
90 Nanosensors: Physical, Chemical, and Biological
2.6 Dependence of Properties of
Nanoparticles on Particle Size
Does the nanoparticle shape only matters? At the NP scale, both size and shape of
the particle are important. One reason of size dependence is increase in sur-
face area with diminishing particle size. Surface area plays a denitive role
here because most chemical reactions involving solids happen at the surfaces,
where chemical bonds are incomplete. Thus, collections of nanoscale particles
(NSPs) with their enormous surface areas are exceptionally reactive (unless a
coating is applied), because more than a third of their chemical ...