Nanomaterials Advances in Nanomaterials and Their Applications

Nanomaterials, including carbon nanofibers and nanotubes, are being explored extensively for their use and application in multiple manufacturing domains. One of the most eager manufacturing sectors to incorporate nanomaterials into their midst is the athletics gear and sporting industries. Tennis rackets, surf, skate, and snow boards, skis, ski poles, boats, bicycles, hockey sticks, baseball bats, golf clubs and balls are all potentially transformed by the use of nanomaterials. Other athletics applications of nanomaterials include sports stadium materials, artificial turf, running track surfaces, clothing, and gymnasium equipment (Chunyan, 2011). While nanomaterials are proving promising from design, implementation, and development perspectives, there are also significant safety issues that need to be taken into consideration by engineers, manufacturers, and industry regulators.

The root word "nano" comes from the Greek meaning dwarf because the particles are extremely small and require special technologies for visualization as well as manipulation (Hickman, 2002). Earliest manifestation of nanoparticles in manufactured goods is as old as ancient Roman glass from 2000 years ago "where clusters of Au (gold) nanoparticles were used to generate vivid colors," (Pitkethly, 2004, p. 20). In the Middle Ages, evidence of similar nanoparticles in ceramics have been recorded (Hickman, 2002; Pitkethly, 2004). However, these were unintentional uses of nanoparticles. Modern uses of nanotechnology began in the 1940s, with the production of carbon black and fumed silica (Pitkethly, 2004). The term "nanomaterials" and "nanotechnology" became used in the 1960s (Pitkethly, 2004). Since the 1980s, research into nanomaterials and product development applications has grown exponentially, with recent research applications in almost every conceivable field of manufacturing.

A nanoparticle is about one fifth the width of a human hair (Hickman, 2002). They are considered to be in the size range between quantum and atomic; the materials are subject to the laws of atomic physics. Nanomaterials behave differently from their traditional counterparts in terms of their reactivity, color, melting points, freezing points, strength, and bonding with other materials. With nanotechnology, it becomes possible to manufacture goods at the atomic level and to have tremendous control over the outcome and behavior of the product. With traditional "bulk" materials, only a "relatively small percentage of atoms will be at or near the surface or interfere," whereas with nanomaterials, "many atoms…will be near interfaces," (Hickman, 2002). Energy levels and electronic structures of materials are thereby affected, and the ability to reshape and manipulate the object is greatly enhanced.

Nanomaterials are made from different base substances, which is why there are metallic, ceramic, polymeric, and composite nanomaterials (Hickman, 2002). Nanomaterials can also assume various shapes, including spheres, flakes, platelets, tubes, rods, and dendritic structures (Pitkethly, 2004). Carbon nanofibers are generally defined as those with a diameter range of 3 -- 100 nm, and a length range of 0.1 -- 1000 µm (DeJong & Geus, 2007, p. 481). Interestingly, carbon nanofibers were originally considered a "nuisance" by-product emerging from the catalytic of gasses containing carbon (DeJong & Geus, 2007, p. 481). Metallic fibers were often the catalysts used to create the by-product of carbon nanofibers (DeJong & Geus, 2007). Carbon nanofibers are similar to nanotubes in their features, especially as they are relevant for the product design fields. In addition to being chemically similar to carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers are chemically similar to fullerenes (DeJong & Geus, 2007, p. 481). Fullerenes were named after architect Buckminster Fuller, who after beholding the geometric form of hollow carbon spheres at the microscopic level discovered a new range of materials to propel forward research into nanotechnology. Their special features have propelled carbon nanofibers into the repertoire of product developers and designers. Recent innovations have been promising enough to promote private and public funding inputs to stimulate further research at the academic level and at the development level. Within private industry, the promises of developing sporting equipment that enhances athletic performance or increases athletic success in a competitive environment are what drives the industry forward.

Lighter-weight equipment including baseball bats, tennis rackets, hockey sticks, surfboards, skis, ski poles, snowboards, and other currently heavy items will be easier to transport. This could mean a reduction in carbon emissions in the long run, as manufacturers and retailers also save money on transportation costs. Consumers can also transport these materials more easily, in their cars, on their person, or on an airplane. Kayaks and other small craft using nanomaterials would be easier to carry as well, making outdoors sports more...

The ergonomics of nanomaterial products has yet to be studied extensively using clinical and empirical trials. However, lighter equipment is hypothesized to place less strain on the body, leading to enhanced athletic performance and improved health.
There are real risks and rewards for applying nanotechnologies in sports. At the manufacturing level, there are serious concerns to what the nanoparticle manipulation process means for factory workers as well as engineers and designers. End user safety is also being called into question, but with sporting goods, it seems that the end user products are proving to have net positive effects on athlete ergonomics and performance due to the extremely light weight and low profile of things like hockey sticks and golf clubs. At the same time, when these materials shatter during the course of play, athlete safety does once again become a critical issue of concern. When a wooden baseball bat shatter, the pieces of splintered wood are manageable. When a nanoparticle bat shatters, the nanopartles are released and can penetrate biological membranes to cause unknown damage to human systems.

Nanotechnologies have the potential to impact both human biological and environmental health (Tang & Zhou, 2013). Chunyan (2011) claims that there are potential adverse effects on cellular integrity, lungs, liver, kidney, and brain (p. 131). The ill effects of nanomaterials are of especial import to engineers, technicians, and chemists working directly with the nanomaterials at the production stages. Howard (n.d.) claims that nanomaterials might be the "next asbestos" and warns against overly eager implementation. Howard (n.d.) points out that the minute size of nanomaterials may be their greatest strength in terms of equipment manufacturing, but could prove to be their greatest weakness in terms of safety and health. In particular, Howard (n.d.) points out the extremely flammable nature of sports equipment made with nanomaterials. Fire safety officials have "believed that sports gear containing nanomaterials -- including tennis and badminton rackets, archery and cycling equipment -- that went up in the fire could be behind the coating" causing a blaze in Ottawa (Howard, n.d.). The connection between nanoparticles and the fire is not absolutely clear, and causality is not established. Thus, further research is necessary.

Another potential hazard of nanomaterials is regarding the size of the particles and their subsequent ability to cross biological barriers otherwise impermeable including skin, the respiratory tract, the digestive system, and the blood-brain barrier (Howard, n.d.). Nanomaterials are too new to have product safety or occupational safety ratings. However, the World Health Organization (WHO, 2013) states that workers around the world face "new risks" from the application of nanomaterials. Much of the research related to the health and safety risks of nanotechnologies emerges from the developing world, which parallels what the WHO (2013) states about the occupational health hazards in low to middle income nations.

Research reveals mixed results in test of the safety of nanomaterials. Biased industry sources usually tout only the miraculous benefits of incorporating nonmaterial into sporting gear and equipment. For example, the 3M company has a vested interest in the success of nanomaterials including carbon nanofibers and nanotubes. The 3M company claims that nanomaterials represent the most sigficant advancement in sports materials and related epoxy resins "in years," and that these materials "improve the performance of carbon-fiber composites resulting in more durable, lighter-weight sports gear," (3M, 2013). The use of nanofibers and nanomaterials is generally touted as the means by which to create lighter and more durable sporting equipment. 3M dubs its new material "Matrix Resin," (3M, 2013). Invoking science fiction films like The Matrix when naming their proprietary nanomaterials is a telling sign that nanomaterials are the wave of the future, but that they also need to be evaluated for their potential impact on health and environment. There are a wide variety of nanomaterials on the market, meaning that research into product and production safety could take years and even generations.

The industry claims that the end products made with nanomaterials will be 25 to 100% stronger than traditional materials, as well as small -- 100 nanometers or less in width (3M, 2013). Materials made with nanofibers have "unique high-surface-area materials ("200 m2/g) that can expose exclusively either basal graphite planes or edge planes," (DeJong & Geus, 2007, p. 481). Sporting equipment represents the ideal target market for nanomaterials because of the industry's emphasis on end user needs including a high value "strength-to-weight ratio," (3M, 2013). Moreover, it is far quicker to bring sporting goods to the market vs. other goods that use nanomaterials in their construction, including aviation equipment (3M, 2013). Nanofibers remain costly, though, which is why new research and development will…