Conductivity of a charge-regulated Boron-Nitride nanotube

Abstract

In this thesis we investigate the physical properties of a Boron-Nitride NanoTube(BNNT), in particular the electric conductivity of the nanotube. The nanotube connects two reservoirs of different salt concentration. We applied a concentration gradient of Na+ and Cl− in the nanotube and studied whether we could compare the conductivity of the nanotube to the conductivity of a conducting wire. The method of the research was a simulation with the finite element method in COMSOL. We found a surface conductivity constant gs = 2.3 · 103 S/(m^2) and a bulk conductivity constant gb = −1.8 · 102 S/m for a BNNT with a regulated surface charge and a pH value of 5.5, in the regime where the radius of the tube is larger then the Debye length. For a radius smaller then the Debye length gb was varying too much to make a reliable prediction