Abstract
Graphite is a layered material that is very flexible, in which each layer is ableto curve in order to form cages, nanotubes, nanocoils, nanocones, etc. In thispaper, we demonstrate that various synthetic routes are capable of producinggraphite-like nanomaterials with fascinating electronic and mechanical properties.There are other layered systems, which could curl and bend, thus generating novelnanostructures with positive and negative Gaussian curvature. In this context,we will also demonstrate that hexagonal boron nitride, tungsten disulfide(WS2), molybdenumdisulfide (MoS2) andrhenium disulfide (ReS2) are also able to create nanocages, nanotubes and nano-arrangements exhibiting novelphysico-chemical properties that could revolutionize materials science in the 21st century.
Highlights
Layered materials, consisting of atoms arranged in a layer-by-layer fashion, are abundant in nature
Graphite is a clear example of such a material, in which sp2 hybridized carbon atoms are arranged in a hexagonal lattice and every carbon is bonded to three others (figures 1(a) and (b))
A year later, Iijima found that graphite is able to roll into cylinders, forming carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of different chiralities
Summary
Layered materials, consisting of atoms arranged in a layer-by-layer fashion, are abundant in nature. In 1985, Kroto and colleagues [1] found that carbon could form cage-like molecules in which every atom is connected to three neighbours (sp hybridization), as in graphite These carbon cages were named fullerenes in honor of Richard Buckminsterfuller, an American architect who developed geodesic domes. The authors demonstrated that these structures were energetically stable and possible to synthesize They used differential geometry and topology concepts to prove that other layered materials can acquire different types of curvature, producing materials with novel properties. They introduced the term ‘flexicrystallography’, which refers to curved atomic structures [9, 10, 14]. We will show experimental and theoretical results on these nanosystems
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