Commentary: Nanoarchitectonics— Think about NANO again

Undoubtedly, nanotechnology has been a key concept in the scientific community since the late 20th century and has significantly promoted the current science and technology. However, if we want to further develop materials science, we need to think about NANO again, as nanoscale phenomena appear to be more complex than we have expected. Based on the rapid progress of observation tools, such as various probe microscopes, we can now observe, analyze, and even manipulate objects at the nanoscale level. We can fabricate microscopic objects under conditions similar to the macroscopic regime, because in the micrometer-scale, objects are basically free from uncertainties such as thermal and statistical fluctuations or quantum effects. The control and assembly of nanoscale objects are, however, not fully mastered yet, and their behaviors are still not well understood. 1 The control over these components at the nanometer scale requires the combination of physical and chemical interactions. The ways to handle nano-materials should be different from those known for microtechnology. We must discard our initial expectations to establish nano-scale technology by a simple extension of microtechnology.