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Vol. 17 (2025)

An Efficient Boron Source Activation Strategy for the Low-Temperature Synthesis of Boron Nitride Nanotubes

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01521-2
Ying Wang
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, People’s Republic of China
Kai Zhang
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, People’s Republic of China
Liping Ding
School of Electronic Information and Artificial Intelligence, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xian 710000, People’s Republic of China
Liyun Wu
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, People’s Republic of China
Songfeng E
College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xian 710000, People’s Republic of China
Qian He
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, People’s Republic of China
Nanyang Wang
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, People’s Republic of China
Hui Zuo
Key Laboratory of Carbon Materials of Zhejiang Province, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325000, People’s Republic of China
Zhengyang Zhou
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, People’s Republic of China
Feng Ding
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518000, People’s Republic of China
Yue Hu
Key Laboratory of Carbon Materials of Zhejiang Province, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325000, People’s Republic of China
Jin Zhang
College of Chemical and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
Yagang Yao
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Yagang Yao

ygyao2018@nju.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 17 (2025), Article Number: 25

Abstract

Lowering the synthesis temperature of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) is crucial for their development. The primary reason for adopting a high temperature is to enable the effective activation of high-melting-point solid boron. In this study, we developed a novel approach for efficiently activating boron by introducing alkali metal compounds into the conventional MgO–B system. This approach can be adopted to form various low-melting-point AM–Mg–B–O growth systems. These growth systems have improved catalytic capability and reactivity even under low-temperature conditions, facilitating the synthesis of BNNTs at temperatures as low as 850 °C. In addition, molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory theoretically demonstrate that the systems maintain a liquid state at low temperatures and interact with N atoms to form BN chains. These findings offer novel insights into the design of boron activation and are expected to facilitate research on the low-temperature synthesis of BNNTs.


Highlights:
1 Developed more efficient boron activation strategies, while establishing various low-melting growth systems.
2 The preparation temperature of boron nitride nanotubes has been reduced to 850 °C.

Keywords

Boron nitride nanotubes Low–temperature Boron activation Density functional theory
Wang, Ying, Kai Zhang, Liping Ding, Liyun Wu, Songfeng E, Qian He, Nanyang Wang, Hui Zuo, Zhengyang Zhou, Feng Ding, Yue Hu, Jin Zhang, and Yagang Yao. 2024. “An Efficient Boron Source Activation Strategy for the Low-Temperature Synthesis of Boron Nitride Nanotubes”. Nano-Micro Letters 17 (September):25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01521-2.
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