Boron carbonitride nanotubes.

A comprehensive understanding of the design, synthesis, characterization, and properties of boron carbonitride nanotubes (BCN) is presented in this review. Distinctive structural and electronic properties are revealed in theoretical studies of the BCN nanotubes and compared with the properties of carbon nanotubes. In the experimental studies, BCN nanotubes have been synthesized by various techniques. For different purposes, controllable growth processes have been used to fabricate BCN nanotubes with novel structures, such as nanojunctions and filled nanotubes. Some interesting phenomena originating from the substitution of B and N atoms, such as the phase segregation, are considered theoretically and experimentally. Mainly the physical properties--field electron emission and photoluminescence--are discussed, which turn out to have potential applications in the industry.