13.2 Physical properties

At the macro scale, the physical and chemical properties are not dependent on the size of the material, but at the nanoscale every thing will change including colour, melting point and chemical properties. This is due to the difference in the nature of interactions between atoms in nanostructures and in bulk materials. Materials reduced to the nanoscale can suddenly show very different properties compared to what they exhibit on a macroscale. The various physical properties have been explained below:

(i)  Geometric structure

Large nanoparticles have the same crystal structure as that of the bulk material but different lattice parameters. In cluster nanoparticles, the structure is deviated. In nanomaterials, the surface ...

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