Thin-walled boron nitride microtubes exhibiting intense band-edge UV emission at room temperature.
Boron nitride (BN) microtubes were synthesized in a vertical induction furnace using Li(2)CO(3) and B reactants. Their structures and morphologies were investigated using x-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The microtubes have diameters of 1-3 microm, lengths of up to hundreds of micrometers, and well-structured ultrathin walls only approximately 50 nm thick. A mechanism combining the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) and template self-sacrificing processes is proposed to explain the formation of these novel one-dimensional microstructures, in which the Li(2)O-B(2)O(3) eutectic reaction plays an important role. Cathodoluminescence studies show that even at room temperature the thin-walled BN microtubes can possess an intense band-edge emission at approximately 216.5 nm, which is distinct compared with other BN nanostructures. The study suggests that the thin-walled BN microtubes should be promising for constructing compact deep UV devices and find potential applications in microreactors and microfluidic and drug delivery systems.
Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1, Tsukuba, 305-0005, Ibaraki, Japan. huang.yang@nims.go.jp
Yang
Y
Huang
Yoshio
Y
Bando
Chengchun
C
Tang
Chunyi
C
Zhi
Takeshi
T
Terao
Benjamin
B
Dierre
Takashi
T
Sekiguchi
Dmitri
D
Golberg
D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D008029:Lighting / Q000379:methods*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
D001896:Boron Compounds; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; C017282:boron nitride