Nanotechnology; Smaller than a cell, but making massive changes

We live in a world of rapid scientific development. We often hear about developments in robotics, artificial intelligence and medicine or see on the news some new advancement that we are told is going to change our lives in the next decade. But one fascinating and underrated field of emerging technology that we should all be excited about is nanotechnology.

What is nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology is a branch of technology that focuses on creating structures at the nanoscale. This field involves physics, robotics, engineering, material science and many other disciplines. But what does nanoscale mean?

When I hear the word nano I typically think of that episode of ‘The Magic School Bus’ where they enter one of the kids bloodstream to try and kill a virus. But in reality, true nanoscale is even smaller than that. An object is considered nanoscale if it has one dimension (length, width, height) that is less than 100 nanometres [6].

To put a nm into scale, your fingernails grow 1 nm per second, and a piece of paper is 70 000 nm thick. Hard to comprehend? Let me trip you out even more. The nanoscale is so small that light microscopes cannot be used to view objects at that scale. Why? Because nanoparticles, at 1 billionth of a metre, are smaller than the wavelength of light.

Figure 1: A demonstration of just how tiny a nanometre is by comparison to other tiny structures.

So a nanometre is itty bitty. And yes, we are beginning to build structures at this level. Incredible right! Employing this technology in medicine, material science, computing and solar panels has the potential to revolutionise our world. But there are other cool things going on at the nanoscale.

Nanomaterials?

Another fascinating aspect of the nanoscale are nanomaterials; Nanomaterials are, as the name suggests, materials at the nanoscale. But these materials have a super power.

As normal materials are shrunk down, their properties can change, causing increased strength, chemical reactivity or even colour changes.

Additionally, materials in the nanoscale have one property in particular that gets chemists very excited; Nanomaterials have an incredible surface area to volume ratio. As objects get smaller, more of their matter is contained on the surface. This property creates extremely reactive materials, turning materials that are normal at our scale into catalysts.

An example of these incredible materials is gold nanoparticles. When gold is larger than the nanoscale, it is metallic yellow in colour, non-reactive, and reflective. However, once it becomes nano, it undergoes massive changes. The element’s colour changes from yellow to wine red, its reactivity sky rockets and its reflective properties change [4].

Gold nanoparticles can be used for a variety of applications as its biocompatibility and non-toxicity make them a viable candidate for medical uses. Additionally, because gold nanoparticles are catalysts, they can be used to speed up chemical reactions.

So all of this nanotech sounds very cool, right? But how can we use it to change the world?

Five Incredible applications of nanotechnology that could change the world

Nanotechnology isn’t just some far off fantasy. It is being implemented already and as this technology improves it will become more and more involved in our lives and change them. Here are 5 amazing applications of nanotechnology:

1. Say goodbye to Cancer

Cancer is a horrible disease, and one that we currently do not have a cure for. Chemotherapy, the most widespread form of cancer treatment, uses radiation to kill growing cells. However, this treatment kills both healthy cells and tumor cells, resulting in severe side effects e.g. hair loss [18.]

Due to the harmfulness of chemotherapy, many billions of dollars have been put into the development of cancer drugs. Thanks to this, we now have drugs to treat cancer. However, they are highly ineffective, with only 1% of antibodies reaching the tumour [15.].

A diagram demonstrating how nanoparticles could protect and transport cancer drugs to tumours.

Nanoparticles can be used to transport and protect cancer drugs from enzymes in the blood until they reach the tumour. With the successful use of this technology, cancer treatment could be improved tremendously by increasing the efficiency and lowering the side effects of cancer drugs [14; 17].

“Compared to conventional drugs, nanoparticle-based drug delivery has specific advantages, such as improved stability and biocompatibility, enhanced permeability and retention effect, and precise targeting.” — Quote from a paper from Helsinki University.

Additionally, a technique similar to this can be used to tackle autoimmune diseases by protecting immunomodulatory agents until they are at the area of the body where they are needed [8].

By applying nanotechnology in medicine, we could improve treatment for two servere types of disease, and perhaps even create a cure.

2. Improving Solar Panels

Current solar panels have a major efficiency problem. Indeed, statistics have shown that on average solar panels only turns 15–20% of the light that hits them into useful energy [17.]. Thus, efficiency is a limiting factor for the implementation of solar energy. But why are they so inefficient in the first place?

Solar panels generate electricity by the photons in visible light to knock electrons from atoms, creating a charge. While this seems practical in theory, solar cells currently only have the ability to undergo one exciton per photon, limiting efficiency [12].

Quantum dots have the unique ability to undergo multiple excitons per photon, thus gaining more energy out of every photon it encounters. Because of this property, quantum dots have the potential to double current efficiency rates! It’s so exciting [12].

QD cores contain heavy metals, such as lead, making them toxic to the human animal.

Additionally, as if these particles weren’t cool enough already, they have another superpower. They have the ability to absorb different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, depending on their size. With that ability, quantum dots can convert not just visible light but infrared and ultraviolet light into electricity!

However there are still roadblocks with implementation. For starters, scientists still don’t know how to divide the excitons created and the electrons freed by quantum dots efficiently yet [12.].

Additionally, we don’t know how quantum dots will interact in our bodies or in the environment; The behaviour of quantum dots in acidic and alkaline conditions needs further testing. But so far studies have shown that in conditions above or below neutral pH, the shells of quantum dots deteriorate, releasing toxic heavy metal elements, posing health risks to all animals [13.]. Yikes!

But there is no reason to lose faith in quantum dots. Researchers are currently working on creating non-toxic versions of the particles, by using materials such as carbon, silicon and biocompatible polymers [19.].

Despite the challenges that need to be solved before quantum dots can be implemented into solar panels on a large scale, there is still good reason to get excited. This technology could take solar panel efficiency by over 60%![12.] Clean electricity and sustainability, here we come.

3. Revolutionising the battery

We all love rechargeable batteries; But they’re pretty useless if you forget to charge them. Indeed, we all hate it when we look at our phones to see it’s 1% away from becoming a useless block of glass and metal. But think about this:

What if you could plug your phone in and have it fully charged within a minute? Even the most apathetic of apathesists has got to admit that would be freaking awesome. But that’s just science fiction…right?

No. This scenario could become a reality by implementing nanotechnology into rechargeable batteries. Nanotechnology in batteries can:

• Enhance conductivity
• Increase safety and efficiency
• Reduced charging times
• Increase storage capacity
• Produce a longer shelf life [13; 7]

How does nanotech do this?

You see, batteries work by harnessing electricity from a chemical reaction between a cathode and an anode. As this reaction happens it causes electrons to flow from one material (electrode) to another through an external circuit, passing an electrical charge through anything in said circuit [9].

Electrons flow from the anode (negative side) to the cathode (positive side)

Research has demonstrated that by coating the surface of electrodes in nanoparticles, the surface area is increased.

Once this happens, a higher flow can occur between the electrode and the electrolyte. Additionally, a nanoparticle coating protects the electrode from interacting with the electrolyte while it is not being used, giving nano batteries a much longer shelf life [1].

However, as with all emerging tech, there are still challenges. Nano batteries are expensive and complicated to manufacture. In addition, while the high surface area of nanoparticles is usually a positive, it isn’t here. As we know, a higher surface area makes substances more reactive. Thus, nanoparticles are likely to react with particles around them, destabilising the battery [2]. But as solar and wind energy become increasingly popular, the demand for high storage batteries will as well; There will be no lack of funding to help scientists overcome these challenges

4. Taking computers to the next level

While people often say ‘the bigger the better’, in the world of computing, smaller is definitely better.

Looking back at the classic sitcom Friends, the phones and tv’s look ridiculous.

Monica with her chunky phone

But Back 30 years ago, that was standard size. Thanks to the advancement in computer tech, we’ve been able to shrink our computers while making them more efficient. Now, our computers are a trillion times faster than their ancestors.

But how? What witchcraft went into this?

It’s not quite magic. Computers have gotten faster because computer transistors have gotten smaller, allowing more of them to fit into the same amount of space [10]. Indeed, Moore’s law states that every two years the number of chips per computer will double! But unfortunately, Moore’s might be slowed down a little bit if we don’t change our design of computers.

Currently, most transistors are silicon-based. But Silicon’s time is ending. Scientists have theorised that Si transistors are nearing their limit; In the next few years, they will be unable to be optimised further [3].

But nanotech offers computers that are even more powerful than the ones we have right now. By using carbon nanotubes, we can create smaller, stronger, faster transistors. Thus, they are the next generation of transistors that will be able to be optimised for decades to come.

A single-walled carbon nanotube

Some research on carbon nanotubes even predicts that, once perfected, they will operate 5 times faster than Si-transistors and use 1/5 of the energy. But this tech still needs refinement, as carbon nanotubes currently don’t perform as well as Si transistors, and impurities in any part of a nanotube transistors incapacitate it [3].

But hey, who ever said that creating the future was easy?

5. Making cheap and effective water filtration systems

The average human can only survive 3 days without water. Yet 1 in 4 people (1.2 billion people) don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water [16.]. As a result, water borne infections, parasites and diseases like typhoid, hepatitis A and cholera are still prevalent in third-world countries.

But technology is finding solutions to help those in need. In this situation, water filtration can help prevent these illnesses from spreading, and make water more accessible. More specifically, nanofiltration.

Using carbon nanotubes, alumina fibres and zeolite filtration membranes, nanofiltration attacks possible contaminants at the nanoscale. This technology can be used to remove sediments, charged particles, pathogens, oil and dangerous chemicals. Compared to traditional filtration systems, nanofiltration requires less pressure, is easy to clean, and far superior in efficiency [5].

Diagram demonstrating the efficiency of nanofiltration

And this is just the first generation of nanofilters. It’s believed by researchers that this is just the beginning and in the future, the full potential of nanotech will be applied to filters to create fast, efficient, cheap and accessible water filtration [5].

But there are always dangers. The true effect of nanoparticles on the body is still unknown, and more research is needed to make sure that these methods are safe.

So where are we at?

Since 1959, when physicist Richard Feynman first introduced the idea of nanotech, we’ve been making more and more progress. Nanotech already exists in the clothes we wear, in our sunscreen, our furniture, and our computers. But soon it will be going so much further.

Humanity is in what is currently considered generation 2 of nanotechnology. This means that we are at the point where we are able to create both passive (materials that are enhanced through nanotech) and active nanomaterials (Nano structures that can move and perform functions). We have only unlocked half of what nanotech is capable of so far[11].

We are teetering on the edge of entering the 3rd generation nanotech, the point at which we will be able to build nanostructures that can work together. This will allow us to create objects that are self-healing and self-assembling [11].

We have come a long way. But we have a long way to go before we unlock nanotechnologies’ full potential.

Conclusion

Nanotechnology is truly incredible! We are only just opening the pandora’s box of nanotech; There is so much still for us to discover about this new, exciting technology. With application in medicine, robotics, engineering, material science, and computer science, this is about to change the world.

Thank you so much for reading, stay tuned for my next article.

References

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