Structural resolution of inorganic nanotubes with complex stoichiometry.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 29789570.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-04360-z and PMC identifier 5964105.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Determination of the atomic structure of inorganic single-walled nanotubes with complex stoichiometry remains elusive due to the too many atomic coordinates to be fitted with respect to X-ray diffractograms inherently exhibiting rather broad features. Here we introduce a methodology to reduce the number of fitted variables and enable resolution of the atomic structure for inorganic nanotubes with complex stoichiometry. We apply it to recently synthesized methylated aluminosilicate and aluminogermanate imogolite nanotubes of nominal composition (OH)3Al2O3Si(Ge)CH3. Fitting of X-ray scattering diagrams, supported by Density Functional Theory simulations, reveals an unexpected rolling mode for these systems. The transferability of the approach opens up for improved understanding of structure-property relationships of inorganic nanotubes to the benefit of fundamental and applicative research in these systems.