4. Conclusion

Given the stakes involved in both fundamental research and potential applications, the use of nanomaterials is tending to develop in most branches of industry. While the different types of nanomaterials (nano-objects, nanostructured materials or composite nanomaterials) have characteristic structures and morphologies, they can also be stable or unstable, depending on the conditions, which is of prime importance for their use. So, for example, the conditions for obtaining a stable periodic assembly of nano-objects on a surface (to exalt catalytic properties, for example) require particular conditions in terms of size, morphology and distance between objects. Structure, morphology and stability can also be modified by the environment, via adsorption and surface reactivity in particular. This is of prime importance when studying the toxicity of nanomaterials.