Fig. 3

Nanoquartz synthesized from TX microemulsions. Representative TEM data of the nanoquartz synthesized from TX (Triton X-114) microemulsions after 2 days using 5 μl g⁻¹ of a 4 wt.% aqueous SMS (sodium metasilicate) solution (a, b) and 5 μl g⁻¹ of a 6 wt.% aqueous SMS solution (c, d). a Bright field image of 1–5 nm particles. b HREM image of a 3 nm particle. The inset shows the FFT, which indexes on the 〈212〉 zone axis of α-quartz. c Bright field image of 1–5 nm particles. d HREM image of a 5 nm particle. The inset shows the FFT, which indexes on the 〈212〉 zone axis of α-quartz. The scale bars are 20 nm in a and c; 2 nm in b, 5 nm in d and 2 nm⁻¹ in the insets to b and d