Defect Structure and Properties of Nanomaterials, 2nd Edition

Preface

Nanostructured materials (or nanomaterials) are built up from microstructural units (e.g., grains) having smaller size than 100 nm at least in one dimension of space. This class of materials includes thin layers that have thicknesses smaller than 100 nm, while their lateral dimensions are usually several centimeters, which means that the criterion for nanostructured materials fulfills only in one dimension. Nanotubes also pertain to nanomaterials as their diameter is several nanometers, i.e., they satisfy the criterion in two dimensions. Crystalline nanoparticles and bulk materials having grain sizes smaller than 100 nm are also members of this class; however, these materials are also called as nanocrystalline materials since their microstructural ...