Nanoparticle Synthesis Simulator

Welcome to the homepage of Nanoparticle Synthesis Simulator, a National Science Foundation funded joint project between the Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, and Chemical Engineering Departments of Binghamton University.

About the Project:

This NSF funded project is an educational simulation tool to help incoming students and college freshmen learn about nanoparticle synthesis. Nanoparticle synthesis is an ongoing area of research in the materials engineering department at Binghamton University.

What is a nanoparticle?

Good question. In the world of chemistry the nano- prefix indicates that something is very small. So a nanoparticle is an ultra small particle ranging from 1-100 nanometers in size (approximately one billionth of a meter!). Scientists like to abbreviate nanometer as “nm” for ease of writing.

Atomic Force Microscope

Transmission Electron Microscope
Figure 1: One of the few methods of viewing a nanoparticle is with an electron microscope. Two types of computer generated electron microscope images are shown above. The small specs and globs are the nanoparticles

Why are they interesting?

Nanoparticles have a spectacular research potential, due to the special properties that they exhibit. They are used depending on their chemical compositions, some are created with optical properties in mind resulting in technologies such as anti-reflective coatings, and light based sensors for cancer diagnosis. They also have medical uses such as in improving MRI scanning quality, creating antibacterial coatings on wound dressings, and improving drug delivery systems. A widely known use of nanoparticles is on beverages or foods that can change color or taste based on environmental conditions such as temperature.

The nanoparticles developed here at Binghamton University are being used to develop “flexible electronics.” The use of metal nanoparticles greatly decreases the melting temperature so that the nanoparticle solution can be used to print a small electrical circuit on a flexible surface such as plastic or fabric. What this means is that someday there may be flexible TV’s, iPods, or a radio built into on your shirt sleeve! There are so many other commercial and industrial applications we do not have enough space on this page to describe.

The nanoparticle creation is only a small part of the research being done with nanotechnology. Nanotechnology actually encompasses the study and use of objects under 100nm; it includes other research fields such as nanotubes or nanomachines. To see more on these topics go to the links page.

What are we doing?

At Binghamton University, the Chemistry and Materials Science departments are conducting research with nanoparticles. Some of the research revolves around inexpensive chemical synthesis of nanoparticles near room temperature. Being able to synthesize nanoparticles at room temperature will be much more practical and economic than having to resort to high temperature methods or methods that require expensive machinery.

Here we wish to share with you the experiment performed in the labs, one of these experiments is a simple chemical synthesis of silver nanoparticles; follow the Simulator link that leads to the virtual experiment. The result of the experiment will change if you run the simulator again and change the temperature or the concentration.