Adsorption and surface reactivity on single-walled boron nitride nanotubes containing stone-wales defects

Wei An, Xiaojun Wu, J. L. Yang, X. C. Zeng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

115 Scopus citations

Abstract

Adsorption of chemical species H, O, CO, H 2, O 2, H 2O, and NH 3 on the sidewall of zigzag (8,0) and armchair (5, 5) boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) is studied using density-functional theory. Particular attention is paid to searching for the most-stable configuration of the adsorbates at a perfect site (PS) and near a Stone-Wales (SW) defect, and the surface reactivity at the PS and near the SW defect. Reactivity near the SW defect is generally higher than that at the PS because of the formation of frustrated B-B and N-N bonds and the local strain caused by pentagonal and heptagonal pairs. O 2 is prone to dissociative chemisorption near SW defects, but is more likely physisorbed at the PS. The adsorption of H 2O and NH 3 on the sidewall of BNNT can be described as molecular chemisorption due to modest interaction between HOMO of H 2O or NH 3 with LUMO of BNNT. Adsorption of NH 3 can affect electronic properties of BNNT through lifting the Fermi level. As such, NH 3 can be viewed as an n-type impurity. CO and H 2 can only be physisorbed on the sidewall of BNNT through van der Waals interactions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)14105-14112
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry C
Volume111
Issue number38
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 27 2007

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • General Energy
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Adsorption and surface reactivity on single-walled boron nitride nanotubes containing stone-wales defects'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this