Egg albumin as a nanoreactor for growing single-crystalline Fe_3O_4 nanotubes with high yields

摘要

Single-crystalline Fe_3O_4 nanotubes have been synthesized successfully by using egg albumin as a nanoreactor; these three-dimensional material nanotubes are formed through a rolling mechanism under mild biological conditions.rnIn recent years considerable attention has been focused on one-dimensional (1D) nanostructured materials owing to their unique physical properties and potential applications. In particular, tubular-structured materials have shown unique chemical and physical properties because of their having outer as well as inner surfaces and a nanometre thick "wall". Much effort has been devoted to the controllable synthesis of inorganic nanotubes since the discovery of carbon nanotubes in 1991. The synthesis of a number of tubular materials from two-dimensional layered precursors at elevated temperatures, based on a "rolling-tip" mechanism, has been reported, such as those made from BN, V_2O_5, WS_2, and NiCl_2- Nanotubes made from other materials, such as Si, ZnS, Eu_2O_3, and GaN, which do not possess 2D layered structures, have also been prepared by employing various hard templates.