Electronic structure of boron nitride cone-shaped nanostructures

Abstract

Boron nitride nanohorns (BNNHs) were synthesized in a large-scale. Detailed transmission electron microscopy investigations reveal that a BNNH consists of boron nitride cone-shaped nanostructures (BNCNSs) with different disclination angles. Systematic studies of electronic structure of a BNCNS with different disclination angles and different defects were performed by first-principles calculations. The results imply that the electronic structure of a BNCNS weakly depends on the disclination angles; by contrast, it is strongly influenced by the types of line-bond defects (B-B or N-N bonds). Importantly, our calculations show that a BNNH can be the junction made of semiconducting nanostructures with various energy gaps. © 2005 The American Physical Society.