X-ray Nanocrystallography of Individual Carbon Nanotubes

By numerical simulations, we show that with the next-generation synchrotron sources one should be able to record within minutes an X-ray diffraction pattern of a single nanotube and from it decipher its detailed atomic structure. In calculated diffractograms we can even discern signatures of presence of a single adatom and locate its position. New synchrotrons will allow the existing method of electron nanocrystallography to be undertaken using X-ray beams, thus facilitating in situ environmental studies.