Clay-Containing Polymeric Nanocomposites, Vol. 1

During the last few years terms like nanomaterials, nanocomposites and nanosystems have become fashionable. It seems that anything with ‘nano’ attached to it has nearly a magical effect – not so much on performance as on expectations.
There is an extensive worldwide effort to introduce nanotechnology for the production of materials with specific functional characteristics, e.g., semiconducting, electromagnetic, optical, etc. New magneto-resistance materials
with nanometre-scale spin-flip mean free path of electrons have been commercialised. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has solicited collaborative research proposals in the area of nanoscale science and engineering,
including: nanoscale biosystems; nanoscale structures; novel phenomena and control; nanoscale devices and system architecture; nanosystems-specific software; nanoscale processes; multi-phenomena modelling and simulation at the nanoscale level; studies on societal implications of nanoscale science and engineering, etc. Nanostructures are of interest to many technologies. The potential of precise control of impurities and defects in a crystal and the ability to integrate perfect inorganic and organic nanostructures may lead to a new generation of advanced materials. To electronics, they offer quantum devices (resonant tunnelling transistors; single electron transistors; cellular automata based on quantum dots) and new processor architectures. To catalysis, they form the templates for catalytic activity, zeolite pores, etc. In biology, nanostructures are components of the
mitochondrion, the chloroplast, and the ribosome.

Audience: The book will be of interest to researchers and scientists, professionals and policymakers in water resources management and environmental science, conservation policy and development research.