Inorganic nanotubes

In this chapter we will review recent developments in simulating inorganic nanotubes and related nanostructures. Layered inorganic materials, such as MoS₂, TiS₂, BN and others, can be used to build up hollow nanostructures, e.g. nanotubes and inorganic fullerene-like structures. These systems reveal interesting structural properties. Elemental bismuth nanotubes and fullerene-like MoS₂ nanostructures use faceting in order to increase their relative stability. Some layered materials, e.g. MoS₂ and TiS₂, exhibit an intrinsic twist, which is a very small distortion lowering their total energy slightly. Inorganic nanotubes are as well studied with respect to inside crystal growth. The behaviour of the encapsulated filling material depends on the interaction with the hosting tube.