Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) exhibit a range of properties that are as impressive as their isoelectronic carbon nanotube (CNT) cousins but with unique features including substantially higher thermal stability, wide band gap, transparency in the visible region and better biocompatibility1. Historically, very low production volume has prevented the science and technology of BNNTs from evolving at even a fraction of the pace of CNTs. We have addressed this limitation through the development of an industrially scalable plasma process for the manufacturing of BNNT2,3. Although kg quantities of BNNT can now be synthesized daily, the material contains several impurities which must be removed to exploit fully the superlative properties of BNNT in various applications. In the first part of the talk, I will present our recent advances in purification. We have developed a gas phase process that raises the purity of as-produced BNNT above 90% in a single-step. The process relies on the use of pure or diluted chorine gas at high temperature. The process has been examined at various temperatures, up to 1050 °C, using a range of imaging and spectroscopic assessments. The next step in advancing the field of BNNT is the development of a method for quality (purity + defect density) assessment of bulk samples, an area that has plagued the field of carbon nanotubes for more than 30 years. In the next part of the talk, I will show how the specific and strong interfacial interaction between regio random poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (rra-P3HT) and BNNT leads to the emergence of structured absorption and emission bands that can be used to quantify the relative quality of BNNT samples4,5. 1. J. Augustine, T. Cheung, V. Gies, J. Boughton, M. Chen, Z. J. Jakubek, S. Walker, Y. Martinez-Rubi, B. Simard and S. Zou, Nanoscale Advances, 1, 1914-1923 (2019).2. K. S. Kim, C. T. Kingston, A. Hrdina, M. B. Jakubinek, J. Guan, M. Plunkett and B. Simard, ACS Nano, 2014, 8, 6211-6220.3. K. S. Kim, M. Couillard, H. Shin, M. Plunkett, D. Ruth, C. T. Kingston and B. Simard, ACS Nano,12, 884-893 (2018).4. Y. Martinez-Rubi, Z. J. Jakubek, M. B. Jakubinek, K. S. Kim, F. Cheng, M. Couillard, C. Kingston and B. Simard, J. Phys. Chem., C, 119, 26605 (2015).5. Y. Martinez Rubi, Z. Jakubek, M. Chen, S. Zou, and B. Simard, ACS Applied Nano, 2, 2054-2063 (2019).