Experimental evidence for nanostructural tube formation of silicon atoms

The presence of silicon nanotubes (SiNTs) composed of rolled-up quasi-two-dimensional honeycomb nets was first revealed by transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and electron diffraction analysis, among products synthesized using a simple laser ablation technique. They were coaxial multiwall high-purity SiNTs with cylindrical symmetry, smallest inner and outer diameters of 1 and 4 nm, respectively, lengths up to similar to 1 mu m, and an interwall distance of 0.36 nm.