Nanorod
Encyclopedia
In nanotechnology
, nanorods are one morphology of nanoscale objects. Each of their dimensions range from 1–100 nm
. They may be synthesized from metals or semiconducting materials. Standard aspect ratio
s (length divided by width) are 3-5. Nanorods are produced by direct chemical synthesis
. A combination of ligand
s act as shape control agents and bond to different facets of the nanorod with different strengths. This allows different faces of the nanorod to grow at different rates, producing an elongated object.
The applications of nanorods are diverse, ranging from display technologies (the reflectivity of the rods can be changed by changing their orientation with an applied electric field) to microelectromechanical systems
(MEMS).
Nanorods based on semiconducting materials have also been investigated for application as energy harvesting and light emitting devices. In 2006, Ramanathan et. al. demonstrated1 electric-field mediated tunable photoluminescence from ZnO nanorods, with potential for application as novel sources of near-ultraviolet radiation.
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
, nanorods are one morphology of nanoscale objects. Each of their dimensions range from 1–100 nm
1 E-9 m
To help compare different orders of magnitudes this page lists lengths between 10−9 metres and 10−8 metres .Distances shorter than 1 nanometre*1 nm = 1 nanometre = 1000 picometres = 10 angstroms...
. They may be synthesized from metals or semiconducting materials. Standard aspect ratio
Aspect ratio (image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
s (length divided by width) are 3-5. Nanorods are produced by direct chemical synthesis
Chemical synthesis
In chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of chemical reactions to get a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions...
. A combination of ligand
Ligand
In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding between metal and ligand generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's electron pairs. The nature of metal-ligand bonding can range from...
s act as shape control agents and bond to different facets of the nanorod with different strengths. This allows different faces of the nanorod to grow at different rates, producing an elongated object.
The applications of nanorods are diverse, ranging from display technologies (the reflectivity of the rods can be changed by changing their orientation with an applied electric field) to microelectromechanical systems
Microelectromechanical systems
Microelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...
(MEMS).
Nanorods based on semiconducting materials have also been investigated for application as energy harvesting and light emitting devices. In 2006, Ramanathan et. al. demonstrated1 electric-field mediated tunable photoluminescence from ZnO nanorods, with potential for application as novel sources of near-ultraviolet radiation.
External links
- Nanorods show negative refraction in near-IR (EE Times, December 5, 2005)
- Nanorod synthesis and applications
- http://www.springerlink.com/content/v4h444108k14h670/ S. Ramanathan, S. Patibandla, S. Bandyopadhyay, J.D. Edwards, J. Anderson, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron 17, 651 (2006)