INTRODUCTION TO MATERIAL SCIENCE

ENGINEERING
Material science Engineering can be subdivided into materials science and
materials engineering.

Materials Science involves investigating the relationships that exist between the
structures and properties of materials.

Materials Engineering is designing or engineering the structure of a material to

produce a predetermined set of properties.

The four important components in the discipline of material science and

engineering are as shown as below:

Structure Properties Processing Applications

Classification of materials

Metals
Metals are composed of one or more metallic elements, and often also
nonmetallic elements in small amounts. Such metals having a homogeneous
mixture of metallic and non-metallic elements in pre-defined amounts are called
alloys. Atoms in metals and their alloys are arranged in very orderly manner and
in comparison to the ceramics and polymers, are relatively dense. They are stiff
and strong and yet are ductile, and are resistant to fracture, which accounts for
their widespread use in structural applications.

Metal alloys, by virtue of their composition are classified into two types- ferrous
and non-ferrous.
Ferrous alloys are those alloys in which iron is the prime constituent. These
include steels and cast iron.

Most steels contain less than 1.0% Carbon. Plain low-carbon steels and high-
strength low-alloy, medium-carbon, tool, and stainless steels are the most
common types.

Cast irons contain a higher carbon content, normally between 3% and 4.5% wt.
Gray, ductile(or nodular), malleable, and compacted graphite irons are the four
most widely used cast irons.

Applications

1. Low carbon steels(LCS) are used for automobile body components,

structural beams, and sheets that are used in pipelines, buildings, bridges,
and tin cans.
2. Medium carbon steels are used in railway wheels and tracks, crankshafts
and other machine parts. They are stronger than LCS but at the cost of
ductility and toughness.
3. High carbon steels find use in shaping and cutting tools like knives, razors,
hacksaws etc.
4. Stainless steel is used in everyday cooking utensils, and in high precision
measuring instruments.
5. Cast irons have a wide range of uses such as base structures of heavy
machinery to valves, pipe fittings etc.

Non-Ferrous Alloys

All other alloys fall within the non-ferrous category, which is further subdivided
according to the base metal or some distinctive characteristic that is shared by a
group of alloys. Typical types are alloys of copper, aluminum, magnesium,
titanium, nickel, lead, tin and zinc.

Copper alloys are highly resistant to corrosion in diverse environments like

ambient atmosphere, sea water and some industrial chemicals.
Aluminum and its alloys are characterized by a relatively low density, high
electrical and thermal conductivities, and a resistance to corrosion in some
environments like ambient atmosphere. They are highly malleable and ductile and
the best example of that is the aluminum foil used in households. The only
drawback of aluminum alloys is that they melt around 650-700 degree Celsius
which restricts the maximum temperature at which they can be used.

Magnesium alloys are very lightweight and are fairly corrosion resistant in dry to
slightly humid atmosphere conditions but fail miserably in highly humid
atmosphere like marine environments.

Applications

1. Some of the common copper alloys are, brass which is used in lamp stands
and lamp fixtures, and bronze which is used in making coins.
2. Aluminum alloys are used in food storage equipment, heat exchangers,
light reflectors, fuel tanks, rivets, and high tension wires.
3. Tin alloys are used in storage cans as they do not react with organic acids
present in foodstuffs.
4. Magnesium alloys are used in audio-video-computer-communications
equipment (e.g. laptops, cellular phones, TV sets etc.)

Ceramics

Ceramics are compounds between metallic and non-metallic elements; they are
most frequently oxides, nitrides, and carbides. Ceramic materials are relatively
stiff and strong, and are comparable to metals in terms of stiffness and strength.
In addition, ceramics are very hard. On the other hand, they are extremely brittle
(lack ductility) and are highly susceptible to fracture. These materials are typically
insulative to the passage of heat and electricity, and are more resistant to higher
temperature than metals or polymers. There are two broad categories of
ceramics: Traditional ceramics and advanced ceramics.
Traditional Ceramics

Glass

Glasses are noncrystalline silicates containing other oxides like CaO,Na2O,K2O, and
Al2O3 which influences the glass properties. Most inorganic glasses can be made
to transform from a noncrystalline state to crystalline state by high temperature
heat treatment. This process is called crystallization, and the product is a fine-
grained polycrystalline material called glass-ceramic.

Glass ceramics have relatively high mechanical strengths, high temperature

capabilities, good dielectric properties, and good biological compatibility. Some
are optically transparent, some translucent and others opaque.

Glass finds a wide range of uses from window panes to high quality gorilla glass
on your smartphones.

Refractories

The salient properties of refractories include the capacity to withstand high

temperatures without melting or decomposing, and the capacity to remain
unreactive and inert when exposed to severe environments. In addition, the
ability to provide thermal insulation is important. Bricks and tiles are the most
important refractories.

Typical applications of bricks include furnace linings for metal refining, glass
manufacturing, metallurgical heat treatment, and power generation. Tiles are
used both on floors and roofs.

There are three types of refractories: Fireclay refractories, Silica refractories, and
Basic refractories.

Abrasives

Abrasive ceramics are used to wear, grind, or cut away other material, which are
softer. Therefore, the prime requirement is hardness or wear-resistance and a
high degree of toughness so that the abrasive particles do not fracture easily.
The most common types of abrasives are Silicon Carbide, Tungsten Carbide,
aluminum Oxide, Silica, Boron Carbide, etc.

Ceramic Coatings

Ceramic coatings, which offer the excellent properties of ceramics such as high
hardness and wear resistance, electrical insulation, low thermal conductivity, are
used for surface protection.

The most common materials are aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, zirconium oxide
and chromium oxide.

They are coated using a process called plasma spraying wherein oxide ceramic
powders or powder mixtures are melted in a plasma flame at approx. 10,000
degree Celsius and sprayed on a previous sandblasted material. It is necessary
before plasma spraying that a fissured surface is created through sandblasting to
which the ceramic particles can cling as they arrive. Multiple coats are achieved
for high quality surface finish.

Cements

The characteristic feature of cements is that when mixed with water, they form a
paste which subsequently sets and hardens. The different types of cement are:
Portland cement, plaster of Paris, and lime.

Portland cement is prepared by mixing clay and lime-bearing minerals in the

proper proportions, and then heating the mixture to 14000C in a rotary kiln, a
process called calcination. The resulting “clinker” is then ground to a very fine
powder to which is added a small amount of gypsum (CaSO4-2H20) to retard the
setting process. When applied and mixed with water it sets to a very hard
structure. It is called hydraulic cement because of this.

Advanced Ceramics

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)

Microelectromechanical Systems are miniature smart systems consisting of a

multitude of mechanical devices that are integrated with large numbers of
electrical elements on a substrate of silicon. The mechanical components are
microsensers and microactuators. Microsensors collect environmental
information by measuring mechanical, thermal, chemical, optical and/or magnetic
phenomena. The microelectronic components then process this sensory input and
then render decisions that direct responses from the microactuator devices-
devices that perform such responses such as positioning, moving, moving,
pumping, regulating and filtering. The actuating devices include gears, beams,
pits, motors, and membranes, which are of the order of microns.

The processing of MEMS is virtually same as that for the production of silicon
based integrated circuits; this includes photolithographic, ion implantation, ion
etching, and deposition techs. In addition, some mechanical components are
fabricated using micromachining techniques.

Potential MEMS applications include electronic displays, data storage units,

energy conversion devices, chemical detectors, and microsystems for DNA
amplification and identification.

One practical use of MEMS is an accelerometer that is used in the deployment of

air-bag systems in automobiles. For this application the important microelectronic
component is a free-standing microbeam. Compared to the conventional air-bag
systems, the MEMS units are smaller, lighter, more reliable, and produced at
considerable cost reduction.

Optical Fibers

The optical fiber is made of extremely pure silica, which must be free of even
minute quantities of contaminants and other defects that absorb, scatter, and
attenuate a light beam.

Very advanced and sophisticated processing techniques have been developed to

produce fibers that, meet the rigid restrictions required for this application.
Polymers

Polymers include the familiar plastic and rubber materials. Many of them are
organic compounds that are chemically based on carbon, hydrogen, and other
nonmetallic elements (like O, N, and Si). They have very large molecular
structures, often chain-like in nature that has a backbone of carbon atoms. Some
of the common and familiar polymers are polyethylene, nylon 6-6, polyvinyl
chloride, polycarbonate, polystyrene and silicone rubber.

These materials typically have low densities, but many of the polymers are ductile
and pliable, i.e., they can easily be formed into complex shapes.

Polymers are broadly of two types, Thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers.

The polymers which become soft on heating and hard on cooling are called
thermoplastic polymers.

The polymers which undergo chemical changes and crosslinking on heating and
become permanently hard, rigid and infusible mass are called thermosetting
polymers.

Thermoplastic Polymers Thermosetting polymers

1. It can be recycled
2. It does not degrade on heating
3. It is usually obtained by addition
polymerization.
4. They have linear chained structure.
E.g. polythylene, polybutadiene,
poly(methyl methacrylate), nylon, poly
1. It cannot be recycled.
2. It degrades on heating.
3. Most of them are obtained by
condensation polymerization.
4. They have cross-linked 3D structure.
E.g. phenol formaldehyde resin, urea
formaldehyde resin, epoxy resin,
styrene, polyvinyl chloride and polyurethanes, Bakelite, melamine
Teflon,etc. resin, polyimides, urea-formaldehyde
foams, etc.

Elastomers

Elastomers are polymers having elastic properties. They are usually thermoplastic
polymers and can undergo a high degree of bending and stretching without
permanent change in original dimensions.

The most important elastomer is SBR (styrene butadiene rubber) which is used in
automobile tires, reinforced with carbon black. NBR (acrylonitrile butadiene
rubber), which is highly resistant to degradation and swelling, is another common
synthetic elastomer.

Fibers

The fiber polymers are capable of being drawn into long filaments having at least
100:1 length-to-diameter ratio. Most commercial fiber polymers are utilized in
the textile industry, being woven or knit into cloth or fabric. To be useful as a
textile material, a fiber polymer must have a host of rather restrictive physical and
chemical properties as they are subjected to a variety of mechanical deformations
like stretching, twisting, shearing, and abrasion. Consequently, they must have a
high tensile strength (over a relatively wide temperature range) and a high
modulus of elasticity, as well as abrasion resistance. These properties are
governed by the chemistry of the polymer chains and also by the fiber drawing
process.

It is required that the fiber polymers exhibit chemical stability to a variety of

environments like acids, bases, bleaches, dry cleaning solutions and sunlight. They
must also be relatively nonflammable and amenable to drying.

The fibers are of nylon-6, nylon 6,6, polyester, acrylic, spandex, polypropylene,
etc.
Coatings

Coatings are frequently applied to the surface of materials for one or more
functions: (1) to protect an item from the environment that may produce
corrosive or deteriorative reactions; (2) to improve the item’s appearance; and
(3) to provide electrical insulation.

Many of the ingredients in coatings are polymer materials, majority of which are
organic in origin. These organic coatings fall into several different classifications
like paint, varnish, enamel, lacquer, and shellac.

Adhesives

An adhesive is a material used to bond together the surfaces of two solid

materials.

Examples of polymer adhesives are: epoxy resin, polyurethane, cyanoacrylate,

and acrylic*.

*Acrylic is the common name for poly (methyl mathacrylate).

Films

Films are used for packaging food products and other merchandise. They are of
low density, have a high degree of flexibility, high tensile and tear strengths, and
are resistant to attack by moisture and other chemicals. These materials include
polyethylene, polypropylene, cellophane, and cellulose acetate.

Foams

Foams are materials that contain a small percentage of small pores and trapped
gas bubbles. These include polyurethane, rubber, polystyrene, and
polyvinylchloride.

Foams are used in sofa settees, car seat and headrests, linings of boxes carrying
fragile glass or other crack able materials.

Liquid foams are also used as fire retardants.

Composites
Composite materials are materials made from two or more constituent materials
with significantly different physical or chemical properties, that when combined,
produce a material with characteristics different from the individual components.
The individual components remain separate and distinct within the finished
structure. The new material may be preferred for many reasons: common
examples include materials which are stronger, lighter or less expensive when
compared to traditional materials.

Particle – Reinforced
Large-particle and dispersion–strengthened composites are the two sub
classifications of particle-reinforced composites. The distinction between these is
based upon reinforcement or strengthening mechanism.

Large – Particle Composites

In these composites, the particulate phase is harder and stiffer than the matrix.
These reinforcing particles tend to restrain movement of the matrix phase in the
vicinity of each particle. In essence, the matrix transfers some of the applied
stress to the particles, which bear a fraction of the load. The degree of
reinforcement or improvement of mechanical behavior depends on strong
bonding at the matrix–particle interface.

Dispersion – Strengthened Composites

In dispersion-strengthened composites, particles are normally much smaller, with
diameters between 0.01 and 0.1 m (10 and 100 nm). Particle–matrix interactions
that lead to strengthening occur on the atomic or molecular level. Whereas the
matrix bears the major portion of an applied load, the small dispersed particles
hinder or impede the motion of dislocations. Thus, plastic deformation is
restricted such that yield and tensile strengths, as well as hardness, improve.

Fiber – Reinforced Composites

Technologically, the most important composites are those in which the dispersed
phase is in the form of a fiber. Design goals of fiber-reinforced composites often
include high strength and/or stiffness on a weight basis. These characteristics are
expressed in terms of specific strength and specific modulus parameters, which
correspond, respectively, to the ratios of tensile strength to specific gravity and
modulus of elasticity to specific gravity. Fiber-reinforced composites with
exceptionally high specific strengths and moduli have been produced that utilize
low-density fiber and matrix materials.

Fiber phase composite

An important characteristic of most materials, especially brittle ones, is that a
small diameter fiber is much stronger than the bulk material.

On the basis of diameter and character, fibers are grouped into three different
classifications: whiskers, fibers, and wires.

Whiskers are very thin single crystals that have extremely large length-to-
diameter ratios. They are among the strongest known materials. In spite of these
high strengths, whiskers are not utilized extensively as a reinforcement medium
because they are extremely expensive.
Materials that are classified as fibers are either polycrystalline or amorphous and
have small diameters; fibrous materials are generally either polymers or ceramics.

Matrix phase composite

The second type of classification of composites are based on the matrix materials

The matrix phase of fibrous composites may be a metal, polymer, or ceramic. In

general, metals and polymers are used as matrix materials because some ductility
is desirable; for ceramic-matrix composites, the reinforcing component is added
to improve fracture toughness.

Matrix phase composite

The matrix phase of fibrous composites may be a metal, polymer, or ceramic. In
general, metals and polymers are used as matrix materials because some ductility
is desirable; for ceramic-matrix composites, the reinforcing component is added
to improve fracture toughness.
Polymer – Matrix Composites
Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Composites
Fiberglass is simply a composite consisting of glass fibers, either continuous or
discontinuous, contained within a polymer matrix; this type of composite is
produced in the largest quantities.

 It is easily drawn into high-strength fibers from the molten state.

 It is readily available and may be fabricated into a glass-reinforced plastic
economically using a wide variety of composite-manufacturing techniques.
 As a fiber it is relatively strong, and when embedded in a plastic matrix, it
produces a composite having a very high specific strength.
 When coupled with the various plastics, it possesses a chemical inertness
that renders the composite useful in a variety of corrosive environments.

Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Composites

Carbon is a high-performance fiber material that is the most commonly used
reinforcement in advanced (i.e., non-fiberglass) polymer-matrix composites. The
reasons for this are as follows:

 Carbon fibers have the highest specific modulus and specific strength of all
reinforcing fiber materials.
 They retain their high tensile modulus and high strength at elevated
temperatures; high-temperature oxidation, however, may be a problem.
 At room temperature, carbon fibers are not affected by moisture or a wide
variety of solvents, acids, and bases.
 These fibers exhibit a diversity of physical and mechanical characteristics,
allowing composites incorporating these fibers to have specific engineered
properties.
 Fiber and composite manufacturing processes have been developed that
are relatively inexpensive and cost effective.

Aramid Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

Aramid fibers are high-strength, high-modulus materials that were introduced in
the early 1970s. They are especially desirable for their outstanding strength-to
weight ratios, which are superior to metals. Chemically, this group of materials is
known as poly (paraphenylene terephthalamide). There are a number of aramid
materials; trade names for two of the most common are Kevlar™ and Nomex™.

Metal – Matrix Composites

As the name implies, for metal-matrix composites (MMCs) the matrix is a ductile
metal. These materials may be utilized at higher service temperatures than their
base metal counterparts; furthermore, the reinforcement may improve specific
stiffness, specific strength, abrasion resistance, creep resistance, thermal
conductivity, and dimensional stability. Some of the advantages of these materials
over the polymer-matrix composites include higher operating temperatures, non-
flammability, and greater resistance to degradation by organic fluids.

The super-alloys, as well as alloys of aluminum, magnesium, titanium, and copper,

are employed as matrix materials. The reinforcement may be in the form of
particulates, both continuous and discontinuous fibers, and whiskers.

Ceramic – Matrix Composites

Ceramic materials are inherently resilient to oxidation and deterioration at
elevated temperatures. The fracture toughness of ceramics have been improved
significantly by the development of a new generation of ceramic-matrix
composites (CMCs) — particulates, fibers, or whiskers of one ceramic material
that have been embedded into a matrix of another ceramic. In general, increasing
fiber content improves strength and fracture toughness. CMCs exhibit improved
high-temperature creep behavior and resistance to thermal shock (i.e., failure
resulting from sudden changes in temperature).

Carbon – Carbon Composites

One of the most advanced and promising engineering material is the carbon fiber
reinforced carbon-matrix composite, often termed a carbon–carbon composite;
as the name implies, both reinforcement and matrix are carbon.

Their desirable properties include high-tensile moduli and tensile strengths that
are retained to temperatures in excess of 2000 ˚C resistance to creep, and
relatively large fracture toughness values. Furthermore, carbon–carbon
composites have low coefficients of thermal expansion and relatively high
thermal conductivities; these characteristics, coupled with high strengths, give
rise to a relatively low susceptibility to thermal shock. Their major drawback is a
propensity to high temperature oxidation.

The carbon–carbon composites are employed in rocket motors, as friction

materials in aircraft and high-performance automobiles, for hot-pressing molds,
in components for advanced turbine engines, and as ablative shields for re-entry
vehicles.

Hybrid Composites
A relatively new fiber-reinforced composite is the hybrid, which is obtained by
using two or more different kinds of fibers in a single matrix; hybrids have a better
all-around combination of properties than composites containing only a single
fiber type.

A variety of fiber combinations and matrix materials are used, but in the most
common system, both carbon and glass fibers are incorporated into a polymeric
resin. The carbon fibers are strong and relatively stiff and provide a low-density
reinforcement; however, they are expensive. Glass fibers are inexpensive and lack
the stiffness of carbon. The glass–carbon hybrid is stronger and tougher, has a
higher impact resistance, and may be produced at a lower cost than either of the
comparable all-carbon or all-glass reinforced plastics.

Principal applications for hybrid composites are lightweight land, water, and air
transport structural components, sporting goods, and lightweight orthopedic
components.

Structural Composites
A structural composite is normally composed of both homogeneous and
composite materials, the properties of which depend not only on the properties
of the constituent materials but also on the geometrical design of the various
structural elements. Laminar composites and sandwich panels are two of the
most common structural composites.
Laminar Composites
A laminar composite is composed of two-dimensional sheets or panels that have a
preferred high-strength direction such as is found in wood and continuous and
aligned fiber-reinforced plastics. The layers are stacked and subsequently
cemented together such that the orientation of the high-strength direction varies
with each successive layer. Laminar composite has relatively high strength in a
number of directions in the two-dimensional plane; however, the strength in any
given direction is, of course, lower than it would be if all the fibers were oriented
in that direction.

For example, adjacent wood sheets in plywood are aligned with the grain
direction at right angles to each other.

Sandwich Panels
Sandwich panels, considered to be a class of structural composites, are designed
to be light-weight beams or panels having relatively high stiffness and strength. A
sandwich panel consists of two outer sheets, or faces, that are separated by and
adhesively bonded to a thicker core.
The outer sheets are made of a relatively stiff and strong material, typically
aluminum alloys, fiber-reinforced plastics, titanium, steel, or plywood; they
impart high stiffness and strength to the structure, and must be thick enough to
withstand tensile and compressive stresses that result from loading. The core
material is lightweight, and normally has a low modulus of elasticity. Core
materials typically fall within three categories: rigid polymeric foams (i.e.,
phenolics, epoxy, polyurethanes), wood (i.e., balsa wood), and honeycombs.

Schematic diagram showing the construction of a honeycomb core sandwich panel .

Sandwich panels are used in a wide variety of applications including roofs, floors,
and walls of buildings; and, in aerospace and aircraft (i.e., for wings, fuselage, and
tailplane skins).

Smart Materials
Smart materials are designed materials that have one or more properties that can
be significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli, such as stress,
temperature, moisture, pH, electric or magnetic fields.

There are a number of types of smart material, some of which are already
common. Some examples are as following:
Piezoelectric materials are materials that produce a voltage when stress is
applied. Since this effect also applies in the reverse manner, a voltage across the
sample will produce stress within the sample. Suitably designed structures made
from these materials can therefore be made that bend, expand or contract when
a voltage is applied.

Shape-memory alloys and shape-memory polymers are materials in which large

deformation can be induced and recovered through temperature changes or
stress changes (pseudoelasticity). The large deformation results due to
martensitic phase change.

Magnetostrictive materials exhibit change in shape under the influence of

magnetic field and also exhibit change in their magnetization under the influence
of mechanical stress.

Magnetic shape memory alloys are materials that change their shape in response
to a significant change in the magnetic field.

pH-sensitive polymers are materials that change in volume when the pH of the
surrounding medium changes.

Temperature-responsive polymers are materials which undergo changes upon

temperature.

Halochromic materials are commonly used materials that change their colour as
a result of changing acidity. One suggested application is for paints that can
change colour to indicate corrosion in the metal underneath them.

Chromogenic systems change colour in response to electrical, optical or thermal

changes. These include electrochromic materials, which change their colour or
opacity on the application of a voltage (e.g., liquid crystal displays),
thermochromic materials change in colour depending on their temperature, and
photochromic materials, which change colour in response to light—for example,
light sensitive sunglasses that darken when exposed to bright sunlight.

Photomechanical materials change shape under exposure to light.

Self-healing materials have the intrinsic ability to repair damage due to normal
usage, thus expanding the material's lifetime

Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are smart material systems which produce large
strains (up to 300%) under the influence of an external electric field.

Magnetocaloric materials are compounds that undergo a reversible change in

temperature upon exposure to a changing magnetic field.

Thermoelectric materials are used to build devices that convert temperature

differences into electricity and vice-versa.

Biomaterials

Biomaterials are employed in components implanted into the human body for
replacement of diseased or damaged body parts. These materials must not
produce toxic substances and must be compatible with body tissues (i.e., must
not cause adverse biological reactions). All of the above materials—metals,
ceramics, polymers, composites, and semiconductors—may be used as
biomaterials. For example, some of the biomaterials that are utilized in artificial
hip replacements.
The musculoskeletal tissues bone, cartilage and ligament/tendon are highly
structured nanocomposites consisting of nanofibres embedded in a matrix of
different composition. Carbon fibers also show high cell adhesion and specific and
interesting biological reactions.
Nanosphere is commercializing a molecular diagnostics platform using an optical
detection system.
The technology platform is based on functionalized gold nanoparticles. When
there are binding events, the optical properties of the gold nanoparticles change
and can be detected. The primary benefit of the system over existing testing
platforms is that the system is simple and accessible.
Hospital laboratories can rapidly perform sensitive and accurate tests without
substantial technical and operational expertise.
Alpha Szensor (carbon nano tube) was recently formed to commercialize medical
sensors using carbon nanotube networks. The company, located in Woburn,
Massachusetts, has licensed Nantero Inc.’s intellectual property for solution
coating of random networks of carbon nanotubes. These nanotubes have a range
of applications from cancer marking to heart stent making.

Nanomaterials
Nanostructured Materials are a new class of materials which provide one of the
greatest potentials for improving performance and extended capabilities of
products in a number of industrial sectors, including the aerospace, tooling,
automotive, recording, cosmetics, electric motor, duplication, and refrigeration
industries. Encompassed by this class of materials are multilayers, nano-
crystalline materials and nano-composites. Their uniqueness is due partially to the
very large percentage of atoms at interfaces and partially to quantum
confinement effects.

The ability to carefully arrange atoms provides opportunities to develop

mechanical, electrical, magnetic, and other properties that are not otherwise
possible.

Cutting tools made of nanocrystalline materials, such as tungsten carbide,

tantalum carbide, and titanium carbide, are much harder, much more wear-
resistant, erosion-resistant, and last longer than their conventional (large-grained)
counterparts.
Since nanocrystalline carbides are much stronger, harder, and wear-resistant,
they are currently being used in these microdrills.

Optically Transparent Abrasion Resistant Coatings: Nanoscale aluminum oxide

and titanium oxide are optically transparent and greatly increase the abrasion
resistance of traditional coatings.

Optically Transparent Conductive Coatings: Indium tin oxide (ITO) and antimony
tin oxide (ATO) are well known, optically transparent, electrically conductive
materials. Nanoparticles of these materials can be painted on surfaces such as
interactive touch screens to create a conductive, transparent screen.

Bio-conjugates

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed

near-infrared optical biosensors based on single-walled carbon nanotubes, which
modulate their fluorescence emission in response to specific biomolecules. The
viability of sensor techniques was demonstrated by creating a single-walled
carbon nanotube (SWNT) enzyme bio-conjugate that detects glucose
concentrations. 25 Carbon nanotubes fluoresce in a region of the near-infrared,
where human tissue and biological fluids are particularly transparent to their
emission. The sensor could be implanted into tissue, excited with a near infrared
light source, and provide real-time, continuous sensing of blood glucose level by
fluorescence response.