Andrea R. Tao 
Chemical Principles of Nanoengineering 

This textbook serves as an introduction to the fundamental chemistry principles that guide the synthesis and dictate the properties of nanomaterials. Key chemistry and engineering concepts are looked at through the lens of important and well-characterized nanomaterials, including quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and noble metal nanocrystals. The book provides a focused, detailed look into the chemical bonding and structure of the most important, selected nanomaterials. Special emphasis is placed on how a nanomaterial’s properties are derived from chemical bonding at the atomic and molecular level. Thereby the textbook provides the reader with a clear understanding of how the chemical and physical properties of a material change within a continuum of length scales: from atoms and molecules to nanostructures, surfaces, and finally, bulk solids.

Table of Content

1. ATOMS AND MOLECULES: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF NANOMATERIALS
The Hydrogen Atom
Molecular Structure
Valence Bond Theory
Molecular Orbital Theory
2. EXTENDED SOLIDS: BONDING IN 0-D TO 3-D MATERIALS
Tight-Binding Model
Band Structure
Density of States
3. CARBON NANOMATERIALS
Hybridized Bonding
Graphene to Diamondoids
A Closer Look: Carbon Nanotubes
4. DESCRIPTIVE CRYSTAL CHEMISTRY
Packing Structures
The Unit Cell and Bravais Lattices
Miller Notation
Diffraction
5. THE IMPORTANCE OF SURFACES
Surface Energy and Pressure
Solid Surfaces
Metal Nanoparticles and Clusters
6. CHEMICAL INTERACTIONS
Electrostatic Forces
Van der Waal Forces
Hydrophobic Forces
Self-Assembly

About the author

Andrea Tao is Assistant Professor in Nano Engineering at the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, USA. She earned her BSc in Chemistry & Physics from Harvard University in 2002 and a Ph D in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007. Professor Tao has been active in nanomaterials research for the past fifteen years and has authored numerous scientific publications in the nanoparticle synthesis and self-assembly.