An inorganic nanotube is a cylindrical molecule often composed of metal oxides, and morphologically similar to a carbon nanotube. The word cylinder has several meanings. ... In chemistry, a molecule is an aggregate of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by special forces. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith Look up Metal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An oxide is a chemical compound of oxygen with other chemical elements. ... 3D model of three types of single-walled carbon nanotubes. ...

Although Linus Pauling mentioned the possibility of curved layers in minerals as early as 1930¹, inorganic nanotubes did not appear until Reshef Tenne et al. reported the synthesis of nanotubes composed of tungsten disulfide in 1992². Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American theoretical chemist, molecular biologist, and biochemist, widely regarded as the premier chemist of the twentieth century. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tungsten, W, 74 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 6, 6, d Appearance grayish white, lustrous Atomic mass 183. ... The term sulfide (sulphide in British) refers to several types of chemical compounds containing sulfur in its lowest oxidation number of -2. ...

In the intervening years, nanotubes have been synthesised of many other inorganic materials, such as vanadium oxide and manganese oxide, and are being researched for such applications as redox catalysts and cathode materials for batteries. General Name, Symbol, Number vanadium, V, 23 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 5, 4, d Appearance gray-white metal Atomic mass 50. ... An oxide is a chemical compound of oxygen with other chemical elements. ... General Name, Symbol, Number manganese, Mn, 25 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 7, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Atomic mass 54. ... An oxide is a chemical compound of oxygen with other chemical elements. ... Redox reactions include all chemical processes in which atoms have their oxidation number (oxidation state) changed. ... A catalyst (Greek: καταλύτης, catalytēs) is a substance that accelerates the rate (speed) or ease of a chemical reaction (see also catalysis) without itself being changed at the end of the chemical reaction . ... Diagram of a copper cathode in a Daniells cell. ...

Inorganic nanotubes are heavier than carbon nanotubes and not as strong under tensile stress, but they are particularly strong under compression, leading to potential applications in impact resistant applications such as bullet proof vests. Tensile stress (or tension) is the stress state leading to expansion; that is, the length of a material tends to increase in the tensile direction. ...

More recently, inorganic nanotubes have been proposed constructed from main group elements, boron nitride (borazine) being a prime contender. Being as Borazine is isoelectronic with benzene, the substance could logically form sheets, fullerene analogs and nanotube analogs. Borazine is an inorganic compound composed of the elements boron, nitrogen and hydrogen. ... The Icosahedral Fullerene C540 The fullerenes are a recently-discovered family of carbon allotropes. ...

Links

• Chemical and Engineering News: Inorganic Nanotubes

See

• nanowire

A nanowire is a wire of dimensions of the order of a nanometer (10−9 meters). ...

References

[1] Pauling, L. PNAS 1930, 16, 578.

[2] Tenne, R.; Margulis, L.; Genut, M.; Hodes, G. Nature, 1992, 360, 444.