Remote catalyzation for growth of boron nitride nanotubes by low pressure chemical vapor deposition

Direct deposition of high purity and quality boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) on Si substrate were obtained using low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). We find Fe-Mg-O species may act as catalysts for growing BNNTs. This synthesis process conforms to vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism. As-grown BNNTs also show a large optical energy band gap of 6.12 eV, approaching to hexagonal phase BN single crystals. Meanwhile, as-grown BNNTs exhibit an intense UV-emission band located at 345 nm and a weak deep band at 237 nm. Their optoelectronic properties make them have promising for future nanoscale deep-UV light emitting devices. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.