Comparison of Diatoms, Exfoliated Graphite, Single-Wall Nanotubes, Multiwall Nanotubes, and Silica for the Synthesis of the Nanomagnet Mn₁₂

We have completed a preliminary series of experiments that compare the silicate shells of the marine organism diatoms to Single-Wall NanoTubes (SWNT), Multi-Wall NanoTubes (MWNT), Exfo- liated Graphite (EG), and silica as templates for producing nanostructures of the manganese acetate cluster Mn₁₂ (Mn₁₂ [CH₃ (COO)₁₆ (H₂ O)₄ O₁₂ ] ˙ 2CH₃ COOH ˙ 4H₂ O). Mn₁₂ exhibits magnetic properties because of the molecular arrangement within the cluster and exhibits no exchange couplings between the individual clusters. Data from scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and laser diffraction are discussed in terms of research that can expand the use of diatoms and other materials as templates for nanostructures.