As scientific research is flush with activity in the area of carbon nanotubes and fullerenes, it has inspired many researchers around the world to utilize the knowledge gained from these novel nanomaterials to seek more innovative inorganic nanostructures comprised of materials other than carbon. Even much before now, while searching on internet, one could easily find very interesting research articles in the area of inorganic nanotubes comprised of metal sulfides. One of the names that frequently appears is Professor Reshef Tenne. However, with his new book on inorganic nanomaterials from nanotubes to fullerene-like nanoparticles, one does not have to search too far for the pioneering research in the area of noncarbon nanostructures. This books compiles all of his published research into one place allowing readers to gain insights into the history of hollow nanostructures and how the evolution of metal di- or mono-chalcogenides took place. These materials are of significant interest for applications in the area of nanoelectronics, spintronics, bioassemblies, lubrication and energy. The book is divided into four parts: (1) discovery stage, (2) synthesis, (3) characterization and (4) applications. Each of these sections start with an interesting introduction having a core relevance to chalcogenide nanotubes and fullerene-like structures. These introductions (or ‘preambles’) are meticulously written to explain to readers about basic fundamentals of chalcogenides and how discoveries happened in the author’s laboratory. The first section of the book concisely brings together some high-impact research articles in the area of disulfide nanotubes and fullerene-like structures. The fabrication approach relies on thermal process or could be understood as chemical vapor deposition approach. The current 2D layered structure of MoS2 structures are produced by following similar strategy and is leading scientists into a new era beyond graphene architectures. The fundamental understanding of this process has been developed in the work published in Science (Tenne and coworkers, 1995, 267, 222) that is outlined in the first section. The studies on doping and intercalation of inorganic nanotubes and fullerene-like structures have been thoroughly investigated. These are very critical initial advancements in the field of chalcogenide nanostructures. The second section on synthesis focuses on reactor design, bulk yields, reaction mechanisms and growth mechanisms of these inorganic nanostructures. Furthermore, theoretical modeling and atomistic calculations have been outlined for evaluating the stability of metal chalcogenide nanotubes. The knowledge gained from growth processes and mechanisms is applied to develop novel nested fullerene-like structure of NbS2, SnS2/SnS, core/shell PbI2/WS2 and Cs2O closed-cage structures. The third section of the book focuses on the characterization and property analysis of metal disulfides. The emphasis is on MoS2 nanotubes and nanoparticles and their optical properties and band gap analysis, scanning tunneling microscopy studies, Raman characteristics, transport and magnetic properties, nanomechanical behavior, electron tomography characterization of fullerene-like structures and high-resolution electron microscopic evaluation. Currently, chalcogenides and their nanostructures are penetrating a broad range of applications, but the initial work in this area strongly sets the basis of these applications and is very well compiled in the fourth section of the book. This section starts from a report on the application of fullerene-like WS2 nanoparticles as a lubricant additive and ends with the latest work by Tenne and coworkers in the area of doped MoS2-based lubricants. The section also goes into details of developing scanning probe microscopy tips using WS2 nanotubes, nanocomposites with superior tribological properties and inorganic disulfide nanoparticles in orthodontic wires and medical applications.
This book is a unique collection of professor Tenne’s outstanding work in the area of metal chalcogenides. The thorough research done in this area by the author is forming the basis of many emerging technologies using these novel nanostructures. The applications of 2D layered MoS2 in the area of energy, nanoelectronics and optoelectronics are already under the radar of scientists and engineers. The major recent advancements include field effect transistors, spintronics, photocatalysis and energy storage.
This book is perfect for graduate students and aspiring scientists/academicians because it works in two ways: (1) demonstrates how discovery is linked with applications and (2) shows a guiding track that one can follow to develop as a scientist. As an instructor of undergraduate or graduate courses, one can pick up this book for developing a new course in inorganic nanostructures. An emerging professional could use this to develop a short course in the area of chalcogenides from growth to applications. Such a short course delivered at prime materials society meetings would be of extreme value to a broad range of audience, and this book can be recommended as a text. Personally, it was a refresher for me as well as an opportunity to learn more about the author’s thinking, research style and inspiring career path!
