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3 Opportunities and Challenges for Green and Eco‐Friendly Nanotechnology in Twenty‐First Century
P. Sreeramana Aithal1 and Shubhrajyotsna Aithal2
1 College of Management & Commerce, Srinivas University, Mangalore, India
2 Faculty, College of Engineering & Technology, Srinivas University, Mangalore, India
3.1 Introduction
Identifying problems as challenges and involving in solving them is the nature of innovators in society. In this process, the technology is used as a tool. Most of the current problems of human beings related to basic needs, advanced wants, and dreamy desires can be solved using twenty‐first century technologies, which include nanotechnology (NT) and information communication and computation technology (ICCT) [1]. Though the word NT is first used by a Japanese Professor Norio Taniguchi of Tokyo University of Science in 1974 conference to describe the characteristics of a thin film of the order of a nanometer, the idea is originally proposed by Richard Feynman in 1959 in his speech on there's plenty of space at the bottom at the American Physical Society meeting. Thereafter in 1981, Eric Drexler independently used the word NT in his scholarly publication. The discovery of scanning tunneling microscope in 1980 and the invention of fullerenes in 1985, supported for the initial development of NT. In 1986, Eric Drexler published a book on Engine of Creation and Nanosystems, which proposed the idea of nanoscale devices using NT. Further development of semiconductor nanocrystals, metal oxide nanoparticles, nano‐quantum dots, and the invention of the atomic force microscope further fuelled the growth of NT as a general‐purpose technology [2]. After that NT became research topics of all areas of basic sciences and applied sciences due to its potential ability and advantages of solving scientific, engineering, and industrial problems [3]. At the beginning of the twenty‐first century, the developments in NT are accelerated due to its wide acceptance as frontier technology development area, and many postgraduate and research programs were started through country governments intensified research funding.
Even though NT involves manipulating matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale, the particular technological goal is of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for the fabrication of macroscale products, also now referred to as molecular NT. NT being a general‐purpose technology encompassing four generations of products with increasing structural and dynamic complexity as (i) passive nanostructure (ii) active nanostructures, (iii) nanosystems, and (iv) molecular nanosystems. It is predicted that by 2020, the increasing integration of nanoscale science and engineering knowledge and of nanosystems promises mass applications of NT in industry, medicine, and computing and in better comprehension and conservation of nature. NT's rapid development worldwide is supporting this anticipation of its expected progress of transforming the society and the future of living beings. However, the slow pace of actual progress against predicted roadmap has been re‐examined and based on more planned efforts to be made by country governments and NT research organizations. The modified timeline of NT industry progress is predicted by Aithal et al. [4, 5] based on the last 15 years development trend and it is listed in Table 3.1. The delay is mainly due to the fear and caution of many scientists, organizations, and country governments on fast acceptance for the NT commercialization process. However, through currently developed and proven green and eco‐friendly NT processes further accelerates the nanotechnology growth and to stick the timeline as perpredicted in Table 3.1.
Table 3.1 Anticipated timeline of nanotechnology innovations [5].
| Nanotech generations | Development | Examples | Prediction by Roco and coworker [6] | Prediction by Aithal and Aithal [5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First generation | Passive nanostructures | Nanomaterials, including nanotubes and nanolayers | 2000–2005 | 2000–2015 |
| E.g., coatings, nanoparticles, nanostructured metals, polymers, ceramics | ||||
| Second generation | Active nanostructures | Change their state during use, responding in predictable ways to the environment | 2006–2010 | 2016–2020 |
| E.g., 3D transistors, amplifiers, targeted drugs, actuators, adaptive structures | ||||
| Third generation | Nanosystems | Assemblies of nanotools work together to achieve a final goal | 2011–2015 | 2021–2035 |
| E.g., guided assembling; 3D networking and new hierarchical architectures, robotics | ||||
| Fourth generation | Molecular nanosystems | Involves the intelligent design of molecular and atomic devices, leading to unprecedented understanding and control over the basic building blocks of all natural and man‐made things | 2016–2020 | 2036–2050 |
| E.g., molecular devices “by design,” atomic design, gene therapy | ||||
| Fifth generation | Singularity | Growth rate in NT applications becomes infinite | 2020–2025 | Beyond 2050 |
As per the Table 3.1, NT is in the transition from its second generation to the third generation. The active nanostructures like 3D transistors, amplifiers, targeted drugs, actuators, adaptive structures using metal‐nanomaterials, metal‐nanocomposites, semiconductor nanocomposites, and nano‐quantum dots are achieved and the next generation of nanosystems to fabricate Guided assembling systems, 3D networking systems, and new hierarchical architecture systems and robotics using nanosystems are approaching from coming years. The developed nanosystems for the next industrial revolution called industry 5.0 with the objective of total automation and mass customization can be achieved only if the fear of adopting NT systems in industries. By means of developing and promoting green and eco‐friendly nanosystems [7, 8], the technology can spread at an accelerated speed, and many more components, devices, and systems will be commercialized from different industries. NT can become a part of ideal technology that can solve all problems of society optimally, provided the potential risks are taken care of.
