Semiconducting boron carbonitride nanostructures: Nanotubes and nanofibers

Highly oriented boron carbonitride (BCN) nanostructures consisting of nanotubes and nanofibers have been synthesized by bias-assisted hot-filament chemical vapor deposition from the source gases of ${\mathrm{B}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{6}},$ ${\mathrm{CH}}_{\mathrm{4}},$ ${\mathrm{N}}_{\mathrm{2}},$ and ${\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{2}}.$ It is found that the B concentration of the BCN nanostructures increases with increasing ${\mathrm{B}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{6}}$ in the gas mixture, and the highest B concentration is 45 at. %. Photoluminescence spectrum shows that the BCN nanostructures, identified as ${\mathrm{B}}_{\mathrm{0.34}}{\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{0.42}}{\mathrm{N}}_{\mathrm{0.24}},$ are semiconductors with a band gap energy of around 1.0 eV.