nanostructure

noun

nano·​struc·​ture ˈna-nə-ˌstrək-chər 

: a nanoscale structure

especially : an arrangement, structure, or part of something of molecular dimensions

nanostructured

ˈna-nə-ˌstrək-chərd 

adjective

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Two important types of nanostructure are nanocrystals (tiny crystals, often of semiconducting material) and nanotubes (tiny tubes, usually of pure carbon). Nanocrystals made from semiconductors change color depending on their size, and are being used for such tasks as detecting viruses in living cells. Nanotubes can conduct enormous amounts of electrical current, far more than metal wires. They are the basic material of tiny "paper" batteries, which can be rolled, folded, or cut while still producing power. Nanotubes are also now being used in materials for lightweight tennis rackets and golf clubs, and may soon enable the manufacture of TV screens no thicker than a film.

Examples of nanostructure in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Their experiments revealed how hydrogen interacted with silicon and oxygen in nanostructures as the metal cooled, with the ratio of hydrogen to silicon being roughly 1 to 1. —Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026

The eyes of mosquitoes have water-repellent nanostructures that keep them clear, for example. —Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2026

The femto-second lasers used for recording record nanostructures that can encode data in their width, height, depth, polarization and birefringence, hence the 5D name. —Thomas Coughlin, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025

Combined with a chemical rinse, the process also removes metal catalyst impurities created during manufacturing while maintaining the critical one-dimensional nanostructure that makes CNTs so special. —Joe Salas june 10, New Atlas, 10 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1978, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for nanostructure

• infrastructure
• macrostructure
• microstructure
• superstructure
• ultrastructure
• restructure
• substructure
• structure