Effect of carbon addition on synthesis of BN nanolayers encapsulating Fe fine particles and BN nanotubes

Boron nitride (BN) nanolayers encapsulating iron (Fe) fine particles and BN nanotubes were synthesized by annealing mixture powders of hematite, boron and carbon (C) at 1473 K for 2 h in a nitrogen atmosphere. The particles exhibited good soft magnetic properties. The thickness of BN nanolayers increased in the range of 10–100 nm with increasing C content in the mixture powders, which results in providing improvement of oxidation resistance of the particles. In the BN layers, no C was detected. BN nanotubes with diameters of ∼100 nm were also synthesized, and they had cup-stacked and bamboo-like structures.