Visic et al. Nanoscale Research Letters 2011, 6:593 http://www.nanoscalereslett.com/content/6/1/593 Page 3 of 6 Figure 1 Microscopy. MoS2 nanotubes before exfoliation: (a) SEM image of short parts of millimeter-long nanotubes with diameters up to 500 nm; (b) TEM image of the pristine nanotube revealing spontaneous partial splitting of the nanotube’s wall into several blocks, up to 10 nm in thickness; (c) TEM micrograph of the MoS2 nanotube during the first stage of the exfoliation process; (d) TEM micrograph of the MoS2 single layers as a final stage of nanotube exfoliation; (e) AFM image (contact mode) of the surface corrugation on a thin MoS2 nanoflake with a (f) corresponding line profile.