Study of Boron nitride nanotubes by Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) (CAT#: STEM-ACT-0048-WXH)

Introduction

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are a polymorph of boron nitride. Structurally they are similar to carbon nanotubes, which are cylinders with sub-micrometer diameters and micrometer lengths, except that carbon atoms are alternately substituted by nitrogen and boron atoms. However, the properties of BN nanotubes are very different: whereas carbon nanotubes can be metallic or semiconducting depending on the rolling direction and radius, a BN nanotube is an electrical insulator with a bandgap of ~5.5 eV, basically independent of tube chirality and morphology.