Rare earth compound nanotubes

A series of rare earth compound nanotubes were successfully synthesized based on a facile hydrothermal method followed by subsequent dehydration, sulfuration, or fluoridation processes. Owing to their excellent hydrophilicity, these nanotubes, when used as effective confined templates, can be easily functionalized by introducing functional atoms/groups to their inner and outer surfaces through a very simple chemical modification method. This may provide more effective preparation pathways for one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures, and offer new opportunities in areas such as optoelectronic and nanoscale devices, low dimensional physics and material science, biological technology, and molecular catalysts.