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Some people think that carbon and sustainable development are not compatible. This textbook shows that carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air and bio-carbon from biomass are our best allies in the energy transition, towards greater sustainability. We pose the problem of the decarbonation (or decarbonization) of our economy by looking at ways to reduce our dependence on fossil carbon (coal, petroleum, natural gas, bitumen, carbonaceous shales, lignite, peat). The urgent goal is to curb the exponential increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and hydrosphere (Figures 1.1 and 1.2) that is directly related to our consumption of fossil carbon for our energy and materials The goal of the Paris agreement (United Nations COP 21, Dec. 12, 2015) of limiting the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees (compared to the pre-industrial era, before 1800) is becoming increasingly unattainable (Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), report of Aug. 6, 2021). On Aug. 9, 2021 Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom, declared that coal needs to be consigned to history to limit global warming. CO₂ has an important social cost…

Over the last decade, scanning probe microscopy (SPM), including scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), has become a powerful manipulation technique by virtue of its ability to interact with individual adsorbed nanoparticles with nanoscale precision on the surface. In this article, the principles, procedures and applications of both STM and AFM-based technologies for manipulation of atoms, molecules, and nanoclusters are reviewed with an emphasis on their ability to create a wide variety of nanostructures. In the manipulation of single atoms and molecules, the interaction among the atoms/molecules, surface, and tip are specifically discussed first. The approach for positioning the atom/molecule from and to the desired locations and precisely controlling its movement is also elaborated for each specific manipulation technique. The applications of these techniques for fabricating different nanostructures and nanosystems are then presented. In the manipulation of nanoclusters, different nanocluster-substrate pairs in different environments with their potential applications in electronics, biology, and medicine are specifically evaluated. Finally, concluding remarks are provided, where the scopes for technological improvement and future research are recommended.