'Chemistry of Nanomaterials' is a course offered for the B. Tech. programs at the School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
Unit 1
Introduction: Introduction to Nanomaterials : Size dependence of properties - Surface to volume ratio and Quantum confinement. Microscopic techniques to study nano structures - SEM, AFM - TEM and STM - Raman spectroscopy.
Synthesis of Nanomaterials : Synthetic approaches: Colloidal Self-Assembly (Selfassembled monolayers - SAMs) and electrostatic self-assembly, electrochemical methods, sol-gel deposition.
Unit 2
Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique, chemical vapour deposition, plasma arcing and ball milling.
Carbon nanostructures : Carbon Clusters: Fullerenes, structure, synthesis, alkali doped C60 - superconductivity in C60, applications of fullerenes. Carbon nanotubes: Classification, properties, synthesis, characterization, and potential applications, growth mechanism of carbon nanotubes.
Other Nanostructures : Quantum Dots: Preparation, properties and applications of Au, CdS and CdSe quantum dots,
Unit 3
Fabrication and applications of conducting polymer nanotubes, TiO2 and metallic nanotubes.
Molecular Electronics and Machines: Molecular electronics: Working of Molecular and supramolecular switches, transistors and wires. Molecular machines: Working of Molecular motors, rotors, cars, elevators and valves.