Electric field effect on the electronic properties of double-walled carbon-doped boron-nitride nanotubes

Abstract

Carbon (C) doped zigzag (8, 0)@(16, 0) and armchair (5, 5)@(10, 10) double-walled boron-nitride nanotubes (DWBNNTs), under the influence of external electric fields applied in different directions are studied through first-principles calculations. We have considered the substitution of a B and a N (one species at each wall—inner or outer) by C atoms, generating a type-n inside a type-p semiconductor ((type-n)@(type-p)) and vice-versa. The resulting doped DWBNNT can be thought as a p–n junction. The obtained formation energies and structural properties results indicate that these structures present good stability and are not affected by the electric field application. For the electronic structure, it was observed that external fields can be used to modulate these systems energy gaps. Also, there is a preferred field direction which minimizes the gap values, and the gap increase or decrease is related to the reverse and direct polarization of the p–n junction, respectively.