BCN nanotubes are tubular structures with a sub-micrometer diameter and a length much longer than diameter. They are composed of comparable amounts of boron, carbon and nitrogen atoms.
First made in 1994, synthesis methods have included: arc-discharge, laser ablation, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), template route, and pyrolysis techniques. Single-walled BâÂÂCâÂÂN nanotubes have been made with a hot-filament method.
Vertically aligned arrays of ~BC<sub>2</sub>N nanotubes can be produced by solvothermal synthesis in a stainless steel autoclave from a mixture of sodium azide (NaN<sub>3</sub>), ammonium fluoroborate (NH<sub>4</sub>BF<sub>4</sub>) and methyl cyanide (CH<sub>3</sub>CN). The mixture, together with the solvent and other additives is heated to 400 ðC for ~14 h. The final composition was approx B<sub>19</sub>C<sub>55</sub>N<sub>26</sub>.
The vertically aligned BCN nanotubes (made as above) exhibit a high and stable specific capacitance (>500 F/g), which exceeds that of alternative carbon nanomaterials, and therefore have potential applications in supercapacitors.
Another method produced nanotubes of composition : B<sub>45%</sub>,C<sub>31%</sub>,N<sub>24%</sub> The method was grow them on stainless steel by reacting boron, zinc oxide (ZnO), and ethanol in nitrogen and hydrogen at 1150 ðC. The resulting nanotubes had an average diameter of about 90 nm.