Gold nanoparticles improve technology to detect hazardous chemicals

The new system can pick out a single target molecule from 10 000 trillion water molecules within milliseconds, by trapping it on a self-assembling single layer of gold nanoparticles.
The team of LCN scientists from the Department of Chemistry at Imperial say this technology opens the way to develop devices that are compact, reusable and easy to assemble, and could have a range of uses including detecting illegal drugs, explosives, pollutants in rivers or nerve gases released into the air. Results of the research are published this week in Nature Materials (“Self-assembled nanoparticle arrays for multiphase trace analyte detection”).

In one potential use, such a device could detect tiny traces of explosives or other illegal substances left behind by criminals on the surfaces they touch. The advances made by this team would help law enforcers to identify and deal with such activities involving illegal substances.
Research co-author, Michael Cecchini, said: “Our system could solve a key problem of reliable and portable chemical testing for use in the outside world. It is very sensitive and could well be used to look for very small amounts of a specific molecule even in busy, public areas.”

The target molecules are identified by an effect called Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) of light. This technique, which has been around since the late 1970’s, works because each molecule scatters light in a unique way. Previous research has shown that the signal can be amplified by catching molecules in a particular way on a layer of metal nanoparticles. However, these sheets are complex to manufacture.

The scientists overcame this problem by dealing with interfaces of two liquids that do not mix, such as water and oil, or water and air interface. By manipulating the electrical charge of the gold nanoparticles and the composition of the solution, they were able to create a situation where the particles line themselves up at the interface between the two non-mixable liquids, or between a liquid and the air.

“The trick to achieving this system’s sensitivity to the target molecules was in finding the conditions at which nanoparticles would settle at the interface at close distances to each other without fusing together”, commented another co-author Jack Paget.

If the nanoparticles are disturbed, they spontaneously arrange themselves back in the correct way make the device more robust than those made rigidly arranged particles. Research co-author, Vladimir Turek, said: “The system shows real promise for detectors for use in rough outdoor environmental and defence applications, since the liquids and nanoparticles can be easily replaced to regenerate the device.”

Source: By Joshua B. Edel, London Centre for Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology simplifies hydrogen production for clean energy

In the first-ever experiment of its kind, researchers have demonstrated that clean energy hydrogen can be produced from water splitting by using very small metal particles that are exposed to sunlight. In the article, “Outstanding activity of sub-nm Au clusters for photocatalytic hydrogen production”, published in the journal Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Alexander Orlov, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at Stony Brook University, and his colleagues from Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory, found that the use of gold particles smaller than one nanometer resulted in greater hydrogen production than other co-catalysts tested.

Experimental and theory predicted optical properties of supported sub-nanometer particles.

“This is the first ever demonstration of the remarkable potential of very small metal nanoparticles [containing fewer than a dozen atoms] for making fuel from water,” said Professor Orlov.

Using nanotechnology, Professor Orlov’s group found that when the size of metal particles are reduced to dimensions below one nanometer, there is a tremendous increase in the ability of these particles to facilitate hydrogen production from water using solar light. They observed a “greater than 35 times increase” in hydrogen evolution as compared to ordinary materials.

Experimental and theory predicted optical properties of supported sub-nanometer particles. In order to explain these fascinating results, Professor Orlov collaborated with Brookhaven National Lab computational scientist Dr. Yan Li, who found some interesting anomalies in electronic properties of these small particles. Professor Orlov noted that there is still a tremendous amount of work that needs be done to understand this phenomenon.

“It is conceivable that we are only at the beginning of an extraordinary journey to utilize such small particles [of less than a dozen atoms in size] for clean energy production,” he said.

“In order to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels it is vital to explore various sustainable energy options,” Professor Orlov said. “One possible strategy is to develop a hydrogen-based energy economy, which can potentially offer numerous environmental and energy efficiency benefits. Hydrogen can conceivably be a promising energy source in the future as it is a very clean fuel, which produces water as a final combustion product. The current challenge is to find new materials, which can help to produce hydrogen from sustainable sources, such as water.”

Source: Stony Brook University

Overview of nanomaterials for cleaning up the environment

Researchers have presented an extensive analysis of the role of nanomaterialsin environmental remediation and monitoring. Nanomaterials can be used to clean up toxins and bacteria from natural waters, wastewaters and the air (see paper in Energy & Environmental Science: “A review on nanomaterials for environmental remediation”).

Nanomaterials’ unique properties allow them to remove pollutants from the environment. The extremely small size of nanomaterial particles, typically in the range between 1 and 100 nanometres, creates a large surface area in relation to their volume, which makes them highly reactive, compared to non-nano forms of the same materials.

Silver, iron, gold, titanium oxides and iron oxides are some of the commonly used nanoscale metals and metal oxides cited by the researchers that can be used in environmental remediation. Silver nanoparticles, for example, have proved to be effective antimicrobial agents and can treat wastewater containing bacteria, viruses and fungi. Nanoscale titanium dioxide can also kill bacteria and disinfect water when activated by light.

Gold nanoparticles may potentially be another useful material for removing contaminants, such as toxic chlorinated organic compounds, pesticides and inorganic mercury, from water. They can also be used to remediate air. In combination with titanium dioxide, goldnanoparticles have been shown to convert the toxic air pollutant, sulphur dioxide, to sulphur. Titanium dioxide nanomaterials are commonly used in some processes to disinfect water, in addition to breaking down halogenated compounds, and removing dyes and metal toxins from drinking water and wastewater.

The researchers point to studies that show that carbon nanomaterials are particularly suited to removing a broad range of pollutants. Carbon nanotube clusters, for example, are used to purify water by adsorbing bacteria that contaminate the water. Heavy metals, such as cadmium, as well as organic pollutants including benzene and 1,2-dichlorobenzene can also be removed from water by carbon nanotube materials.

The researchers suggest that nanoparticles can be attached to host polymer materials, such as porous resins, cellulose and silica, to reduce potential harm to human health and the environment derived from the release of nanoparticles into the environment. The nanoparticles fixed to the host material are thus bulkier and can be more easily removed and captured from wastewater. Nanoparticles, such as nanoscale zinc oxide, fixed in this way, are used, for example, to break down organochlorine pesticides, halogenated herbicides and azo dyes.

In addition to remediating pollution, nanoparticles can be used as sensors to monitor toxins, heavy metals and organic contaminants in land, air and water environments and have been found to be more sensitive and selective than conventional sensors. Sensor strips composed of nylon 6 nano-fibre nets are one example. These are used to detect formaldehyde, a toxic air pollutant widely used in the manufacture of household materials and building products. The yellow sensor strips turn red upon exposure to formaldehyde.

The researchers acknowledge that ongoing work is needed to further improve the shape, sizes, structures, functionality and manufacture of nanomaterials that show promise in cleaning up contaminants that enter water, land and air environments from industries, transport and other human activities. A better understanding of the behaviour of nanomaterials and their potential harm to the environment is also required.

First all-carbon solar cell

Stanford University scientists have built the first solar cell made entirely of carbon, a promising alternative to the expensive materials used in photovoltaic devices today.

The results are published in the Oct. 31 online edition of the journal ACS Nano (” Evaluation of Solution-Processable Carbon-Based Electrodes for All-Carbon Solar Cells”).

“Carbon has the potential to deliver high performance at a low cost,” said study senior author Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a working solar cell that has all of the components made of carbon. This study builds on previous work done in our lab.” Unlike rigid silicon solar panels that adorn many rooftops, Stanford’s thin film prototype is made of carbon materials that can be coated from solution. “Perhaps in the future we can look at alternative markets where flexible carbon solar cells are coated on the surface of buildings, on windows or on cars to generate electricity,” Bao said. The coating technique also has the potential to reduce manufacturing costs, said Stanford graduate student Michael Vosgueritchian, co-lead author of the study with postdoctoral researcher Marc Ramuz. “Processing silicon-based solar cells requires a lot of steps,” Vosgueritchian explained. “But our entire device can be built using simple coating methods that don’t require expensive tools and machines.” Carbon nanomaterials The Bao group’s experimental solar cell consists of a photoactive layer, which absorbs sunlight, sandwiched between two electrodes. In a typical thin film solar cell, the electrodes are made of conductive metals and indium tin oxide (ITO). “Materials like indium are scarce and becoming more expensive as the demand for solar cells, touchscreen panels and other electronic devices grows,” Bao said. “Carbon, on the other hand, is low cost and Earth-abundant.” For the study, Bao and her colleagues replaced the silver and ITO used in conventional electrodes with graphene – sheets of carbon that are one atom thick –and single-walled carbon nanotubes that are 10,000 times narrower than a human hair. “Carbon nanotubes have extraordinary electrical conductivity and light-absorption properties,” Bao said. For the active layer, the scientists used material made of carbon nanotubes and “buckyballs” – soccer ball-shaped carbon molecules just one nanometer in diameter. The research team recently filed a patent for the entire device. “Every component in our solar cell, from top to bottom, is made of carbon materials,” Vosgueritchian said. “Other groups have reported making all-carbon solar cells, but they were referring to just the active layer in the middle, not the electrodes.” One drawback of the all-carbon prototype is that it primarily absorbs near-infrared wavelengths of light, contributing to a laboratory efficiency of less than 1 percent – much lower than commercially available solar cells. “We clearly have a long way to go on efficiency,” Bao said. “But with better materials and better processing techniques, we expect that the efficiency will go up quite dramatically.”

Improving efficiency

The Stanford team is looking at a variety of ways to improve efficiency. “Roughness can short-circuit the device and make it hard to collect the current,” Bao said. “We have to figure out how to make each layer very smooth by stacking the nanomaterials really well.”

The researchers are also experimenting with carbon nanomaterials that can absorb more light in a broader range of wavelengths, including the visible spectrum.

“Materials made of carbon are very robust,” Bao said. “They remain stable in air temperatures of nearly 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit.”

The ability of carbon solar cells to out-perform conventional devices under extreme conditions could overcome the need for greater efficiency, according to Vosgueritchian. “We believe that all-carbon solar cells could be used in extreme environments, such as at high temperatures or at high physical stress,” he said. “But obviously we want the highest efficiency possible and are working on ways to improve our device.”

“Photovoltaics will definitely be a very important source of power that we will tap into in the future,” Bao said. “We have a lot of available sunlight. We’ve got to figure out some way to use this natural resource that is given to us.” Source: Nanowerk News

Graphene-based nanocomposite to adsorb water pollutants

(Nanowerk News) Researchers succeeded in the production of particles with smaller size but higher surface area, and consequently more number of active sites, to adsorb pollutants by synthesizing cerium oxide–titanium dioxide nanoparticles and obtaining cerium oxide–titanium dioxide nanocomposite (see paper in Journal of Hazardous Materials: “Assembly of CeO2–TiO2 nanoparticles prepared in room temperature ionic liquid on graphene nanosheets for photocatalytic degradation of pollutants”).

Among semi-conductive photocatalysts, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is an important candidate to be used in many industries due to its high optical stability and non-toxicity. However, it is impossible to use this component in visible light because its energy gap is placed in the range of ultraviolet.

In this research, researchers from Sharif University of Technology in association with researchers from University of Mohaghegh Ardebili and Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Research Center tried to move the energy gap of TiO2 towards longer wavelengths through the synthesis of carbon-based TiO2 / CeO2 nanocomposite. They also aimed to increase the photocatalytic activity of TiO2.

Results of the research showed that the synthesis of TiO2 in an ionic solution and the addition of cerium oxide to the structure of TiO2 decreased the particle size, increased the surface area, and slowed down the phase exchange from anatase to rutile at higher temperatures. As a result, it caused the creation of nanoparticles with higher thermal stability. High activity of the nanocomposite in the degradation of pollutants is explained by the unique structure of graphene, which increases adsorption on the catalyst surface and decreases the re-composition of ion carriers.

Titanate nanotubes and nanofibers for radioactive waste clean-up in water

Radioactive cesium and iodine ions are products of uranium fission and can be easily dissolved in water during an accident at a nuclear reactor like the one in Fukushima earlier this year. The fear is that these fission products could get into the groundwater and could make their way into the food chain.

Natural inorganic cation exchange materials, such as clays and zeolites, have been extensively studied and used in the removal of radioactive ions from water via ion exchange and are subsequently disposed of in a safe way. However, synthetic inorganic cation exchange materials – such as synthetic micas, g-zirconium phosphate, niobate molecular sieves, and titanate – have been found to be far superior to natural materials in terms of selectivity for the removal of radioactive cations from water. Radioactive cations are preferentially exchanged with sodium ions or protons in the synthetic material. More importantly, a structural collapse of the exchange materials occurs after the ion exchange proceeds to a certain extent, thereby forming a stable solid with the radioactive cations being permanently trapped inside. Hence, the immobilized radioactive cations can be disposed safely.

“Based on our earlier work, we have now demonstrated a potentially cost-effective method to remediate cesium and iodine ions from contaminated water by using the unique chemistry of titanate nanotubes and nanofibers to chemisorb these ions,” HuaiYong Zhu, a professor of chemistry at the Queensland University of Technology, tells Nanowerk.

The team, which reported their findings in the September 20, 2011 online edition of Angewandte Chemie International Edition (“Capture of Radioactive Cesium and Iodide Ions from Water by Using Titanate Nanofibers and Nanotubes”), also found that the new sorbents can not only take up these ions but efficiently trap them for safe disposal because of their unique structural and chemical features.

“The sorbents take up cesium ions via an exchange with sodium ions in the nanostructures; the rapid uptake of cesium ions eventually triggers a phase transition of the titanate and traps the cesium ions inside permanently for safe disposal,” explains Zhu. “This is because the fibers and tubes consist of negatively charged thin layers – as thin as two oxygen atoms – and phase transition of the layers with low rigidity can be readily induced.”

In order to capture and immobilize iodine ions from water, the researchers anchored silver oxide nanocrystals on the external surfaces of titanate nanotubes and nanofibers by chemical bonds owing to their crystallographic similarity. These composites can efficiently capture iodine ions forming silver iodine precipitate on the titanates.

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Basics of TiO2 sunscreen

Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation

Ultraviolet radiation can be divided into three regions: UVA (320–400 nm), UVB(290–320 nm) and UVC (200–290 nm). Although UVC is the most damaging UV radiation, it is filtered out by the ozone layer in the stratosphere before reaching the earth’s surface. The radiation in the UVB region (partially filtered by ozone) can penetrate both the stratum corneum and the epidermis of human skin. It has
sufficient energy to cause damage, such as sunburn, to human skin. This is particularly true for fair-skinned individuals. The UVA radiation, which is unfiltered by ozone, has deeper penetration of human skin to the dermis; it, thereby, stimulates the formation of melanin and produces a tan, which acts as the first line of defense for the protection from sunburn. UVA radiation, therefore, is also called the “tanning region.” Although having considerably lower energy than UVB, UVA photons can cause delayed damages to the skin.

The fundamental function of a sunscreen is to serve as a filter that can prevent the penetration of ultraviolet radiation. The substances most commonly used in commercial sunscreen preparations include p-aminobenzoic acids (PABA), cinnamates, oxybenzone, salicylates, and metal oxides, such as TiO2 and ZnO. In addition to their ability to scatter sunlight, inorganic particles, such as TiO2, do
absorb strongly in the UVA and UVB regions.

Rutile and Anatase TiO2

In addition to its amorphous state, two of the most common crystalline forms of TiO2 are rutile and anatase. The two crystalline forms share many similarities, such as their physical appearance, refractive index, density, low toxicity, and high stability in the presence of strong acids and bases. As a physical blocker for sunlight, bot
crystalline forms would serve the purpose well. Their photochemical properties, however, are very different. TiO2 is a semiconductor. When a semiconductor particle absorbs light, it promotes an electron from its valence band to its conduction band, leading to a charge separation. In rutile TiO2, the charge separation is quickly diminished through a charge recombination within the particle and the energy is released as heat. This translates to a low photoactivity and an effective conversion of UV light into heat. As a result, any photoinduced reactions that can pose damage to the skin are avoided. The low photoactivity and its desirable UV absorption spectrum, which cover the entire erythemal curve make rutile TiO2 an ideal choice as UV blocker for sunscreen preparations.

For amorphous and anatase TiO2, the lifetime of the charge separation is much longer than that on a rutile particle. The electron and electron hole, therefore, have greater opportunity to undergo redox reactions on the surface; therefore, anatase has been extensively used for applications involving such electron transfer processes as
photocatalysis for environmental waste treatment and photovoltaic design for solar energy storage. Extensive reviews on these interesting topics are available. Due to their photoactivity, amorphous and anatase TiO2 are not suitable for sunscreen applications.

Source

Nanoparticles Used in Common Household Items Cause DNA Damage- Study.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The TiO2 nanoparticles induced single- and double-strand DNA breaks and also caused chromosomal damage as well as inflammation, all of which increase the risk for cancer. The UCLA study is the first to show that the nanoparticles had such an effect, said Robert Schiestl, a professor of pathology, radiation oncology and environmental health sciences, a Jonsson Cancer Center scientist and the study’s senior author.

Once in the system, the TiO2 nanoparticles accumulate in different organs because the body has no way to eliminate them. And because they are so small, they can go everywhere in the body, even through cells, and may interfere with sub-cellular mechanisms.

The study appeared the week of November 16 2009 in the journal Cancer Research.

In the past, these TiO2 nanoparticles have been considered non-toxic in that they do not incite a chemical reaction. Instead, it is surface interactions that the nanoparticles have within their environment- in this case inside a mouse — that is causing the genetic damage, Schiestl said. They wander throughout the body causing oxidative stress, which can lead to cell death.

It is a novel mechanism of toxicity, a physicochemical reaction, these particles cause in comparison to regular chemical toxins, which are the usual subjects of toxicological research, Schiestl said.

“The novel principle is that titanium by itself is chemically inert. However, when the particles become progressively smaller, their surface, in turn, becomes progressively bigger and in the interaction of this surface with the environment oxidative stress is induced,” he said. “This is the first comprehensive study of titanium dioxide nanoparticle-induced genotoxicity, possibly caused by a secondary mechanism associated with inflammation and/or oxidative stress. Given the growing use of these nanoparticles, these findings raise concern about potential health hazards associated with exposure.”

The manufacture of TiO2 nanoparticles is a huge industry, Schiestl said, with production at about two million tons per year. In addition to paint, cosmetics, sunscreen and vitamins, the nanoparticles can be found in toothpaste, food colorants, nutritional supplements and hundreds of other personal care products.

“It could be that a certain portion of spontaneous cancers are due to this exposure,” Schiestl said. “And some people could be more sensitive to nanoparticles exposure than others. “I believe the toxicity of these nanoparticles has not been studied enough.”

Schiestl said the nanoparticles cannot go through skin, so he recommends using a lotion sunscreen. Spray-on sunscreens could potentially be inhaled and the nanoparticles can become lodged in the lungs.

The mice were exposed to the TiO2 nanoparticles in their drinking water and began showing genetic damage on the fifth day. The human equivalent is about 1.6 years of exposure to the nanoparticles in a manufacturing environment. However, Schiestl said, it’s not clear if regular, everyday exposure in humans increases exponentially as continued contact with the nanoparticles occurs over time.

“These data suggest that we should be concerned about a potential risk of cancer or genetic disorders especially for people occupationally exposed to high concentrations of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, and that it might be prudent to limit their ingestion through non-essential drug additives, food colors, etc.,” the study states.

Next, Schiestl and his team will study exposure to the nanoparticles in mice that are deficient in DNA repair, to perhaps help find a way to predict which people might be particularly sensitive to them.

Source

Silver nanopacticles to identify prostate cancer cells

A team of researchers at UC Santa Barbara has developed a breakthrough technology that can be used to discriminate cancerous prostate cells in bodily fluids from those that are healthy. The findings are published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (“Quantitative ratiometric discrimination between noncancerous and cancerous prostate cells based on neuropilin-1 overexpression”).

Cancerous and non-cancerous cells are incubated with silver nanoparticle biotags, and then analyzed by shining the red laser on them. The biotags are shown on the cells' surface. Those glowing red in the middle are the cancer biomarkers, and those glowing green are standard biomarkers that bind to many cell types. A high ratio of red to green is found on the cancer cells.

While the new technology is years away from use in a clinical setting, the researchers are nonetheless confident that it will be useful in developing a microdevice that will help in understanding when prostate cancer will metastasize, or spread to other parts of the body.

“There have been studies to find the relationship between the number of cancer cells in the blood, and the outcome of the disease,” said first author Alessia Pallaoro, postdoctoral fellow in UCSB’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “The higher the number of cancer cells there are in the patient’s blood, the worse the prognosis.

“The cancer cells that are found in the blood are thought to be the initiators of metastasis,” Pallaoro added. “It would be really important to be able to find them and recognize them within blood or other bodily fluids. This could be helpful for diagnosis and follow-ups during treatment.”

The team developed a novel technique to discriminate between cancerous and non-cancerous cells using a type of laser spectroscopy called surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and silver nanoparticles, which are biotags.

The team is working to translate the technology into a diagnostic microdevice for studying cancer cells in the blood. Cells would be mixed with nanoparticles and passed through a laser, then discriminated by the ratio of two signals.

The two types of biotags used in this research have a particular affinity that is dictated by the peptide they carry on their surface. One type attaches to a cell receptor called neuropilin-1, a recently described biomarker found on the surface membrane of certain cancer cells. The other biotag binds many cell types (both cancerous and non-cancerous) and serves as a standard measure as the cells are analyzed.
In this study, the team mixed the two biotags and added them to the healthy and tumor cell cultures. The average SERS signal over a given cell image yielded a ratio of the two signals consistent with the cells’ known identity.

Source

World Energy Outlook 2011

In the IEO2011 Reference case, which does not incorporate prospective legislation or policies that might affect energy markets, world marketed energy consumption grows by 53 percent from 2008 to 2035. Total world energy use rises from 505 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2008 to 619 quadrillion Btu in 2020 and 770 quadrillion Btu in 2035 (Figure 1). Much of the growth in energy consumption occurs in countries outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (non-OECD nations)2 where demand is driven by strong long-term economic growth. Energy use in non-OECD nations increases by 85 percent in the Reference case, as compared with an increase of 18 percent for the OECD economies

World Energy Consumption, 1990- 2035 (quadrillion Btu), source: eia.gov

Although the world continues to recover from the 2008-2009 global recession, the recovery is uneven. In advanced economies, recovery has been slow in comparison with recoveries from past recessions. Unemployment is still high among the advanced economies, and real estate markets and household income growth remain weak. Debt levels in a number of small economies of the European Union—Greece, Ireland, and Portugal—required European Union intervention to avert defaults. Concerns about fiscal sustainability and financial turbulence suggest that economic recovery in the OECD countries will not be accompanied by the higher growth rates associated with past recoveries. In contrast, growth remains high in many emerging economies, in part driven by strong capital inflows and high commodity prices; however, inflation pressures remain a particular concern, along with the need to rebalance external trade in key developing economies.

Beyond the pace and timing of the world’s economic recovery, other events have compounded the uncertainty associated with this year’s energy outlook. Oil prices rose in 2010 as a result of growing demand associated with signs of economic recovery and a lack of a sufficient supply response. Prices were driven even higher at the end of 2010 and into 2011 as social and political unrest unfolded in several Middle Eastern and African economies. Oil prices increased from about $82 per barrel3 at the end of November 2010 to more than $112 per barrel in day trading on April 8, 2011. The impacts of quickly rising prices and possible regional supply disruptions add substantial uncertainty to the near-term outlook. In 2011, the price of light sweet crude oil in the United States (in real 2009 dollars) is expected to average $100 per barrel, and with prices expected to continue increasing in the long term, the price reaches $108 per barrel in 2020 and $125 per barrel in 2035 in the IEO2011 Reference case.

The aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011—which resulted in extensive loss of life and infrastructure damage, including severe damage to several nuclear reactors at Fukushima Daiichi—provides another major source of uncertainty in IEO2011. The near-term outlook for Japan’s economy is lower than the already sluggish growth that was projected before the events, but the impact on the rest of Asia and on world economic health as a whole probably will be relatively small, given that Japan has not been a major factor in regional economic growth in recent years. However, the event may have more profound implications for the future of world nuclear power. The IEO2011 projections do not reflect the possible ramifications of Fukushima for the long-term global development of nuclear power or the policies that some countries have already adopted in its aftermath with respect to the continued operation of existing nuclear plants. more

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