Table 2.

Terms and definitions of nano-objects

Term	Definition
nanoscale	size range from approximately 1 nm to 100 nm
nano-object	material with one, two, or three external nanoscale dimensions
particle	minute piece of matter with defined physical boundaries
agglomerate	collection of weakly bound particles or aggregates or mixtures of the two, where the resulting external surface area is similar to the sum of the surface areas of the individual components
aggregate	particle comprising strongly bonded or fused particles, where the resulting external surface area may be significantly smaller than the sum of the calculated surface areas of the individual components
nanoparticle	nano-object with all three external dimensions on a nanoscale
nanoplate	nano-object with one external dimension on a nanoscale and the two other external dimensions significantly larger
nanofibre	nano-object with two similar external dimensions on a nanoscale and the third dimension significantly larger
nanotube	hollow nanofibre
nanorod	solid nanofibre
nanowire	electrically conducting or semi-conducting nanofibre
quantum dot	crystalline nanoparticle that exhibits size-dependent properties due to quantum confinement effects on the electronic states