2.3.9

Nanoparticles

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'Clumps' of Particles

Solid and liquid matter often ‘clump’ together into small particles. Different sized ‘clumps’ have different names. The size of these clumps are typically measured in nanometres (1 nm = 1x10-9 m).

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Nanoparticles

  • 1 - 100 nm long.
  • 10 - 1,000 atoms.
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Fine particles

  • 100 - 2,500 nm long.
  • 1,000 - 25,000 atoms.
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Coarse particles (dust)

  • 2,500 - 10,000 nm long.
  • 25,000 - 100,000 atoms.

Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are tiny particles between 1 – 100 nm in length. They are larger than individual atoms but too small to be seen with the human eye. Nanoscience is the area of science that researches nanoparticles.

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High surface area to volume ratio

  • The surface area to volume ratio of nanoparticles is high.
  • This means that smaller amounts of materials can be used for our desired purpose (e.g. as catalysts or in sun cream) compared to using normal sized particles.
  • This makes them cheaper and more efficient to use than larger particles.
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What are the disadvantages of nanoparticles?

  • As nanoscience is still a very new area of research, there are still possible disadvantages of nanoparticles that we do not know about.
    • E.g. we don't know the long-term effect of them on the environment or on human health!

Jump to other topics

1Atomic Structure

2Chemical Bonding

3Quantitative Chemistry

4Chemical Changes

5Energy Changes

6The Rate & Extent of Chemical Change

7Organic Chemistry

8Chemical Analysis

9Chemistry of the Atmosphere

10Using Resources

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