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.
Huang
Yang
Y
Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1, Tsukuba, 305-0005, Ibaraki, Japan. huang.yang@nims.go.jp
Bando
Yoshio
Y
Tang
Chengchun
C
Zhi
Chunyi
C
Terao
Takeshi
T
Dierre
Benjamin
B
Sekiguchi
Takashi
T
Golberg
Dmitri
D
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