Inorganic nanotube

An inorganic nanotube is a cylindrical molecule often composed of metal oxides, or group III-Nitrides and morphologically similar to a carbon nanotube. Inorganic nanotubes have been observed to occur naturally in some mineral deposits.

A few years after Linus Pauling mentioned the possibility of curved layers in minerals as early as 1930, some minerals such as white asbestos (or chrysotile) and imogolite were actually shown to have a tubular structure. However, the first synthetic inorganic nanotubes did not appear until Reshef Tenne et al. reported the synthesis of nanotubes composed of tungsten disulfide (WS₂) in 1992.

In the intervening years, nanotubes have been synthesised of many inorganic materials, such as vanadium oxide and manganese oxide, and are being researched for such applications as redox catalysts and cathode materials for batteries.

History and occurrence

Inorganic nanotubes are morphologically similar to carbon nanotubes and are observed in some mineral deposits of natural origin. Synthetic structures of this type were first reported by the group of Reshef Tenne in 1992.