Growth of boron nitride nanotubes from magnesium-based catalysts

This study reports an efficient method for growing high-quality boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) via chemical vapor deposition of low-melting-point precursors-magnesium diboride (MgB2), magnesium nitride (Mg3N2), and diboron trioxide (B2O) at a growth temperature of 1000-1300 degrees C. The strong oxygen-capturing ability of Mg3N2 inhibits the formation of high-melting-point Mg3B2O6, which helps MgB2 to maintain an efficient and stable catalytic capacity, thereby enhancing its growth efficiency and utilization of the boron source. Moreover, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites formed from these BNNTs demonstrated much greater thermal conductivities than pure PDMS. Thus, this novel strategy for preparing BNNTs is efficient, and they have great potential for application as thermal interface materials.

Automated summary

This study presents an efficient method for growing high-quality boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) using low-melting-point precursors, namely magnesium diboride (MgB2), magnesium nitride (Mg3N2), and diboron trioxide (B2O), through chemical vapor deposition at temperatures of 1000-1300 degrees C. The addition of Mg3N2 prevents the formation of high-melting-point Mg3B2O6, allowing MgB2 to maintain its catalytic capacity and improve the growth efficiency of BNNTs. Furthermore, BNNTs-based PDMS composites exhibit enhanced thermal conductivity compared to pure PDMS, suggesting their potential in thermal interface materials applications.