Web Release Date: November 29,
Molecule Ordering Triggered by Boron Nitride Nanotubes and "Green" Chemical Functionalization of Boron Nitride Nanotubes
and
International Center for Young Scientists, National Institute for Materials Science, Namiki1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-004, Japan, and Innovation Research Institute, Teijin Limited, 2-1, Hinode-cho, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi 740-8511, Japan
Received: August 30, 2007
Abstract:
Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) were found to induce a new phase in ionic liquids and form gels. The new
phases indicate ordering of the ionic liquids' molecules on the surface of BNNTs. An elastic network exists
within the gels, which is suggested to originate from a pseudo-X-linked solid structure consisting of BNNT
cores surrounded by ordered molecules of the ionic liquids. In order to understand the driving force behind
the new phase and gel formations, first-principle calculations were performed. These revealed that the regarded
ensembles are induced by the "cation-
" interactions between BNNTs and an ionic liquid. As an application
of the newly formed gels, a "green", that is, environmentally friendly, scalable, and rapid process was designed
to modify BNNTs via an SN2 nucleophilic substitution reaction at room temperature.
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