What are boron nitride nanotubes used for?
These properties render BNNTs appealing for the use in mechanical reinforcement applications, transparent bulk composites, high-temperature materials such as metal matrix composites (MMC), and radiation shielding.
5 Research has shown that BNNTs possess a Young's modulus of up to 1.3 TPa and a tensile strength of up to 33 GPa,6–15 both of which are comparable with their pure carbon counterpart, carbon nanotubes (CNTs).
BNNano, Inc. is currently the only company in the world with a commercially viable manufacturing process for Boron Nitride Nanotubes.
Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have a similar tubular structure as carbon nanotubes in which carbon atoms are replaced entirely by boron and nitrogen atoms, arranging in a hexagonal lattice (Fig. 1).
Science buffs have been reading about the potential of graphene since its discovery in 2004. Truth be told, graphene is quite vulnerable. Ceramic boron-nitride is much tougher.
Current Applications of Carbon Nanotubes
The most popular current use for CNTs is structural reinforcement. They are added to other materials like rebar to concrete because of their high strength, low weight, and flexibility. CNT production is also used in bulk composite materials and thin films.
Major obstacles to nanotube-based microelectronics include the absence of technology for mass production, circuit density, positioning of individual electrical contacts, sample purity, control over length, chirality and desired alignment, thermal budget and contact resistance.
The researchers investigated the relationship between the nanotube's radius, the position where the bullet strikes, its speed and the energy absorbed by the nanotube. Mylvaganam and Zhang found that the nanotubes were resistant to bullet speeds of over 2000 m/s, even after multiple impacts.
Presence of impurities, non-uniformity in morphology and structure, large surface area (leads to protein opsonization), hydrophobicity, insolubility and tendency of CNTs to bundle together are some obstacles for their nano-medical applications.
BN nanotubes can also be produced by ball milling of amorphous boron, mixed with a catalyst (iron powder), under NH3 atmosphere. Subsequent annealing at ~1100 °C in nitrogen flow transforms most of the product into BN. A high-temperature high-pressure method is also suitable for BN nanotube synthesis.
Where is cubic boron nitride made?
Cubic boron nitride is formed by high pressure, high temperature treatment of hexagonal BN. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is the equivalent in structure of graphite (see figure 1). Like graphite its plate like microstructure and layered lattice structure give it good lubricating properties.
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Boron nitride ceramics are manufactured through hot-pressing. This method utilizes temperatures as high as 2000°C (3632°F) and moderate to significant pressures to induce sintering of raw BN powders into a large compacted block, called a billet.
The price ranges from $100–200 per kilogram for the “economy class” carbon nanotubes with larger diameters and poorer properties, up to $100,000 per kilogram and above for the “first class” carbon nanotubes — ones with a single wall, the smallest diameters**, and the most amazing properties, Cary Pint, PhD, an ...
Boron nitride can be compressed into a superhard, transparent form—but unlike diamond and many other materials known for their extreme hardness, it is based not on carbon but on a latticework of boron and nitrogen atoms.
These three types of CNTs are armchair carbon nanotubes, zigzag carbon nanotubes, and chiral carbon nanotubes. The difference in these types of carbon nanotubes are created depending on how the graphite is “rolled up” during its creation process.