Synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes from unprocessed colemanite

Colemanite (Ca(2)B(6)O(11)·5H(2)O) is a natural and new precursor material for the synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). BNNTs have been synthesized from unprocessed colemanite for the first time. The reaction parameters such as time, catalyst type, catalyst amount and temperature were optimized. It was found that the BNNT formation follows the base growth mechanism, which was initiated with a complex of boron nitride (BN) and iron atoms. The obtained BNNTs were characterized by using SEM, TEM, and spectroscopic techniques such as UV–vis, Raman, FTIR and XRD. The BNNTs were randomly oriented and multi-walled with an outer diameter of 10–30 nm and a wall thickness of 5 nm. This novel BNNT synthesis method can be used to obtain high yield, low cost and pure BNNTs.