WS2 nanotubes present many new technologies under development, including reinforced biocompatible polymers, membranes, photovoltaic-based memories, ferroelectric devices, etc. These technologies depend on the aspect ratio (length/diameter) of the nanotubes, which was limited to 100 or so. A new synthetic technique is presented, resulting in WS2 nanotubes a few hundred micrometers long and diameters below 50 nm (aspect ratios of 2000-5000) in high yields. Preliminary investigation into the mechanistic aspects of the two-step synthesis reveals that W5O14 nanowhisker intermediates are formed in the first step of the reaction instead of the ubiquitous W18O49 nanowhiskers used in the previous syntheses. The electrical and photoluminescence properties of the long nanotubes were studied. WS2 nanotube-based paper-like material was prepared via a wet-laying process, which could not be realized with the 10 μm long WS2 nanotubes. Ultrafiltration of gold nanoparticles using the nanotube-paper membrane was demonstrated.

Central European Institute of Technology Brno University of Technology Purkynova 123 CZ 61200 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Chemical and Biological Physics Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot 7600001 Israel

Department of Chemical Research Support Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot 7600001 Israel

Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot 7610001 Israel

Faculty of Science Holon Institute of Technology Golomb Street 52 Holon 5810201 Israel

Institute of Physical Engineering Brno University of Technology Technická 2 616 69 Brno Czech Republic

Thermo Fisher Scientific Vlastimila Pecha 12 CZ 62700 Brno Czech Republic

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Understanding the Effect of Electron Irradiation on WS2 Nanotube Devices to Improve Prototyping Routines

Mechanism of WS2 Nanotube Formation Revealed by in Situ/ex Situ Imaging