Single-crystal tungsten nanobelts with thicknesses from tens to hundreds of nanometers, widths of several micrometers, and lengths of tens of micrometers were synthesized using chemical vapor deposition. Surface energy minimization was believed to have played a crucial role on the growth of the synthesized nanobelts enclosed by the low-energy {110} crystal planes of body-centered-cubic structure. The anisotropic growth of the crystallographically equivalent {110} crystal planes could be

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... able to the asymmetric concentration distribution of the tungsten atom vapor around the nanobelts during the growth process. The elastic moduli of the synthesized tungsten nanobelts with thicknesses ranging from 65 to 306 nm were accurately measured using a newly developed thermal vibration method. The measured modulus values of the tungsten nanobelts were thickness-dependent. After eliminated the effect of surface oxidization using a core-shell model, the elastic modulus of tungsten nanobelts became constant, which is close to that of the bulk tungsten of 410 GPa. 2