Abstract
Solar ablation creates the sharp radiative and temperature gradients, as well as the high-temperature annealing environment, that favor nanomaterial syntheses. Using highly concentrated sunlight, we generated fullerene-like MoS2, ranging from single-walled nanotubes and closed-cage structures to their larger multi-walled counterparts. TEM, HRTEM and EDS unambiguously established the nanostructures, some achieving fundamentally minimum sizes predicted by molecular structural theory. Irradiation of MoS2 and powdered mixtures of MoS2 + SiO2 in evacuated quartz ampoules also generated nanofibers and nanospheres of amorphous SiO2: the first production of SiO2 nanostructures purely from quartz. Also, solar ablation of MoS2 + SiO mixtures produced nanowires and nanospheres of crystalline Si.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 458-462 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Materials Chemistry |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 9 Jan 2008 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- Materials Chemistry