The ability to manipulate and fabricate matter on the nanometer length scale is far
better than ever before, with newcapabilities to prepare and synthesize highly uniform
nanoscale materials, and the advent of new instrumentation to investigate nanoscale
materials. On the nanometer length scale, properties of matter can substantially differ
and can exhibit size-dependent behavior.With these properties, a host of newmaterials
have now become available for energy and environmental applications, and for
improving human health (e.g., for disease detection, drug delivery, etc.).
The properties of matter depend on chemical composition and phase, and on the
nanoscale the properties of matter also depend on size. On the nanoscale, electronic,
optical, andmagnetic properties can be size dependent. In addition, because of the high
surface/volume ratio, surface properties, surface free energies, and surface coatings
will also change the properties of nanomaterials.