Nanocomposites: a brief review

Nanocomposite material consists out of several phases where at least one, two or three dimensions are in nanometer range. Taking material dimensions down to nanometer level creates phase interfaces which are very important for enhancement of materials properties. The ratio between surface area and volume of reinforced material used during nanocomposites preparation is directly involved in understanding of structure-property relationship. Nanocomposties offer opportunities on completely new scales for solving obstacles ranging from medical, pharmaceutical industry, food packaging, to electronics and energy industry. This paper presents main ideas behind nanocomposites and discusses matrix materials upon which nanocomposites can be divided in three classes; metal matrix, ceramic matrix and polymer matrix nanocomposites. The goal is to explain which raw material and technique is most suited for processing of a particular nanocomposites as well as application, advantages and drawbacks of nanocomposites. Nanotechnology is still in development and current limitations hinder global transition from macro-scale to nano-scale.