Feature

Experimental nanoscience for undergraduates

By , and 2008-03-01T00:00:00

Undergraduate using bench-top STM

The recent development of low cost, user-friendly scanning tunnelling microscopes has brought nanoscience experiments into undergraduate laboratories

Nanoscience is the study of matter and objects that have dimensions around one billionth of a metre (10-9 m = 1 nm), roughly 80,000 times smaller than the width of an average human hair. Less than 60 years ago most scientists never imagined that we would ever be able to 'see' or 'move' individual atoms which are ~0.3 nm in size. However, with the help of a new breed of microscopes - scanning tunnelling microscopes (STMs) - today's scientists are doing just that.  

The ability to image and manipulate nanoparticles has led to numerous technological advances over the past 20 years, including the development of novel materials and nanostructures, such as metal and semiconductor nanotubes and nanowires which show great potential for the miniaturisation of electronic components.1 This in turn may lead to smaller, faster and more efficient computers. Nanomaterials are also being used both in chemical and biological sensors,2 resulting in smaller, more portable devices with higher sensitivity and selectivity than older detectors. Nanostructures are also being used for drug delivery and treatments for tumours.3 

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