Definition of Nanochemistry

Nanochemistry is defined as the combination of chemistry and nanoscience. It deals specifically with the designing and synthesis of materials at the nanoscale, across different sizes, shapes, structures and compositions, and with organising those nanoscale building blocks into larger functional architectures that can actually be used for something. As a field, nanochemistry sits at the intersection of several disciplines -- it draws on and feeds into chemical, physical and materials science, as well as engineering, biological and medical applications -- reflecting the fact that once matter is engineered at the nanoscale, the resulting materials tend to find uses across many different application areas rather than staying confined to a single traditional discipline. The remainder of the chapter (Sections 16.6-16.10) works through what makes nanoscale materials behave differently (their characteristic feat …