Determination of helicities in unidirectional assemblies of graphitic or graphiticlike tubular structures

Here we propose a universal method for the determination of all helicities present in unidirectional assemblies of hexagon-based graphitic or graphiticlike tubular structures, e.g., multiwalled or bundled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or boron-nitride nanotubes and their structural analogs. A critical dimension characteristic of a fundamental structural property, i.e., the atomic bond length, is discerned from electron diffraction patterns by which all helicities present in the assemblies are identified. Using this method, we determine the helicity population in a single-walled CNT sample produced by laser ablation technique.