BCN nanotubes are tubular structures with a sub-micrometer diameter and a length much longer than diameter. They are composed of comparable amounts of boron, carbon and nitrogen atoms.

First made in 1994, synthesis methods have included: arc-discharge, laser ablation, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), template route, and pyrolysis techniques. Single-walled B–C–N nanotubes have been made with a hot-filament method.^[2]

Solvothermal synthesis

Vertically aligned arrays of ~BC₂N nanotubes can be produced by solvothermal synthesis in a stainless steel autoclave from a mixture of sodium azide (NaN₃), ammonium fluoroborate (NH₄BF₄) and methyl cyanide (CH₃CN). The mixture, together with the solvent and other additives is heated to 400 °C for ~14 h.^[1] The final composition was approx B₁₉C₅₅N₂₆.^[1]

Potential applications

The vertically-aligned BCN nanotubes (made as above) exhibit a high and stable specific capacitance (>500 F/g), which exceeds that of alternative carbon nanomaterials, and therefore have potential applications in supercapacitors.^[1][3]

Facile synthesis

Another method produced nanotubes of composition : B_45%,C_31%,N_24% ^[2] The method was grow them on stainless steel by reacting boron, zinc oxide (ZnO), and ethanol in nitrogen and hydrogen at 1150 °C. The resulting nanotubes had an average diameter of about 90 nm.