Fine structure of boron nitride nanotubes produced from carbon nanotubes by a substitution reaction

Research was conducted to examine the precise structure of multiwalled boron nitride (BN) nanotubes using electron energy loss spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The nanotubes were generated from carbon nanotubes via the novel substitution chemical reaction. Results demonstrate that in contrast to the starting carbon nanotubes, which displayed a large number of shells, wide distribution of helicities and poor degree of graphitization, the resultant BN exhibited perfectly straight shapes, remarkable ordering of the graphene-like sheets and limited number of shells.