report
3.3.3 Relevant Sector Segmentation and Applications
All classical materials such as metals, semiconductors, glasses, ceramics or polymers may be available in nanoscale configurations, i.e. they can be produced in particle sizes smaller than 100 nm. Meanwhile supramolecular structures, result of a long term research trend (e.g. dendrimers, micells or liposomes) are also classified as nanomaterials just like Langmuir-Blodgett films for instance or more up-to-date material classes such as fullerenes. In principle there are several ways of classifying nanomaterials. Some possibilities are shown in the following table (Table 3).
Table 3: Classification of nanomaterials
|
Classification according to |
Examples |
|
Dimensions
|
Particles, hollow spheres Tubes, fibers, wires Films, multilayer |
|
Phase composition
|
Crystallites, amorphous particles and layers Matrix materials, coated particles Colloids, aerogels, zeolites |
|
Manufacturing process
|
Flame processes, condensation, chemical vapour deposition Sol-gel, precipitation, hydro-thermal processes Sphere grinding, three-dimensional deformation |
Also the applications of nanomaterials along the value-added chain or factors relating to their use in nanoproducts may serve to distinguish classes. Table 4 shows an approach according to Haas et al.[17] In the following the application and market potential of nanomaterials will be discussed that are economically relevant in the value-added stage of raw materials and intermediate products.
Table 4: Examples for classification possibilities of nanoproducts
|
Classification according to |
Examples |
|
Value added stage
|
Layer silicates, nanopowder, precursors Paints, adhesives, nanocomposites Coated sheet blanks, fabric materials Sensors, electrodes, LEDs Fuel cells, notebooks |
|
Maturity/production volume
|
Components for molecular electronics
Switchable adhesives, multifunctional textiles Carbon black, aerosol, titanium oxide |
|
Processing ability
|
Nanoproperties remain preserved in the product (e.g. quantum dots, fluorescent markers) Nanoproperties no more detectable in the product (e.g. agglomerated carbon black) |
The sub-sections of this report concentrate on selected nanomaterials and analyse their specific market potential in more detail.
Document details:
Visits: 6632, Published on: May, 5th 2009, 07:15 PM, Last edit: 2009-05-27 17:57:07 Size: 3 KByte
Tags: classification, dimension, phase composition, manufacturing process