The past, the present and the future of nanotechnologies

Abstract

Abstract Artists from the time of Mesopotamia or Egypt and in the Middle Ages astonished us with various coloured Stained-glass windows, prepared with the help of metal nanoparticles. The paper will deal with zeolites, nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes. The latter will be developed more extensively, because we have founded the Nanocyl company, selling carbon nanotubes and it has become the best European company. One carbon nanotube is 100,000 times thinner than a human hair, it is very light – twice as light as aluminium –, its mechanical resistance is much higher than that of steel and it conducts electricity better than metal conductors. The use of carbon nanotubes is very important in nanotechnology. For example, with the help of coiled carbon nanotubes, the weight of a single nanoparticle can be measured, it is equal to one femtogram (10−15 gram). Carbon nanotubes are used in car spray painting to cancel the build-up of static electricity. With the help of carbon nanotubes, it is possible to decrease the velocity of flame propagation, when they are included in composite materials. Carbon nanotubes are also very good as sensors for toxic gases. Their uses will take up the most part of this paper. The future of nanotechnology will be illustrated by nanomachines, by the lift between the Earth and the Moon, and by graphene (one single sheet of graphite). The use of carbon nanotubes will be evoked in waste water cleaning, in the production of drinking water from seawater.