Reshef Tenne, Weizmann Institute of Science
Inorganic Nanotubes: From WS₂ to "Misfit" Layered Compounds

For spearheading modern research on nano-2D materials through the discovery of nanotube- and fullerene-like inorganic layered compounds.

The Von Hippel Award, the Materials Research Society's highest honor, recognizes those qualities most prized by materials scientists and engineers—brilliance and originality of intellect, combined with vision that transcends the boundaries of conventional scientific disciplines. Read the news release on Tenne here »

Inorganic Nanotubes: From WS₂ to "Misfit" Layered Compounds

Update on the synthesis and characterization of new inorganic nanotubes from 2D compounds, like WS₂, and from misfit layered compounds (MLC) will be reported. The stability of nanotubes from 2D compounds will be discussed from theoretical and experimental perspectives.

A few recent experiments encompassing the optical, electrical, electrooptical and electromechanical effects of WS₂ (MoS₂) nanotubes will be discussed as well. Potential applications and concluding remarks will be given at the end of the presentation.

About Reshef Tenne

Reshef Tenne studied at the Hebrew University (1966–1976) and was a postdoc at the  Battelle Institute in Geneva (1976–1979). He joined the Weizmann Institute in 1979 and received tenure in 1985. He was promoted to a full professor in 1995. He published more than 380 original papers and about 80 invited chapters in books and review articles. Tenne served as the Head of the Department of Materials and Interfaces at  the Weizmann Institute (2000–2007), the Founder and Director of the Helen and Martin Kimmel Center for Nanoscale Science (2003–2014) and held the (inaugural) Drake Family Chair of Nanotechnolgy (2005–2014). He served in many scientific public organizations.

For the last 39 years Tenne's research has focused on the synthesis and properties of layered compounds (2D materials), like WS₂ (MoS₂). In 1992, he discovered that nanoparticles of 2D materials are unstable against folding and seaming, forming inorganic fullerene-like (IF) structures and inorganic nanotubes (INT) at elevated temperatures. He studied the synthesis of such nanoparticles and their properties in great detail and developed many applications based on IF/INT.

Tenne received many awards and recognitions. He was elected to the Israel Academy of Sciences in 2011, Academia Europaea in 2012, and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in 2021. Among others, he recently received the EMET Prize (2020) in Exact Sciences from the Prime Minister of Israel, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in the Chemistry of Materials (2023) and the Von Hippel Award of the Materials Research Society (MRS) (2023).