CHARACTERIZATION OF NANOSTRUCTURES: TOOLS AND CHALLENGES

Apart from long-known and applied nanostructures like carbon black for tyres or pigments for coatings nanotechnology has created highly sophisticated structures used for nano/molecular electronics, diagnostics, drug delivery, UV-absorbers etc. Often the main question to be solved analytically is the local determination of tiny amounts of chemicals resulting in an ever increasing need for highly sensitive as well as locally resolved techniques. Applications of techniques like mass spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy as well as ultracentrifugation to problems arising from nanotechnology in the chemical industry will be described.