Collaborative Research and Development (CR&D). Delivery Order 0056: Novel Nanotube Synthesis

摘要

This research in support of the Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate was conducted at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA from 31 July 2006 through 1 February 2008. This task worked to develop synthesis routes for nanotubes that are not pure carbon, e.g., boron nitride, boron-carbon nitride. Carbon nanotubes can be synthesized with relative ease in laboratory and commercial settings via simple catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) techniques; therefore, widespread access has allowed for intense study and application. BN nanotubes have proven more difficult to synthesize reliably or on scales that permit complimentary investigation and, consequently, less is known about these materials. BNNTs have been synthesized in a similar manner to carbon nanotubes such as arc discharge, laser ablation, ball milling, substitution reaction from carbon nanotubes, and chemical vapor deposition, but standard CCVD methods which enable high quality and large scale synthesis of CNT have not been properly adopted for the BNNT synthesis. Herein, we developed catalytic methods and report the achievement on the growth of BN nanotubes via catalytic pyrolysis and CVD route.