MODULE-5: MATERIALS FOR ENGINEERING APPLICATION

Alloys: Introduction, classification, composition, properties and applications of Stainless

Steel, Solders, Brass and Alnico. Ceramics: Introduction, classification based on chemical
composition, properties and applications of perovskites (CaTiO3).

Metal and Alloys:

Metals are solid material that are generally hard, shiny, malleable, fusible, ductile, and have
good electrical and thermal conductivity.

Example: Iron, Copper, Nickel, Chromium, Aluminium

Alloy:

Alloy is a homogeneous mixture of two or more metals or of a metal and a non-metal mixed
in a fixed proportion by mass in their molten states. Ex: Steel, brass, Solder, Bronze,
Duralumin

➢ A substance created from the mixing of two or more metals is referred to as an alloy.

➢ Combinations of metals and other elements can also be used to create alloys. The
properties of alloys are frequently dissimilar to the qualities of their constituent
components.

➢ When compared to pure metals, alloys frequently have greater strength and hardness.

➢ The several properties of metals like malleability, ductility, strength, etc., can be
improved by mixing other metals with them. The mixture of various metals is called
an alloy.

Classification of Alloys:
• In regard to the composition, metallic alloys are classified as either ferrous or
nonferrous.
• In regard to the base metal, alloys could be classified as: copper alloys, aluminum
alloys, Magnesium alloys and Titanium alloys.
• In regard to the distinctive characteristic, alloys could be classified as; shape memory
alloys, shielding blocks alloys, fusible alloys, and joining alloys.
• In regard to the joining alloys, alloys could be classified as welding, brazing and
soldering.
• In regard to the soldering alloys, alloys could be classified as lead-tin solders and
Lead-free solders.
Ferrous alloys: Contain Iron as a major component. A few examples of ferrous alloys are
Stainless Steel, Cobalt, Gallium, Silver, Gold, Bismuth, and Zirconium.

Non-ferrous alloys: Do not contain Iron as a major component. For example, Aluminium,
Brass, Bronze, Copper, Tin, Nickel, Magnesium, and Titanium are some common non-
ferrous alloys.

Properties of metal Properties of Alloys

Metal is a pure substance Alloy is a homogeneous mixture of two or
more metals or metal and non-metal
Pure metals consist of only one type of atom. An alloy, is a mixture of different atoms
melded together.
Metals are readily react with air and water Alloys will not be easily affected by air and
water
Metals are soft and malleable Alloys are hard and tough
Melting point of pure metal is less Melting point of alloys are high when
compared to metals

Alloy Alloy
Alloy Uses
Name Composition

Sculpture, door, window frames,

Bronze Copper + Zinc
bushings, bearings,

Brass Copper + Zinc Decorative items, musical instruments

Sterling Jewellery, surgical & medical

Silver + Copper
Silver instruments, medals, coins, utensils, art

Bell Metal Copper + Tin Statue construction, bell casting

Coin Metal Copper+Nickel Used to make coins

Aluminium+Cop
Duralumin Construction of ships, aeroplane, wire, bar
per+Manganese

Solder Tin+Lead For soldering purposes

Stainless Iron+Chromium Utensils, Manufacturing of Watches &

Steel _Nickel surgical instruments
Introduction, classification, composition, propertiesand applications of
Stainless Steel

What is Stainless Steel Alloy?

• The steel is an alloy of iron and carbon with a maximum carbon content of
2.1%.
• Stainless steels are a group of steels that are resistant to corrosion through
the addition of alloying elements.
• The steel with remarkable heat and corrosion resistance properties. The
carbon percentage can range from 0.03% to 1.2%.
• Its distinguishing characteristic is the high amount of chromium. Stainless
steel contains a minimum of 10.5% of chromium that improves its corrosion
resistance and strength.

Properties of Stainless Steel

The advantageous properties of stainless steel can be seen when compared to
standard plain carbon mild steel. Although stainless steel have a broad range of
properties, in general, when compared with mild steel, stainless steel have:
• Higher corrosion resistance
• Higher cryogenic toughness
• Higher work hardening rate
• Higher hot strength
• Higher ductility
• Higher strength and hardness
• A more attractive appearance
• Lower maintenance

1. Austenitic stainless steel

Austenitic stainless steels are the most common category of stainless steel. They
possess a face-centred cubic crystal structure. In addition to the main alloying
elements of iron and chromium, these steels also contain nickel, manganese and
nitrogen.
They are not hardenable via heat treatment but only by cold working(also known
as work hardening). These steels have relatively low strength compared to the
other steels and lower resistance to corrosion
Application
• It is used for many applications including cutlery, kitchen equipment,
and food processing equipment, automotive and aerospace
structural components and marine fasteners.
 2. Ferritic stainless steel

• Ferritic stainless steels possess a body-centred cubic crystal

structure, similar to that of pure iron. They generally have a high
chromium content of between 10.5 wt. % and 18 wt. %.
• They have a low carbon content, which gives them a relatively low
strength and contain little to no nickel. Ferritic stainless steels are
not hardenable by heat treatment. After annealing, they have yield
strengths in the range of 275 MPa – 350 MPa.

Application of Ferritic stainless steel

• It is used in the automotive industry for parts such as exhaust systems and
tailpipes.
• It is used in the oil and gas industry, ore processing and thermal processing.

3. Duplex stainless steel

• Duplex stainless steels possess a mixed microstructure of ferrite and

austenite. They contain a high chromium content of 22 wt.% – 25 wt.%, a
molybdenum content of up to 5 wt.% and a low nickel content.
• Duplex stainless steels exhibit roughly twice the strength of austenitic
stainless steels and possess greater resistance to chloride stress corrosion
cracking compared to austenitic stainless steels, albeit less so than
ferritic.
• They exhibit toughness between that of ferritic and austenitic.
Application of Duplex stainless steel
It is used in chemical processing, oil and gas processing equipment, marine and
other high chloride environments, effluent scrubbing systems, pulp and paper
industry, cargo tanks for ships and trucks, food processing equipment, biofuels
plant.

4. Martensitic stainless steel

• Martensitic stainless steels possess the body-centred tetragonal crystal

system.
• They can range from having a low to high carbon content, up to 1.2 wt.%,
contain 12 wt.% – 15 wt.% chromium and 0.2 wt.% to 1.0 wt.%
molybdenum. They do not contain nickel.
• Due to the presence of carbon, they are hardenable via heat treatment,
similarly to carbon steels.
 • Martensitic stainless steels are magnetic and possess relatively high
ductility and toughness, making them easier to form. Examples &
applications of martensitic stainless steels
Application of Martensitic stainless steel
• It is used in compressor blades and turbine parts.
• It is used for highly stressed parts, for examples in turbine blades, kitchen
utensils, bolts, nuts and screws, pump and valve parts, dental and surgical
instruments, nozzles and parts for oil well pumps.

Classification, composition, properties and applications

of Solders,

What is Solder?
• The filler element is nothing but the Solder, which is a metal alloy. Solder
Alloys usually consists of the following elements: Lead (Pb), Tin (Sn),
Silver (Ag), Bismuth (Bi), Antimony (Sb), Indium (In), and Cadmium (Cd).
• Out of these, Lead (Pb) and Tin (Sn) are the main elements that are used
in a variety of Solders specifically for soft soldering (soldering electronic
components).
• However, the use of Lead (Pb) is gradually decreasing, at least in the
industrial stage (PCB Assembly), due to toxic nature of Lead. Hence,
modern large-scale soldering uses Lead-free solder
Types of Solder by Composition

Based on the composition, solders are categorized into four different types.
They are as follows,

Lead Alloy Solders

• In this solder type, lead is mixed with other alloys to get the required
melting point and tensile strength.
• They are also known as soft solders. The most commonly used alloy along
with the lead in this mixture is tin. They are mixed in the ratio of 60%/40
%(tin/lead).
• The melting point of this mixture is 180 to 1900C. The reason that tin is
preferred is because of its low melting point. Apart from this, tin also
increases the tensile and shear strength.
• Lead, on the other hand, inhibits the growth of tin bristles.
Lead-Free Solders
• As the name suggests, these solders do not contain any lead. The lead-
free solders have a higher melting point than the lead alloy solders
• Lead is poisonous to your health and the environment.
• Instead of nickel, you can use additives such as nickel and conformal
coatings to prevent tin whiskers.

Flux-Core Solders
• The flux core solder is available in the form of wires wounded on a
cylindrical device. There is a reducing agent present at its core.
• During soldering, the flux is released and it removes the oxidized layer
formed on the surface of the metal. As a result, the metal surface
becomes clean and ready for soldering.
• Besides removing the oxidized layer, it increases the solder’s wetting
properties. For soldering electronic components, rosin is used as a flux.
For metal joining and plumbing, acid cores are used as a flux.
Silver Alloy Solders

• The silver alloy solder can either be lead-free or lead-based solders. In the
initial years, silver was only added to lead-based alloy solders. This was
done to prevent an effect called silver migration.
• The silver present in the silver plating enters the solder. If this solder is
applied to the metals before soldering, it makes the joints brittle and
prone to breaking.
• The silver alloy solders come in different ratios of silver, lead, and other
alloys. The cost of these solders depends on the ratio of these alloys.

Types of Solder by Application

• Soldering finds its application most commonly in the field of plumbing

and applications.
• Besides these, soldering is used in aircraft, radiative, automotive, and
household repair. But the solders have to meet certain conditions to be
used for soldering operations in these fields.
• For instance, aircraft solders have to be able to withstand vibration and
thermal cycling. In the case of radiation repairs, automotive solders are
used to seal leaks in the coolant heat exchangers of vehicles.
• There are also some specialized solders that are developed to solder
specific metals. Normal solders are not so effective in soldering these
metals.
Classification, composition, properties and
applications of Brass
Definition of Brass

BRASSES: All brasses are basically alloys of Cu and Zn.

Brasses are classified as below:

1. Alpha Brass – upto 37% Zn – used for cold working

2. Alpha Beta Brass – 33% to 46% Zn – used for hot working
3. Beta Brass – 50% Zn – used brazing solder (spelter)

1.Alpha Brass:

• These are very ductile and can be cold worked very easily. They can be
drawn into wires, tubes, jugs, rolled into sheets.
• As the %age of Zn increases the strength increases but ductility
decreases. When they are subjected to deep drawing or intensive cold
working these may become hard.
• In such case they require annealing during the process (i.e. process
annealing)

2. Alpha-Beta Brass :

They are not suitable for cold working, because fracture may develop during
cold working. They become plastic at high temperature. These may be easily hot
rolled, hot extruded, hot stamped or cast.
3. Beta Brass:

These are used only for use as spelter i.e. brazing solder [composition is 50% Zn
+ 50% Cu]
Common types of Brasses their properties and uses are as below:
(i) Cartridge Brass :

• Composition – (Cu 70% + Zn 30%) Properties and uses :

• It is very strong and ductile.
• It can be cold worked easily. It is used for a wide range of drawn
components like – cartridge shells, plumbing accessories,
fastness, locks, radiators and reflectors etc.
 (ii) Muntz Metal :

• Composition – (60% Cu + Zn 40%) Properties and uses : It is best

suited for hot working.

• It can be cast, rolled, extruded or stamped. It is a general

purpose alloy having good corrosion resistance.
• It is used for small components of machines, electrical
equipment’s and fuses, rods bolts and tubes etc.

(iii) Naval Brass :

• Composition – (Cu 60% + Zn 39% + Sn 1%) Properties and uses :

Tin is added to make the brass harder and incrase the corrosion
resistance to sea water.
• Therefore Naval brass is used for marine fittings made by
casting and forging.

Free cutting Brass :

• Composition –(Cu 60% + Zn 37% + Pb 3%) Properties and uses :

Lead is added to improve the machinability of brass.
• This type of brass is used for making parts from bar stock by
machining process.

Classification, composition, properties and

applications of Alnico
ALNICO
• Alnico alloys were considered to be the strongest kind of magnets
before rare earth magnets were developed in the 1970s.
• Alnico alloys have ferromagnetic properties which makes it strong
permanent magnets.
• Alnico alloys can also be magnetized to create strong magnetic fields.
These magnets also show excellent stability in a wide range of
temperature.
• Alnico magnets can be effective in temperature up to 1000°F.
Alnico Composition
• The general composition of Alnico alloys is Al- 8-12%, Ni- 15-26%, and
Co- 5-24%. It may also contain up to 6% copper (Cu), and up to 1%
titanium (Ti).
• Depending on the percentage of the different components, there can be
various different types of Alnico alloys.

Classification of Alnico
Based on the process of preparation, and the different uses, alnico alloys can
be classified into three main types.
1. Cast Alnico
2. Sintered Alnico
3. Bar Alnico
Properties of Alnico
• All Alnico alloys have strong magnetic properties and high
ferromagnetism.
• Alnico alloys are the only magnets to have useful magnetic powers at
red hot temperature (500°C
• Alnico magnets have some of the highest curie points among all the
magnetic materials. It ranges around 800°C.
• Unlike ceramic magnets, Alnico magnets have the property of electric
conductivity.
• Alnico alloys have very good resistance to corrosion.
• Some Alnico alloys can have isotropic properties while others can have
anisotropic properties.
Application of Alnico
Alnico alloys are used as strong permanent magnets.
Alnico alloys can deliver good flux density at very economical prices.
CERAMICS: Introduction, classification based on chemical
composition
Definition of Ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-
resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, non-metallic
material, such as clay, at a high temperature.
Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, and brick.
Oxides: Alumina, Zirconia
Non-oxides: Carbides, borides, nitrides, silicates
Composites: Particulate reinforced, combination of oxides and non-oxides.
Types ceramics
They are mainly of two types of ceramics based on their atomic structure.

1. Crystalline ceramics
2. Non-crystalline ceramics

They can also be classified into three different material categories.

1. Oxides
2. Non-oxides
3. Composites

Properties of ceramic’s

• High hardness
• High melting point
• Good Thermal insulator
• Highly electricity resistance
• Low mass density
• Generally, chemically inert
• Brittle in nature
• Zero ductility
• Low tensile strength
1. Alumina ceramic

1. Alumina is one of the most widely used advanced ceramic, and is made from
aluminium oxide.
2. This ceramic can be made via different types of manufacturing processes
including isotactic pressing, injection moulding and extrusion.
3. Finishing can be accomplished by precision grinding and lapping, laser
machining and a variety of other processes.
4. Alumina’s high ionic inter-atomic bond makes it chemically very stable,
thereby making it a good electrical insulator. Further it is extremely resistant to
wear and corrosion and has a high mechanical strength.
5. Due to all these qualities, alumina components are used in semiconductor
components, pump components, electrical insulations and automotive
sensors.
2. Magnesium ceramic

1. This advanced ceramic is made from magnesium silicate and is a popular

choice of material for insulators for electrical components.
2. Other properties of steatite include excellent dielectric strength, low
dissipation factor, and high mechanical strength.
3. Further, due to Steatite’s excellent insulating properties it is used in
thermostats and many other electrical household products.

3. Zirconium ceramic
1. Zirconium ceramic made from zirconium oxide, this ceramic has excellent
strength and a high resistance to corrosion, wear and abrasion.
2. Since it has a high tolerance to degradation, zirconia is the material of choice
in the manufacturing of bearings and grinding.
3. Further due to its high resistance to developing cracks, commonly referred to
as ‘fracture toughness’, zirconia is used in structured ceramics, automotive
oxygen sensors and dental ceramics.
4. Silicon ceramic
1. When the grains of silicon carbide are bonded together through a process
called sintering, they form a very hard ceramic.
2. Due to its hardness, it is used in applications requiring high endurance such
as car brakes, car clutches, ceramic plates and bullet proof vests.
5. Mullite Ceramic
1. Mullite is a very rare silicate material, formed at high temperatures and low
pressure conditions. Its properties include low thermal expansion, low thermal
conductivity, excellent creep resistance, suitable high temperature strength
and outstanding stability under harsh chemical environments.
2. It is commonly used in thermocouple protection tubes, furnace muffles and
kiln rollers.

Properties and applications of perovskites (CaTiO3).

Introduction:
• Perovskite materials have emerged as the most promising and efficient
low-cost energy materials for various optoelectronic and photonic device
applications.
• The discovery of calcium titanate (CaTiO3) in 1839 by a Russian
mineralogist Perovski was considered to be the origin of perovskite, and
materials with the same type of crystal structure as that of CaTiO 3 were
known as the perovskite materials (structure).
• The general chemical formula used to describe the perovskite materials is
ABX3, where A and B are cations with A larger than that of B and X is the
anion usually oxides or halogens.
Properties of Perovskite materials
➢ The unique physical properties of perovskite materials such as
➢ high-absorption coefficient,
➢ long-range ambipolar charge transport,
➢ low exciton-binding energy,
➢ high dielectric constant,
➢ Ferroelectric properties, etc. have gained a huge interest in these
materials for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications.
Types of perovskite material
• The different classes of perovskite materials, such as chalcogenide
perovskite (AMO3) and halide perovskite (ABX3) that is again
classified as alkali halide and organometallic halide, were widely
studied.
• The superior ferroelectric and superconducting properties of
oxide-based perovskites were extensively studied for various
applications.
• In the case of metal halide perovskites, mainly cesium lead halide
(CsPbX3) and methylammonium lead halide (CH3NH3PbX3)
perovskites are the most popular ones.
 • Halide perovskite structure was first observed in CsPbX3 in 1958.
Studies on methylammonium-based perovskites were started in
the 1970s, and these materials attracted huge attention due to
their improved optical and electrical properties.
• Owing to the strong excitonic properties of layered perovskite
materials (organic–inorganic lead halides), these materials were
studied for thin-film light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and field effect
transistor (FET) applications.
• The first breakthrough in methylammonium halide (MAX3)
perovskites occurred with their use as light-absorbing materials in
the photovoltaic device.
• The high-absorption coefficient, long diffusion length, superior
charge-transport properties, low nonradiative emission, and
solution processability make them suitable materials for
photovoltaic applications.

Applications of perovskite materials

➢ Perovskite materials are also widely used in LEDs ,photodetectors,

nanolasers, and waveguides.
➢ In perovskite thin film based optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices, the
quality of the perovskite film (morphology, grain size, uniformity,
coverage, etc.) plays a significant role in determining the device
performance.
➢ Recently increased interest has been grown in the development of the
low-dimensional (LD) perovskite materials and in exploring their
properties for the photonic and optoelectronic device applications.
➢ Unique features of the LD perovskite materials mainly their tunable
optical and electrical properties due to the quantum-sized effects and
their mechanical flexibility are attaining increased attention in the
semiconductor materials and optoelectronic devices.
➢ Different morphologies of LD perovskites developed are perovskite
quantum dots (QDs; zero-dimensional).
perovskite nanorods or nanowires (NWs; one dimensional), and
perovskite nanoplatelets and nanosheets (two dimensional).
➢ The advantages of reducing the dimensionality of the bulk perovskite
materials are prominent on the optoelectronic properties of LD
perovskites.
➢ These properties of LD perovskites have already been used widely in
LEDs, photovoltaics, photodetectors, and lasing applications.
NANOMATERIALS: Introduction, size dependent properties (Surface area, Thermal, and
Catalytic properties). Synthesis of nanomaterials: Top down and bottom up approaches,
Synthesis by Sol-gel and Co-precipitation method. Nanoscale materials: Carbon nanotubes and
graphenes – brief Explanation, properties and applications.

INTRODUCTION

Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary science involving chemistry, physics, material

science, biology and medicine. In broad sense, nanotechnology is the study of all the phenomena
and processes involved in the synthesis, properties and applications of nanostructures and
nanomaterials. The real ideas and concepts of nanotechnology came when Richard P. Feynman
(regarded as the father of Nanotechnology) delivered a lecture called 'There's plenty of room at
the bottom' at California Institute of Technology (CalTech) on December 29, 1959 in which he
talked about nanoscience extensively.

Now days, everyone uses the term ´nano´ for anything which is small. But in chemistry, a
nanomaterial refers to a material with at least one of its dimension is nanoscale. That is size of
nanomaterial various from one nanometer (10-9m, one billionth of a meter) to hundred
nanometers.

NANOMATERIALS

Nanomaterials are defined as a set of substances where at least one dimension is less than
approximately 100 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter - approximately
100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Nanomaterials are of interest because
at this scale unique optical, magnetic, electrical, and other properties emerge. These emergent
properties have the potential for great impacts in electronics, medicine, and other fields.

The invention of characterization techniques like SEM, PXRD, TEM, HRTEM, FTIR
and AFM open up new avenues for the analyzation of nanostructures and nanomaterials.

Properties of Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials have the structural features in between of those of atoms and the bulk
materials. Due to their small dimensions, nanomaterials have extremely large surface area to
volume ratio, this results in change in physical, chemical, mechanical, optical and biological
properties. Bulk materials follow Newtonian principles whereas nanomaterials strictly follow
quantum mechanics.
SIZE DEPENDENT PROPERTIES OF NANOMATERIALS

Surface properties:

If a bulk material is subdivided into individual nanomaterials (1-100nm), the total volume
remains same, but the collective surface area greatly increased. Therefore, properties like
catalytic activity, chemical reactivity gas adsorption increases.

Example: 1. When TiO2 nanoparticles are doped with metals like Ag, Au, Pt, they are used as
very good photo catalytic materials to absorb the pollutants.

Example: 2. Bulk gold is catalytically inactive and gold nanoparticles are catalytically active.

Thermal properties:

Thermal property depends on number of surface electrons, if the size of the particles
reduces from bulk to nanoscale melting temperature decreases. This is due to the fact that only
few atoms are present at the surface. So if you apply small amount of energy they will undergo
melting.

Example: Melting temperature is high in bulk materials, it decreases in nanoscale.

Catalytic properties:

The catalytic property of materials depends on particle size. If the size of the particles reduces
from bulk to nanoscale, surface to volume ratio increases drastically, that leads to very high
catalytic activity of the same material.

Example: catalytic properties of gold nanoparticles. Although bulk gold samples are practically
inert, nanometer-sized gold particles have been proven to be highly active for several reactions,
including,

1. Low temp. oxidation of CO

2. Partial oxidation of hydrocarbons
3. The water gas shift reaction

SYNTHESIS OF NANO-MATERIALS

Synthesis and processing of nanomaterials deal with very fine structures: a nanometer is a
billionth of a meter. This indeed allows us to think in both the ‘bottom up’ or the ‘top down’
approaches to synthesize nanomaterials, i.e. either to assemble atoms together or to dis-assemble
(break, or dissociate) bulk solids into finer pieces until they are constituted of only a few atoms.
This domain is a pure example of interdisciplinary work encompassing physics, chemistry, and
engineering up to medicine.
Top-down – Bigger materials are broken down into small nanosize materials by means of
various physical methods such as high energy ball milling, electric arc method etc., but these
methods require expensive apparatus. They cause crystallographic damage and introduce surface
defects and internal stress in resulting nano materials.

Bottom Up (Self-assembly): In bottom up approach desired nanomaterial is built from the

bottom; by orderly assemble of growth species like atoms or ions or molecules. The methods are
simple, inexpensive. They have better control over size, Structure.

Self-assembly is the most widely used method for designing and controlling assembly of
nanometer-scale objects into structures such as sheets, tubes, wires and nano electronic devices.

A few important bottom-up approach processes are

(a) Sol-gel
(b) Precipitation
(c) Chemical vapour deposition (CVD)
(d) Inert Gas Condensation

SOL-GEL PROCESS: - Sol-gel technique is an important bottom-up approach for the synthesis
of nanomaterials. The sol gel process consists in the chemical transformation of a sol into a gel
state and with subsequent post-treatment and transition into solid nanomaterial and it consist of a
following steps
1. Preparation of sol
2. Conversion of sol to gel
3. Aging of the gel
4. Drying of the gel
5. Dehydration
6. Densification and decomposition
1. Preparation of Sol or precursor solution:
Metal alkoxides (MOR), (where R= alkyl group) used as precursors. In a typical Sol-Gel
process, the precursor is subjected to a series of hydrolysis & polymerization reactions to form
a colloidal suspension (the Sol) . Metal alkoxide is dissolved in alcohol and then the water is
added under acidic, neutral and basic conditions.

MOR + H2O MOH + ROH

2. Conversion of sol to gel (Formation of Gel Phase)
The polycondensation reaction between MOH & MOR results in the formation of an
oxide or alcohol-bridge network (gel).
MOH + MOR M-O-M + ROH
3. Aging of the gel:

The reaction mixture is allowed to continue polycondensation reactions until the gel
transforms into a solid mass, accompanied by contraction of the gel network and expulsion of
solvent from gel pores.

4. Drying of the gel:

Water and other volatile liquids are removed from the gel network. If isolated by thermal
evaporation, the resulting nanomaterial is termed a xerogel. If the solvent is extracted under
supercritical or near supercritical conditions, the product is an aerogel.

5. Dehydration:

During dehydration, surface- bound M-OH groups are removed, thereby stabilizing the
gel against rehydration. This is normally achieved by calcining at temperatures up to 8000C.

6. Densification and decomposition:

The gels at high temperatures (T >8000C). The pores of the gel network are collapsed,
and remaining organic contaminants are volatilized.
The typical steps that are involved in sol-gel processing are shown in below

Advantages:

1. Simple and inexpensive equipment

2. Excellent stoichiometry control of precursor solutions
3. Ease of compositional modifications
4. Customizable microstructure
5. Uniform particle size distribution
Precipitation Method:
Preparation of materials by precipitation is as old as chemistry. Precipitation is normally
done by mixing of two reagents to get an insoluble material in the solid phase which usually
settles down in the reaction vessel.

Precipitation method involves two steps

1. Nucleation
2. Growth of nuclei to form a particle.

In first step, A few molecules come together and agglomerate forming several nuclei, capable of
spontaneous growth into bigger particles is called as nucleation.
Second step, the particle will gradually grow to form bulky precipitates, after saturation nucleus
burst into particles of small sizes.
The desired size of nano particles obtained by controlling the temperature, concentration, rate of
addition, mixing & the mode of mixing.
Several types of apparatus for regulating the concentration, temperature, rate of addition,
mixing and the mode of mixing are in use. One such set up is the controlled double jet
precipitation apparatus used to obtain nanosized particles of AgBr.

Aqueous silver nitrate solution is introduced

from a remote pump capable of fine volume control
through a tube which ends just above inlet zone of
a mixing device as shown in Figure . An aqueous
NaBr solution is introduced simultaneously in the
opposite direction from another remote pump
through a tube which terminates just below the
mixing device. The concentrations of the solutions
are kept high (> 0.5 M).) The mixing device is
attached to the end of high speed motor shaft with
controlled speed of about 2000 rpm Temperature is
maintained at 700C. Baffles inhibit vertical rotation
of the contents of the vessel and are located around
the mixing device. The resulting emulsion will
have particles of 7-60 nm AgBr.

Advantages:

1. This is a simple and rapid method of preparation of nanoparticles

2. Particle size and crystallinity can be controlled by optimizing conditions.
NANOSCALE MATERIALS:

Nanomaterials have extremely small size which having at least one dimension 100 nm
or less. Nanomaterials can be nanoscale in one dimension (eg. surface films), two dimensions
(eg. strands or fibres), or three dimensions (eg. particles). They can exist in single, fused,
aggregated or agglomerated forms with spherical, tubular, and irregular shapes. Common types
of nanomaterials include nanotubes, dendrimers, quantum dots and fullerenes.
Nanomaterials have applications in the field of nano technology, and displays different physical
chemical characteristics from normal chemicals (i.e., silver nano, carbon nanotube, fullerene,
photocatalyst, carbon nano, silica). According to Siegel, Nano structured materials are classified
as Zero dimensional, one dimensional, two dimensional, three dimensional nanostructures.

CARBON NANOTUBES:
A carbon nanotube is a tubular structure made up of carbon atoms, having diameter of
nanometer but length in micrometers.
Carbon nanotube is a relatively new carbon allotropy discovered by Sumio Iijima in
1999. He found CNTs while observing the by-products of combustion of carbonaceous materials
in high - resolution electron microscope. CNTs are cylindrical tubes with a central hallow core
due to rolling up of graphite sheets. CNTs is a one dimensional material like nanowire but with
the aspect ratio (length/ width) greater than 1000.
Types of CNTs
There are two types of CNTs
1) Single - walled carbon Nano Tubes (SWCNTs) :-
They are formed by rolling up of single graphite layer.

2) Multi -walled carbon Nano Tubes (MWCNTs) :- They consist of two or more
concentric graphene cylinders with vanderwaals forces between adjacent tubes.
Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes: - Propylene is fed into the reaction maintained at 800oC using
an anodic aluminum oxide film as template with carrier N2 gas. It undergoes paralytic
decomposition depositing uniform layer of carbon on the inner wall of the template nano
channels. Then, the anodic aluminum oxide template is removed by washing with NaOH and
only CNTs is left as an insoluble fraction.

Properties of Carbon Nanotubes

1) CNTs exhibit high electrical conductivity along the walls and also high thermal conductivity.
2) They have low density and very high mechanical strength.
3) The structure of CNTs is compared entirely of SP2 carbon - carbon bonds which stronger than
the SP3 bonds found in diamond.
Applications of Carbon Nanotubes
1) They are used for electrode material for lithium ion rechargeable batteries.
2) They are used for metallic interconnects between components in integrated circuits.
3) It is used cancer thermotherapy to selectively kill cancer cells without affecting nearby
healthy tissues.

GRAPHENES
Graphene is a semi-metal with a small overlap between the valence and the conduction
bands. It is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a
hexagonal lattice.
 It is pure carbon in the form of a very thin, nearly transparent sheet, one atom thick.
Carbon atoms are densely packed in a regular sp2 -bonded atomic -scale chicken wire
(Hexagonal) pattern. Graphene can be described as a one-atom thick layer of graphite.

Properties:

1. One of the most useful properties of graphene is that it is a zero-overlap semimetal (with
both holes and electrons as charge carriers) with very high electrical conductivity.
2. Carbon atoms have a total of 6 electrons; 2 in the inner shell and 4 in the outer shell.
3. Graphene has unique optical properties.
4. Graphene melts at nearly 4125 K,
5. Graphene is the strongest material ever tested, with an intrinsic tensile strength of 130.5 GPa.

Applications:

Graphene is a flexible conductor that holds promise for various device applications
including, Solar cells, LED, Touch panels, smart window, Phones, Capacitors, FET’s,
Metallurgy, Pencil production, Refractory's, Coatings, Lubricants, Paint production, Batteries ,
Grinding wheels, Powder metallurgy. Functionalized grapheme holds exceptional promise for
biological and chemical sensors.