Nitrides

Nitrides List

Non-carbon nanotubes are important members of the quasi-one-dimensional nanomaterial family. Among many kinds of non-carbon nanotubes, the non-carbon nanotubes prepared from nitrides have excellent physical and chemical properties and have attracted more and more attention. Due to the large specific surface, nitrides nanotubes exhibit high chemical activity and unique physical properties. In addition, new functional properties of nitride nanotubes can be obtained through physical or chemical modification, which can greatly broaden their applications.

Applications:

• Hydrogen storage field: Nitride nanotubes have low density, porous structure, excellent chemical and thermal stability. In addition, the electrical properties of nitride nanotubes are independent of tube diameter and helicity. Based on the above advantages, nitrides nanotubes are expected to be a stable and light hydrogen storage material.

Figure 1. An example of hydrogen storage material designed by nitride nanotubes.

• Composites field: Based on the high chemical stability, good insulation and refractory property of the nitride nanotubes, metal or non-metal chains can be filled into the nitride nanotubes to make composites. The nitride nanotube can be a protective cage or protective mold of the filler. In addition, silicon carbide and boron carbide have been successfully filled into nitride nanotubes. Moreover, composite materials based on nitride nanotubes will be widely used in high strength materials, electronic equipment ceramic materials, catalysts and the others.
• Electronic device field: The band gap of the nitride nanotubes is almost independent of the diameter, helicity and the number of wall layers. The inherent electrical properties of nitride nanotubes make them have a broad prospect in the field of electrical device. For example, nitride nanotubes have the potential of field emission performance, which can make the field emission process work under very low applied voltage. In addition, the modified nitride nanotubes will have more diverse properties and can also be used in the manufacture of single-electron transistors, magnetic refrigerator and the others.
• The others: Nitride nanotubes can also be used in a number of other fields, including diodes, biology, medicine and the others

Classification:

• Boron nitride nanotubes: Boron nitride nanotubes have superior physical and chemical properties, and one outstanding property is the strong stability. In particular, boron nitride does not react with various liquid substances in living organisms, so it can be used as a key material for nano-biological components and has a wide range of application prospects. Boron nitride nanotubes can be obtained by various methods, such as arc discharge, chemical vapor deposition, laser ablation, carbon thermal reduction, carbon nanotube template, high temperature decomposition, ball grinding, and hydrothermal synthesis.
• Aluminum nitride nanotubes: Aluminum nitride nanotube is an important electronic optical material, which has good thermal conductivity, high dielectric constant, wide band gap and the others. Aluminum nitride nanotubes are promising materials for fluorescence, display and lighting applications.
• The others: There are other kinds of nitride nanotube, such as GaN nanotube, CNx,(BN)xCy nanotube and the others. For GaN nanotubes, the synthesis of GaN nanotubes generally requires a template. In addition, compared with GaN powder, the GaN nanotube has a wider band gap.

References

1. Takeo Oku. Hydrogen Storage in Boron Nitride and Carbon Nanomaterials[J]. Energies, 2014.8 (1).
2. Rada S, Rada M, Culea E. Structural, energetic and electronic properties of intercalated boron–nitride nanotubes[J]. Bulletin of Materials science, 2013, 36(2):189-191.