Golberg D, Bando Y, Kurashima K, Sato T
National Institute for Materials Science, Namiki 1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2001 Mar;1(1):49-54. doi: 10.1166/jnn.2001.008.
Carbon nanotubes are known to be metallic or semiconducting, depending on their helicity and diameter. However, boron nitride (BN) nanotubes are the only nanotubular product known to date that are predicted to have stable insulating properties that are independent of their atomic structure and morphology. Thus, the BN tube has attracted prime attention as an advanced nanoinsulating shield for all types of encapsulated conducting material, i.e., metal wires, clusters, etc. However, so far there have been no successes in controlled one-dimensional filling of BN nanotubes with conductive material. We report the first experimental results on the synthesis, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersion X-ray analysis, and electron energy loss spectroscopy of BN nanotubes that are filled with Mo clusters over their entire length. This was accomplished by means of two-step thermochemical treatment of chemically vapor-deposited C nanotubes with B2O3, CuO, and MoO3 oxides in a flowing N2 atmosphere. The first examples of BN nanotubes filled with molybdenum clusters are reported and the formation of the first nanocable (approximately 10 nm in length), consisting of a conductive metal core and an insulating BN nanotubular shield is demonstrated.
众所周知，碳纳米管根据其螺旋度和直径可呈金属性或半导体性。然而，氮化硼（BN）纳米管是迄今为止已知的唯一一种预计具有稳定绝缘性能且与原子结构和形态无关的纳米管产品。因此，BN管作为用于各种封装导电材料（即金属线、团簇等）的先进纳米绝缘屏蔽层，已引起了广泛关注。然而，到目前为止，在将导电材料可控地一维填充到BN纳米管方面尚未取得成功。我们报告了关于在整个长度上填充有Mo团簇的BN纳米管的合成、高分辨率透射电子显微镜、能量色散X射线分析和电子能量损失谱的首批实验结果。这是通过在流动的N2气氛中用B2O3、CuO和MoO3氧化物对化学气相沉积的C纳米管进行两步热化学处理来实现的。报道了填充有钼团簇的BN纳米管的首个实例，并展示了由导电金属芯和绝缘BN纳米管屏蔽层组成的首个纳米电缆（长度约为10 nm）的形成。
