Atomic structures of bamboo-type boron nitride nanotubes with cup-stacked structures

Bamboo-type boron nitride (BN) nanotubes with cup-stacked structures were produced by annealing of Fe4N and boron particles at 1000 °C for 5 h in nitrogen atmosphere. The iron nitride particles were reduced to α-Fe. Atomic structure models and the formation mechanism were proposed from the results of high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM), image simulations and molecular mechanics calculations. The nanotube structures would be stabilized by stacking of BN cup-layers.