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Nanotechnology: from the ancient time to nowadays

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Abstract

While nanosciences and nanotechnologies appear as new concepts developed at the end of the twentieth century, we show that metallic nanoparticles have already been used since ancient times, in particular as colorant in the glass and ceramic industries. Moreover, a lot of natural nanomaterials are also present in the mineral, vegetal and animal worlds. Nevertheless, the breakthrough of nanotechnology has been permitted in the past few decades by the advent of apparatus allowing the manipulation and observation of the nanoworld. Indeed, nowadays, nanomaterials and nanoparticles are used for many applications in our daily life, such as in the fields of electronics, catalysis, optics, biology, and medicine. This article presents an overview about nanotechnologies, with applications from ancient times till the present.

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Notes

  1. A tessera (plural: tesserae) is an individual tile (a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic), usually formed in the shape of a cube, used in creating a mosaic.

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  1. Laboratoire ITODYS, CNRS UMR 7086, Université Paris Diderot, 75205, Paris, France

    Delphine Schaming

  2. Laboratoire de Chimie Physique, CNRS UMR 8000, Université Paris-Sud, 91405, Orsay, France

    Hynd Remita

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  1. Delphine Schaming
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Schaming, D., Remita, H. Nanotechnology: from the ancient time to nowadays. Found Chem 17, 187–205 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-015-9235-y

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