A boroxol ring doped zigzag boron nitride nanotube: a computational DFT study of the quadrupole coupling constant

Abstract

Based upon density functional theory, we investigate the influence of oxygen dopant atoms that make a boroxol ring on the electrostatic properties of a zigzag (10, 0) boron nitride nanotube in which three of the nitrogen atoms are replaced by oxygen dopant atoms. The electric field gradient (EFG) tensors at the sites of 11B and 14N nuclei were calculated and converted to quadrupole coupling constants (CQ) in the two models of a perfect and a boroxol ring O-doped (10, 0) single-walled boron nitride nanotube (BNNT). Our calculations showed that the CQ values of the boron and nitrogen nuclei along the length of a perfect BNNT are divided into layers. Among the layers the mouth layers have the largest CQ magnitudes. In the doped model, in addition to the mouth layers, the CQ values of those nitrogen nuclei which directly bond to the boroxol ring are increased. However, the CQ values of the boron nuclei that make the boroxol ring and directly bond to the boroxol ring are decreased.