Boron nitride nanotubes as templates for half-metal nanowires

We investigate by means of a GGA + U implementation of density functional theory the electronic and structural properties of magnetic nanotubes composed of an iron oxide monolayer and (n,0) boron nitride (BN) nanotubes, with n ranging from 6 to 14. The formation energy per FeO molecule of FeO covered tubes is smaller than the formation energy of small FeO nanoparticles, which suggests that the FeO molecules may cover the BN nanotubes rather than aggregating locally. Both GGA (PBE) and Van der Waals functionals predict an optimal FeO-BN interlayer distance of 2.94 ?. Depending on the diameter of the tube, novel electronic properties for the FeO covered BN nanotubes were found. They can be semiconductors, intrinsic half-metals or semi-half-metals that can become half-metals if charged with either electrons or holes. Such results are important in the spintronics context.     

BN管状团簇到单壁纳米管的几何结构和电子性质

利用密度泛函理论(DFT),对氮化硼(BN)管状团簇的几何结构、稳定性和电子性质进行了研究.选取合适的BN结构单元作为结构生长基元,采用逐层生长的方式计算得到有限长度、不同截面尺寸的稳定管状团簇.结构中B-N交替排列,结构组成中的四元环和六元环数目均符合一般表达式.计算结果表明,通过适当组装管状团簇以及碳原子掺杂,可以制备出带隙可调的单壁氮化硼纳米管.     

铬银氧共掺n型，p型特性氮化硼纳米管第一性原理研究

基于第一性原理的平面波超软赝势法对(6, 0)单壁氮化硼纳米管、Cr掺杂、Ag掺杂、以及Cr-O共掺纳米管进行电子结构和光学性质的计算。结果表明：Cr掺杂和Cr-O共掺体系相比于本征体系的带隙值均减小,掺杂体系的导带底穿过费米能级从而实现了氮化硼纳米管的n型掺杂。Ag掺杂实现了纳米管的p型掺杂。本征氮化硼纳米管、Ag掺杂、Cr掺杂、以及Cr-O共掺纳米管的静态介电常数分别为1.17、1.61、1.32和1.48,相对于本征体系静介电性能有所提高。     

Formation and structure of boron nitride conical nanotubes

Nanotubes exhibiting a novel structure - boron nitride (BN) conical nanotubes whose walls consist of conical layers with their cone axis parallel to the tube axis, as opposed to ordinary nanotubes, composed of concentric cylindrical layers with their normal perpendicular to the tube axis - were synthesized simultaneously with BN nanotubes by using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as templates. The diameters of the BN conical nanotubes are typically about 15 nm, which is similar to those of the starting CNTs. Apex angles and inner diameters of most BN conical nanotubes are about 40° and 1 nm, respectively. The lengths of the BN conical nanotubes range from 50 nm to up to several micrometers.     

毛刺状竹节结构氮化硼纳米管的合成与生长机理

以非晶硼和氧化镍纳米颗粒为原料,在氨气中1100 oC下合成了毛刺状竹节结构的氮化硼纳米管. 利用X射线衍射和透射电镜研究了氮化硼纳米管的结构和形貌. 竹节结构纳米管表面的毛刺是六方氮化硼的纳米薄片. 提出了一种基于固态硼和气态二氧化硼扩散的毛刺形貌生长机理.     

Electronic,structural, and thermal properties of a nanocable consisting of carbon and BN nanotubes

The band structure and thermal behavior of a coaxial C/BN nanocable (5,5)C@(17,0)BN consisting of a carbon nanotube and a boron nitride nanotube have been studied using a tight-binding approximation based on density functional theory. The system is stable up to T～3500–3700 K. As the temperature increases, deformations of the BN tube begin earlier than those of the carbon tube. The near-Fermi states of the nanocable are formed by the overlapping π-π* bands of the carbon tube, and the outer BN nanotube (the nanocable sheath) is an insulator with a bandgap of ～4 eV. The electronic properties of the nanocable (the metallic-type conductivity of the C tube and the insulating character of the BN tube) are retained over the entire temperature interval.     

Effect of doping on electronic properties of double-walled carbon and boron nitride hetero-nanotubes

The effect of boron nitride (BN) doping on electronic properties of armchair double-walled carbon and hetero-nanotubes is studied using ab initio molecular dynamics method. The armchair double-walled hetero-nanotubes are predicted to be semiconductor and their electronic structures depend strongly on the electronic properties of the single-walled carbon nanotube. It is found that electronic structures of BN-doped double-walled hetero-nanotubes are intermediate between those of double-walled boron nitride nanotubes and double-walled carbon and boron nitride hetero-nanotubes. Increasing the amount of doping leads to a stronger intertube interaction and also increases the energy gap.     

First-principles study of nanotubes within the tetragonal,hexagonal and dodecagonal cycle structures

A systematic study has been done on the structural and electronic properties of carbon, boron nitride and aluminum nitride nanotubes with structure consisting of periodically distributed tetragonal (T ≡A₂X₂), hexagonal (H ≡A₃X₃) and dodecagonal (D ≡A₆X₆) (AX=C₂, BN, AlN) cycles. The method has been performed using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). The optimized lattice parameters, density of state (DOS) curves and band structure of THD-NTs are obtained for (3, 0) and (0, 2) types. Our calculation results indicate that carbon nanotubes of these types (THD-CNTs) behave as a metallic, but the boron nitride nanotubes (THD-BNNTs) (with a band gap of around 4 eV) as well as aluminum nitride nanotubes (THD-AlNNTs) (with a band gap of around 2.6 eV) behave as an semiconductor. The inequality in number of atoms in different directions is affected on structures and diameters of nanotubes and their walls curvature.     

First-principles study of single-walled armchair Cx(BN)y nanotubes

The structural and electronic properties of the armchair C_x(BN)_y nanotubes are studied using the density functional theory with a generalized gradient approximation. The results show that the properties of the C_x(BN)_y nanotubes are intermediate between those of carbon nanotubes and BN nanotubes, and also adjustable by their radius, ratio of carbon component, and configurations.     

Excitons and many-electron effects in the optical response of single-walled boron nitride nanotubes

We report first-principles calculations of the effects of quasiparticle self-energy and electron-hole interaction on the optical properties of single-walled boron nitride nanotubes. Excitonic effects are shown to be even more important in BN nanotubes than in carbon nanotubes. Electron-hole interactions give rise to complexes of bright (and dark) excitons, which qualitatively alter the optical response. Excitons with a binding energy larger than 2 eV are found in the BN nanotubes. Moreover, unlike the carbon nanotubes, theory predicts that these exciton states are comprised of coherent supposition of transitions from several different subband pairs, giving rise to novel behaviors.     

Geometric structure and electronic properties of planar and nanotubular BN structures of the Haeckelite type

Planar and nanotubular structures that are based on boron and nitrogen and consist of tetragons, hexagons, and octagons are considered. By analogy with carbon nanoobjects of the same topology, these structures are referred to as Haeckelites. The geometric, electronic, and energy properties are thoroughly investigated for two variants of the regular mutual arrangement of the polygons. It is established that planar and nanotubular BN structures of the Haeckelite type are dielectrics with a band gap E _g ∼ 3.2–4.2 eV, which is less than the band gap E _g for BN nanotubes consisting only of hexagons. The cohesive energy of the BN nanotubes under investigation exceeds the cohesive energy of BN hexagonal nanotubes by 0.3 eV/atom.     

Theoretical study on transport properties of a BN co-doped SiC nanotube

We investigate the electronic transport properties of silicon carbide nanotubes (SiCNT) in presence of both boron (B) and nitrogen (N) impurities. The results show that co-doping BN impurities suppresses the important negative differential resistance (NDR) property. NDR suppression is attributed to the introduction of new electronic states near the Fermi level followed by weak orbital localization. BN co-doping results in exponential current-voltage (I-V) characteristics which is in contrast to linear I-V characteristics for individual boron and nitrogen doped SiCNTs. HOMO has no contribution from B impurity, whereas, LUMO has contribution from N impurity at low and high bias.     

Multiple-walled BN nanotubes obtained with a mechanical alloying technique

An experimental method to obtain multiple-walled nanotubes of BN using low energy is presented. The method is based on the use of mechanical alloying techniques with elemental boron powders and nitrogen gas mixed in an autoclave at room temperature. The chemical and structural characteristics of the multiple-walled nanotubes were obtained using different techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, EELS microanalysis, high-resolution electron microscopy images and theoretical simulations based on the multisliced approach of the electron diffraction theory. This investigation clearly illustrates the production of multiple-wall BN nanotubes at room temperature. These results open up a new kind of synthesis method with low expense and important perspectives for use in large-quantity production. PACS 61.16.Bg; 79.60.Jv; 61.46.1w; 61.50.Ah     

B and N-doped double walled carbon nanotube: a theoretical study

The structural and electronic properties of boron and nitrogen atom substitutional doping in (8,0)@(13,0) (semiconductor@semiconductor) and (6,0)@(13,0) (metallic@semiconductor) double walled carbon nanotubes, were obtained by using the first-principle calculations based on the density functional theory. In this framework, the electronic density plays a central role and it was obtained from a self-consistent field form. When boron or nitrogen substitutes a carbon atom the structure remains practically the same with negligible deformation observed around defects in all configurations considered. The electronic band structure results indicate that the boron doped systems behave as a p-type impurity, however, the nitrogen doped systems behave as an n-type impurity. In all the systems investigated here, we found that, in the cases of semiconductor@semiconductor tubes, they were the easiest to incorporate a B atom in the outer-wall and an N atom in the inner-wall of the nanotube.     

Excitons in boron nitride nanotubes: dimensionality effects

We show that the optical absorption spectra of boron nitride (BN) nanotubes are dominated by strongly bound excitons. Our first-principles calculations indicate that the binding energy for the first and dominant excitonic peak depends sensitively on the dimensionality of the system, varying from 0.7 eV in bulk hexagonal BN via 2.1 eV in the single sheet of BN to more than 3 eV in the hypothetical (2, 2) tube. The strongly localized nature of this exciton dictates the fast convergence of its binding energy with increasing tube diameter towards the sheet value. The absolute position of the first excitonic peak is almost independent of the tube radius and system dimensionality. This provides an explanation for the observed "optical gap" constancy for different tubes and bulk hexagonal BN.     

Electronic structure of BN nanotubes with intrinsic defects NB and BN and isoelectronic substitutional impurities PN, AsN, SbN, InB, GaB, and AlB

The effect of intrinsic defects and isoelectronic substitutional impurities on the electronic structure of boron-nitride (BN) nanotubes is investigated using a linearized augmented cylindrical wave method and the local density functional and muffin-tin approximations for the electron potential. In this method, the electronic spectrum of a system is governed by a free movement of electrons in the interatomic space between cylindrical barriers and by a scattering of electrons from the atomic centers. Nanotubes with extended defects of substitution N_B of a boron atom by a nitrogen atom and, vice versa, nitrogen by boron B_N with one defect per one, two, and three unit cells are considered. It is shown that the presence of such defects significantly affects the band structure of the BN nanotubes. A defect band π(B, N) is formed in the optical gap, which reduces the width of the gap. The presence of impurities also affects the valence band: the widths of s, sp, and p_π bands change and the gap between s and sp bands is partially filled. A partial substitution of the N by P atoms leads to a decrease in the energy gap, to a separation of the Ds(P) band from the high-energy region of the s(B, N) band, as well as to the formation of the impurity Dπ(P) and Dπ*(P) bands, which form the valence-band top and conduction-band bottom in the doped system. The influence of partial substitution of N atoms by the As atom on the electronic structure of BN nanotubes is qualitatively similar to the case of phosphorus, but the optical gap becomes smaller. The optical gap of the BN tubule is virtually closed due to the effect of one Sb atom impurity per translational unit cell, in contrast to the weak indium-induced perturbation of the band structure of the BN nanotube. Introduction of the one In, Ga or Al atom per three unit cells of the (5, 5) BN nanotube results in 0.6 eV increase of the optical gap. The above effects can be detected by optical and photoelectron spectroscopy methods, as well as by measuring electrical properties of the pure and doped BN nanotubes. They can be used to design electronic devices based on BN nanotubes.     

扶手椅型碳化硅纳米管电子结构和光学性质的研究

本文基于密度泛函理论研究了扶手椅型碳化硅纳米管(SiCNT)的电子结构、成键机制以及其光学性质。研究结果表明:当碳和硅的原子比为1∶1时,SiCNT的结构最为稳定,并且表现出诸多的优良性质。通过分析计算结果我们发现,SiCNT是间接带隙材料,并且管子的带隙随着直径的增加而增加。从SiCNT的轨道图谱中我们看到碳和硅原子之间属于sp2杂化,同时硅原子周围的电子密度明显要低于碳原子周围的电子密度。对能态密度的计算我们得知碳原子和硅原子分别主导价带和导带。与其它纳米管(BN)有所不同,SiCNT的光学性质更接近于各向同性材料。     

Vacancies in fully hydrogenated boron nitride layer: implications for functional nanodevices

Using density functional theory, a series of calculations of structural and electronic properties of hydrogen vacancies in a fully hydrogenated boron nitride (fH‐BN) layer were conducted. By dehydrogenating the fH‐BN structure, B‐terminated vacancies can be created which induce complete spin polarization around the Fermi level, irrespective of the vacancy size. On the contrary, the fH‐BN structure with N‐terminated vacancies can be a small‐gap semiconductor, a typical spin gapless semiconductor, or a metal depending on the vacancy size. Utilizing such vacancy‐induced band gap and magnetism changes, possible applications in spintronics are proposed, and a special fH‐BN based quantum dot device is designed. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

GGA-based analysis of the metformin adsorption on BN nanotubes

Density functional theory (DFT) studies are done to investigate structural and electronic properties of (5,5) chirality single walls boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) in the armchair model interacting with metformin (MF) on the surface and ends. Our calculations consider the exchange-correlation energies with the Hamprecht–Cohen–Tozer–Handy functional within the generalized gradient approximation (HCTH-GGA) and the double polarized DNP base function. The geometry optimization follows the minimum energy criterion for all six geometries we have considered. Results show that the MF is adsorbed through the groups NH₂–NH at one end of the nanotube. The system polarity is increased which indicates the possible dispersion and solubility. Moreover the interaction between these species induces an increase in the chemical reactivity of the order of 0.42 eV. Meanwhile the solvation in water keeps the semiconductor characteristics of both nanotube and MF. The work function of the BNNT-MF is drastically reduced respect to the pristine system when the BN nanotube is doped at its surface and ends with carbon. This means that the functionalized BN nanotube facilitates conditions to improve field emission.     

Dimensionally,morphologically, and thermally induced phase transformations in boron-nitrogen nanowires

Structural, thermal, electronic, and energetic properties of cubic boron nitride (BN) nanowires are studied using the density-functional tight-binding method. The effect of the total or partial rearrangement of the cubic structure of nanowires into the hexagonal one depending on the size, morphology, and thermal treatment of the starting wire has been revealed. As distinct from the known homogeneous carbon diamond-like nanowires, stable BN nanowires are two-phase systems whose “shell” has a hexagonal structure and “core” has a cubic structure. The changes in the electronic properties of BN nanowires induced by their structural transformations are discussed. It is shown that boron-nitrogen nanowires can exhibit both semiconducting and metallic properties.