Gallium nitride nanorods were prepared through a carbon nanotube–confined reaction. Ga 2 O vapor was reacted with NH 3 gas in the presence of carbon nanotubes to form wurtzite gallium nitride nanorods. The nanorods have a diameter of 4 to 50 nanometers and a length of up to 25 micrometers. It is proposed that the carbon nanotube acts as a template to confine the reaction, which results in the gallium nitride nanorods having a diameter similar to that of the original nanotubes. The results suggest that it might be possible to synthesize other nitride nanorods through similar carbon nanotube–confined reactions.

We prepared mono- and few-layer hexagonal boron nitride sheets by a chemical-solution-derived method starting from single-crystalline hexagonal boron nitride. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron-energy-loss spectrometry, we characterized the microstructure, composition, and near-edge fine structure of the boron nitride sheets. We conclude that the fringe contrast in the edge and the moiré patterns are feasible criteria for determining the number of layers and their stacking orientation in the sheets. These criteria are also useful for other mono- and few-layer materials, such as graphene sheets.

A method involving carbon nanotubes substituted reaction was developed for the synthesis of mass quantities of boron nitride nanotubes. Boron oxide vapor was reacted with nitrogen gas in the presence of carbon nanotubes to form boron nitride nanotubes, whose diameters and lengths are similar to those of the starting carbon nanotubes. It is proposed that carbon atoms of carbon nanotubes can be fully substituted by boron and nitrogen atoms through a general chemical reaction. The results suggest that the synthesis methodology developed here may also be extended to form nanotubes from other novel materials.

The review presents an overview of the recent advances in inorganic solid lithium ion conductors, which are of great interest as solid electrolytes in all-solid-state lithium batteries. It is focused on two major categories: crystalline electrolytes and glass-based electrolytes. Important systems such as thio-LISICON Li 10 SnP 2 S 12 , garnet Li 7 La 3 Zr 2 O 12 , perovskite Li 3x La (2/3) x TiO 3 , NASICON Li 1.3 Al 0.3 Ti 1.7 (PO 4 ) 3 , and glass-ceramic xLi 2 S·(1 − x )P − 2 S 5 and their progress are described in great detail. Meanwhile, the review discusses different ongoing strategies on enhancing conductivity, optimizing electrolyte/electrode interface, and improving cell performance.