title: Experimental observation of boron nitride chains.
abstract: We report the formation and characterization of boron nitride atomic chains. The chains were made from hexagonal boron nitride sheets using the electron beam inside a transmission electron microscope. We find that the stability and lifetime of the chains are significantly improved when they are supported by another boron nitride layer. With the help of first-principles calculations, we prove the heteroatomic structure of the chains and determine their mechanical and electronic properties. Our study completes the analogy between various boron nitride and carbon polymorphs, in accordance with earlier theoretical predictions.
authors.affiliation: Nanotube Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) , Central 5, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8565, Japan.
authors.forename: Ovidiu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cretu
authors.forename: Hannu-Pekka
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Komsa
authors.forename: Ossi
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lehtinen
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Algara-Siller
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Kazu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suenaga
authors.forename: Arkady V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Krasheninnikov
keywords: atomic chain; electronic structure calculations; hexagonal boron nitride; irradiation; transmission electron microscopy