Commercialization of bulk nanostructured metals and alloys

Abstract

Almost 30 years of research elucidating the mechanisms and reproducibility of nanostructuring has enabled the progressive emergence of reliable methods to manufacture bulk nanostructured metallic materials with superior properties. This article reviews examples of the use of nanostructured metals in engineered products that are currently commercially available, or will soon become available for specific biomedical, aerospace, electronics, and energy industry applications. The examples illustrate how the making and marketing of nanostructured materials follow similar development stages as other new advanced materials, but with additional challenges at each stage. Challenges include the difficulties of scaleup, intricacies of nanoscale characterization, the lack of consensus standards for product quality, competition with long-established conventional materials, regulatory hurdles associated with nanoscale technology, and consumer/user education on the virtues and limitations of nanostructuring. Finally, we discuss how the experiences to date with nanostructuring by various methods have established precedents that can guide manufacturing process development for advanced nanostructured metal and alloy applications.