Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2018
Material scientists and engineers continue to developmaterials and structures that are ever smaller. Some of this engineering is to simply domore with less while the science of nanomaterials allows new materials to be produced with a novel range of physical and chemical properties due to the small length scales of the microstructural features of thematerials. Currently, nanoscalematerials have been produced with a diverse set of useful properties and can be found in common substances like sunscreen or technologically advanced microelectronic devices. A complete understanding of materials is based on knowledge of the processing used to produce an interesting material coupled with a full characterization of the structure that results. It is this structure/property relationship that is the basis of understanding any newmaterial developed at all length scales.