High Purity and Yield of Boron Nitride Nanotubes Using Amorphous Boron and a Nozzle-Type Reactor

Abstract

Enhancement of the production yield of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) with high purity was achieved using an amorphous boron-based precursor and a nozzle-type reactor. Use of a mixture of amorphous boron and Fe decreases the milling time for the preparation of the precursor for BNNTs synthesis, as well as the Fe impurity contained in the B/Fe interdiffused precursor nanoparticles by using a simple purification process. We also explored a nozzle-type reactor that increased the production yield of BNNTs compared to a conventional flow-through reactor. By using a nozzle-type reactor with amorphous boron-based precursor, the weight of the BNNTs sample after annealing was increased as much as 2.5-times with much less impurities compared to the case for the flow-through reactor with the crystalline boron-based precursor. Under the same experimental conditions, the yield and quantity of BNNTs were estimated as much as ~70% and ~1.15 g/batch for the former, while they are ~54% and 0.78 g/batch for the latter. OPEN ACCESSMaterials 2014, 7 5790

Purification of Boron Nitride Nanotubes Enhances Biological Application Properties

“…All these aspects of low purity BNNTs greatly hinder their potential usage in biological application. Currently, many careful BNNT purification methods have been developed [24][25][26][27][28][29] in order to produce highly purified BNNTs; however, side-by-side comparison studies between unpurified BNNTs and purified BNNTs (pBNNTs) in biological applications are rare. In order to examine the effectiveness of pBNNTs in biological applications, and to fill the research gap and determine the effect of BNNT purification on their biological properties, including cytotoxicity, water dispersibility, and drug encapsulation, we conducted systematic studies comparing BNNTs and pBNNTs.…”

Growth methodologies of boron nitride nanotubes and their neutron shielding applications: a review

“…The complex atomic structure of BNNTs necessitates precise control over the growth process, which is influenced by various factors, such as temperature, pressure, and choice of catalysts. Different growth methods, including laser ablation, [30][31][32][33][34][35][36] thermal plasma, [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] chemical vapor deposition (CVD), [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55] and ball milling, [56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67] have intricacies and yield BNNTs of different qualities. This review examines these growth techniques and highlights their mechanisms, advantages, and limitations.…”

Enhancement of Columbic Efficiency and Capacity of Li-Ion Batteries using a Boron Nitride Nanotubes-Dispersed-Electrolyte with High Ionic Conductivity

“…In this regard, we herein demonstrated, for the first time, the feasibility of BNNT as a multifunctional electrolyte additive to enhance the performance of the conventional LIBs (Scheme ). BNNT used for the current study displays an open-ended and need-like morphology with a relatively small aspect ratio of 200∼300. , The SEM image (Figure S1a, Supporting Information) displays the presence of cylindrical nanotube-like morphology with an average length of 5–10 μm. The TEM image of the BNNT (Figure S1b, Supporting Information) displays open-ended cylindrical hollow structures with an outer diameter of 30–50 nm and a length of 5–10 μm in average.…”

“…BNNT used for the current study displays an open-ended and need-like morphology with a relatively small aspect ratio of 200∼300. 28,29 The SEM image (Figure S1a, Supporting Information) displays the presence of cylindrical nanotubelike morphology with an average length of 5−10 μm. The TEM image of the BNNT (Figure S1b, Supporting…”

“…The Lewis acid sites in the BNNT are assumed to interact with the oxygen of the cyclic carbonates, leading to the desolvation of Li + and hence providing free Li + responsible for enhanced Li-ion transport. Whereas, the defects sites in BNNT serve as binding sites for the anions, channelizing the transport of Li + during the charge/discharge process. , Moreover, due to the structural advantage of the BNNT, − , commonly investigated for ion transport in fluid media the open-end hollow cylindrical structure allows the exhohedral and endohedral transport of Li + through electrostatic interactions. − Hence, due to the multiple structural benefits, BNNT qualifies as an excellent electrolyte additive for LIBs.…”