nanostructure
noun
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Two important types of nanostructure are nanocrystals (tiny crystals, often of semiconducting material) and nanotubes (tiny tubes, usually of pure carbon). Nanocrystals made from semiconductors change color depending on their size, and are being used for such tasks as detecting viruses in living cells. Nanotubes can conduct enormous amounts of electrical current, far more than metal wires. They are the basic material of tiny "paper" batteries, which can be rolled, folded, or cut while still producing power. Nanotubes are also now being used in materials for lightweight tennis rackets and golf clubs, and may soon enable the manufacture of TV screens no thicker than a film.
Examples of nanostructure in a Sentence
Thomas Coughlin, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Combined with a chemical rinse, the process also removes metal catalyst impurities created during manufacturing while maintaining the critical one-dimensional nanostructure that makes CNTs so special.
—Joe Salas
june 10, New Atlas, 10 June 2025
Green feathers, meanwhile, result from yellow feathers topped with the blue-producing nanostructures.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Nov. 2024
Heterostructures describe the interfaces between two semiconductors that serve as the building blocks between more elaborate nanostructures.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Nanostructure.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nanostructure. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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