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The very essence of nanotechnology is dealing with materials at the nanometer scale. Designing materials at the nanoscale level can lead to products that achieve enhanced performance and often with more efficient and less costly manufacturing processes.
Nanocomposite definition: A nanocomposite is as a multiphase solid material where one of the phases has one, two or three dimensions of less than 100 nanometers (nm), or structures having nano-scale repeat distances between the different phases that make up the material.
The mechanical, electrical, thermal, optical, electrochemical, catalytic properties of the nanocomposite will differ markedly from that of the component materials. Size limits for these effects have been proposed <5 nm for catalytic activity, <20 nm for making a hard magnetic material soft, <50 nm for refractive index changes, and <100 nm for achieving superparamagnetism, mechanical strengthening or restricting matrix dislocation movement.
Nanocomposites are found in nature, for example in the structure of the abalone shell and bone. The use of nanoparticle-rich materials long predates the understanding of the physical and chemical nature of these materials.
In mechanical terms, nanocomposites differ from conventional composite materials due to the exceptionally high surface to volume ratio of the reinforcing phase and/or its exceptionally high aspect ratio . The reinforcing material can be made up of particles (e.g. minerals), sheets (e.g. exfoliated clay stacks) or fibres (e.g. carbon nanotubes or electrospun fibres). The area of the interface between the matrix and reinforcement phase(s) is typically an order of magnitude greater than for conventional composite materials.
some references:
-P.M. Ajayan, L.S. Schadler, P.V. Braun (2003). Nanocomposite science and technology. Wiley. ISBN 3527303596.
-Kamigaito, O, What can be improved by nanometer composites? J. Jpn. Soc. Powder Powder Metall. 38:315-21, 1991 in Kelly, A, Concise encyclopedia of composites materials, Elsevier Science Ltd, 1994
-Jose-Yacaman, M.; Rendon, L.; Arenas, J.; Serra Puche, M. C. (1996). “Maya Blue Paint: An Ancient Nanostructured Material”. Science 273 (5272): 223. doi :10.1126/science.273.5272.223. PMID 8662502.