Template synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes over iron impregnated mesoporous silica MCM-41 by chemical vapor deposition technique

BN nanotubes were successfully grown over iron impregnated MCM-41 at a relatively low temperature of 750oC for 1 hour by CVD technique. BN nanotubes were obtained after the purification procedure including HCl and HNO3 treatments to remove impurities. SEM image showed the formation of nano-fibrous network BN structures in the diameter range of 20 nm to 40 nm. Both XRD and FTIR characterization results supported the formation of h-BN and c-BN nanostructures. Oxidative TGA results indicated that the synthesized BN nanostructures were thermally stable at temperatures higher than 550oC. Hydrogen storage measurements via IGA showed that BNNTs could adsorb 0.85 wt% hydrogen which was two times larger than for commercial CNTs.