Nanoscale Oxygen Generators:  MgO2-Based Fillings of BN Nanotubes

• Published in: The journal of physical chemistry. B Vol. 107; no. 34; pp. 8726 - 8729
• Main Authors: Golberg, Dmitri, Bando, Yoshio, Fushimi, Keita, Mitome, Masanori, Bourgeois, Laure, Tang, Cheng-Chun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 28.08.2003
• ISSN: 1520-6106; 1520-5207
• DOI: 10.1021/jp030383y

Boron nitride (BN) nanotubes having only tens of nanometers in diameter and open tip-ends were uniformly filled with a MgO2-based material. The crystal structures and chemical compositions of the tubes and filling media were analyzed using high-resolution and energy-filtered electron microscopy, electron diffraction, electron energy loss, and energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy. A low melting point (∼88 °C) and easy decomposition of the filling inside the tubes under moderate heating, e.g., during in-situ electron irradiation in an electron microscope, and/or just during room temperature aging, may generate a spatially localized oxygen outflow from the nanotubes. The MgO2-filled material is uniquely characterized by a stable oxygen release rate with long release term. Thus the first nanotube-based oxygen generator has been realized.