Structure beyond Bragg: Study of V₂O₅ nanotubes

The structure of V₂O₅ nanotubes has been experimentally determined. The approach of the atomic pair distribution function technique was employed because of the limited structural coherence in this nanophase material. It has been found that even a nanocrystal with the complex morphology of vanadium pentoxide nanotubes possesses an atomic arrangement very well defined on the nanometer length scale and well described in terms of a unit cell and symmetry. Using refined structural parameters a real-size model for the nanotubes has been constructed and used to explain their peculiar morphology.