Preparation of Chrysotile Nanotubes under Hydrothermal Condition

Abstract

In a neutral environment, Chrysotile nanotubes have been synthesized by hydrothermal method, with MgO and SiO2powder as the starting materials. X-Ray Diffraction(XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy(TEM) are used to characterize the crystal structure and morphology of the as-prepared samples. We found that the diameter of Chrysotile is uniform. Their outer diameter is about 30~50 nm and the inner diameter is about 6~8 nm. The length of them is a few hundred nanometers. The XRD analysis indicates that the as-prepared Chrysotile is a Rhombohedral structures. The results of HRTEM and SAED showed that the {006} planes of serpentine roll up along the [600] direction to form the tubular structure. In addition, the curves of temperature and pressure with time showed that the water might participate in the reaction.