The effects on the electronic properties of BN nanoribbon with C-chain substitution doping

•The zigzag BN nanoribbon exhibits the insulator-semiconductor-metal transition.•The armchair BN nanoribbon exhibits the insulator-metal-semiconductor transition.•The half-metallic properties may be tuned by changing the number of C-chain in the zigzag BN nanoribbon.

The electronic properties of Boron–Nitrogen (BN) nanoribbon with Carbon (C)-chain substitution doping are investigated by performing first-principle calculations based on density functional theory. For the zigzag BN nanoribbon, the spin-unpolarized calculated results exhibit the insulator–semiconductor–metal transition with the number of substitution C-chain increasing. But for the armchair BN nanoribbon in the spin-unpolarized calculations, it is found that it appears the insulator-metal-semiconductor transition. The band gap of BN nanoribbon can be tuned according to the C-chain doping ratio. Interestingly, spin-polarized calculations exhibiting half-metallic may be tuned by changing the number of C-chain in the zigzag BN nanoribbon, opening a possibility in spintronics device based on BN nanoribbon.