Materials Chemistry

Biography

Biography: Reshef Tenne

Abstract

This presentation is aimed at demonstrating the progress with the high-temperature synthesis and characterization of new inorganic nano-tubes (INT) and fullerene-like (IF) nano-particles (NP) from 2-D layered compounds. Two important categories of new IF/INT nanostructures will be discussed in particular: 1. Synthesis of Doped IF/INT of WS2 (MoS2) by rhenium and niobium; 2. Synthesis of IF and in particular INT from the ternary misfit compounds, like PbS-TaS2, GdS-CrS2 and many others. The synthesis of 1-D nanostructures (nano-tubes) from this vast group of layered materials is particularly promising. Major progress has been achieved in elucidating the structure of INT and IF using advanced microscopy techniques, like aberration corrected TEM and electron tomography. Recent optical, electrical and mechanical measurements with WS2 nano-tubes will be briefly discussed. Re-doped IF-MoS2 NP exhibit superior solid lubrication behavior in different environments and can find numerous applications in e.g. medical technology, which will be briefly demonstrated. Applications of the IF/INT as superior solid lubricants and for reinforcement of polymer, as well as other nano-composites, which gained a lot of momentum in recent times, will be briefly discussed. Few recent studies indicate that this brand of nano-particles is non-toxic and biocompatible. With expanding product lines, manufacturing and sales, this generation of superior lubricants is becoming gradually a commodity.