Nanoparticles [H]

This is a Higher Tier only lesson covering nanoparticles and nanoscience, as required by the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification (4.2.2). Nanoparticles are structures between 1 and 100 nanometres in size. You need to understand how their properties differ from bulk materials, how to calculate surface area to volume ratios, and the applications and risks of nanoparticles.

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What Are Nanoparticles?

Nanoparticles are particles that have dimensions between 1 nm and 100 nm (nanometres). A nanometre (nm) is one billionth of a metre:

1 nm = 1 x 10^-9 m

To put this in perspective:

Object	Approximate Size
Width of a human hair	80,000 nm
Red blood cell	7,000 nm
Virus	20-300 nm
Nanoparticle	1-100 nm
Water molecule	0.275 nm

Nanoscience is the study of structures and materials at the nanoscale (1-100 nm). At this scale, materials can have very different properties compared to the same materials in bulk (large-scale) form.