Synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes from carbon nanotubes by a substitution reaction

A method involving carbon nanotubes substituted reaction was developed for the synthesis of mass quantities of boron nitride nanotubes. Boron oxide vapor was reacted with nitrogen gas in the presence of carbon nanotubes to form boron nitride nanotubes, whose diameters and lengths are similar to those of the starting carbon nanotubes. It is proposed that carbon atoms of carbon nanotubes can be fully substituted by boron and nitrogen atoms through a general chemical reaction. The results suggest that the synthesis methodology developed here may also be extended to form nanotubes from other novel materials. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(98)02447-4].