Some general aspects of confinement in nanomaterials

Confinement effects in nanomaterials are discussed from a general point of view. It will be shown that many different phenomena related to confinement can be discussed within the general concept of the “mesoscopic condition”. Nanomaterials show new electronic effects related to confinement typically around L=10 nm. On the other hand, thermal effects are governed by temperature dependent confinement conditions leading to novel nano phenomena.