CRITICAL ISSUES FOR NANOSTRUCTURE SYNTHESIS AND ASSEMBLY

However broad the range of synthesis approaches, the critical control points fall into two categories:

1. control of the size and composition of the nanocluster components, whether they are aerosol particles, powders, semiconductor quantum dots, or other nanocomponents
2. control of the interfaces and distributions of the nanocomponents within the fully formed materials

These two aspects of nanostructure formation are inextricably linked; nevertheless, it is important to understand how to exercise separate control over the nucleation of the nanostructure building blocks and the growth (for example, minimizing coagulation or agglomeration) of those components throughout the synthesis and assembly process. This latter issue is related to the importance of the following:

• the chemical, thermal, and temporal stability of such formed nanostructures
• the ability to scale-up synthesis and assembly strategies for low-cost, large-scale production of nanostructured materials, while at the same time maintaining control of critical feature size and quality of interfaces (economic viability is a compelling issue for any nanostructure technology)

All researchers in this area are addressing these issues.