Epitaxial single-crystal ZnS/Si core-shell nanowires have been synthesized via a two-step thermal evaporation method. The epitaxial growth is due to the close match of crystal structure between zinc blende ZnS and diamond-like cubic Si. The nanowires have a uniform diameter of 80-200 nm and a length of several to several tens of micrometers. Single-crystal Si nanotubes can be obtained by chemical etching of the ZnS/Si core-shell structure. Characteristics of field-effect transistors (FETs) fabricated from the Si nanotubes suggests that the Si tubes show weak n-type semiconductivity with a mobility of about 3.7 x 10(-2) cm(2)/(Vs), which is 1 order larger than that of intrinsic Si. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.