Piezoelectric enhancement of a defect-mediated boron nitride nanotube

Abstract

A zigzag boron nitride nanotube (ZBNNT) has a large intrinsic polarized dipole and a piezoelectric tunability with crystal chirality, nanotube diameter, and point defect. The piezoelectric coefficients (e33) of 8-ZBNNT with the VIA-group defects of SN and SeN are estimated to be 18.7 × 10−2 C m−2 and 14.9 × 10−2 C m−2, respectively. The coefficients of defect-mediated 8-ZBNNT are 97% and 57% bigger than that of pristine 8-ZBNNT. The elastic modulus of 8-ZBNNT is decreased due to the VIA-group defects, but is increased for the larger number of unit cells along zigzag rolling direction. The electronic band gap of 8-ZBNNT is reduced due to the VIA-group defects. The large piezoelectricity enhancement of 8-ZBNNT with VIA-group defect is attributable to the ionic contribution. Therefore, the unprecedented defect-mediated 8-ZBNNT provides a new material platform of mechanoelectronic devices for nanoscale sensors and energy conversions.