

Nanophotonics – study of the behavior of light on the nanometer scale.

Other contributing fields

Calculus

Chemistry

Computer science

Engineering

Miniaturization

Physics

Protein engineering

Quantum mechanics

Self-organization

Science

Supramolecular chemistry

Tissue engineering

Robotics

medicine

Risks of nanotechnology

Implications of nanotechnology

Health impact of nanotechnology

Environmental impact of nanotechnology

Regulation of nanotechnology

Societal impact of nanotechnology

Applications of nanotechnology

Energy applications of nanotechnology

Quantum computing – computation using quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform data operations.

List of nanotechnology applications

Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials – field that studies materials with morphological features on the nanoscale, and especially those that have special properties stemming from their nanoscale dimensions.

Fullerenes and carbon forms

Fullerene – any molecule composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube. Fullerene spheres and tubes have applications in nanotechnology.

Allotropes of carbon –

Aggregated diamond nanorods –

Buckypaper –

Carbon nanofoam –

Carbon nanotube –

Nanoknot –

Nanotube membrane –

Fullerene chemistry –

Bingel reaction –

Endohedral hydrogen fullerene –

Prato reaction –

Fullerenes in popular culture –

Endohedral fullerenes –

Fullerite –

Graphene –

Graphene nanoribbon –

Potential applications of carbon nanotubes –

Timeline of carbon nanotubes –

Nanoparticles and colloids

Nanoparticle –

Ceramics processing –

Colloid –

Colloidal crystal –

Diamondoids –

Nanocomposite –

Nanocrystal –

Nanostructure –

Nanocages –

Nanocomposite –

Nanofabrics –

Nanofiber –

Nanofoam –

Nanoknot –

Nanomesh –

Nanopillar –

Nanopin film –

Nanoring –

Nanorod –

Nanoshell –

Nanotube –

Quantum dot –

Quantum heterostructure –

Sculptured thin film –

Nanomedicine

Nanomedicine –

Lab-on-a-chip –

Nanobiotechnology –

Nanosensor –

Nanotoxicology –

Molecular self-assembly

Molecular self-assembly –

DNA nanotechnology –

DNA computing –

DNA machine –

DNA origami –

Self-assembled monolayer –

Supramolecular assembly –

Nanoelectronics

Nanoelectronics –

Break junction –

Chemical vapor deposition –

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)

Nanocircuits –

Nanocomputer –

Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS)

Surface micromachining –

Nanoelectromechanical relays

Molecular electronics

Molecular electronics –

Nanolithography

Nanolithography –

Electron beam lithography –

Ion-beam sculpting –

Nanoimprint lithography –

Photolithography –

Scanning probe lithography –

Molecular self-assembly –

IBM Millipede –

Molecular nanotechnology

Molecular nanotechnology –

Grey goo –

Mechanosynthesis –

Molecular assembler –

Molecular modelling –

Nanorobotics –

Smartdust –

Utility fog –

Nanochondria –

Programmable matter –

Self reconfigurable –

Self-replication –

Devices

Micromachinery –

Nano-abacus –

Nanomotor –

Nanopore –

Nanopore sequencing –

Quantum point contact –

Synthetic molecular motors –

Carbon nanotube actuators –

Microscopes and other devices

Microscopy –

Atomic force microscope –

Scanning tunneling microscope –

Scanning probe microscope –

Sarfus –

Notable organizations in nanotechnology

List of nanotechnology organizations

Government

National Cancer Institute (US)

National Institutes of Health (US)

National Nanotechnology Initiative (US)

Russian Nanotechnology Corporation (RU)

Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) (EU)

Advocacy and information groups

American Chemistry Council (US)

American Nano Society (US)

Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (US)

Foresight Institute (US)

Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (global)

Manufacturers

Cerion, Nanoparticles (US)

OCSiAl, Carbon Nanotubes (Luxembourg)

Notable figures in nanotechnology

Vicki Colvin Director for the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology, Rice University

Norio Taniguchi - coined the term "nano-technology"

Richard Feynman - gave the first mention of some of the distinguishing concepts in a 1959 talk

Eric Drexler - was the first to theorise about nanotechnology in depth and popularised the subject

Robert Freitas - nanomedicine theorist

Ralph Merkle - nanotechnology theorist

Joseph Wang - pioneer in electrochemical sensors xploiting nanostructured materials; synthetic nanomotors

Sumio Iijima - discoverer of carbon nanotube

Richard Smalley - co-discoverer of buckminsterfullerene

Harry Kroto - co-discoverer of buckminsterfullerene

Erwin Wilhelm Müller - invented the field ion microscope, and the atom probe.

Gerd Binnig - co-inventor of the scanning tunneling microscope

Heinrich Rohrer - co-inventor of the scanning tunneling microscope

Chris Phoenix - co-founder of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology

Mike Treder - co-founder of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology

Phaedon Avouris - first electronic devices made out of carbon nanotubes

Akhlesh Lakhtakia - conceptualized sculptured thin films

Alex Zettl - Built the first molecular motor based on carbon nanotubes

Andre Geim - Discoverer of 2-D carbon film called graphene

Carlo Montemagno - inventor ATP nanobiomechanical motor (UCLA)

Russell M. Taylor II - co-director of the UNC CISMM

Adriano Cavalcanti - nanorobot expert working at CAN

Lajos P. Balogh - editor in chief of Nanomedicine: NBM journal

Charles M. Lieber - pioneer on nanoscale materials (Harvard)

References

Outline of nanotechnology Wikipedia

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