Nano Au-decorated boron nitride nanotubes: Conductance modification and field-emission enhancement

This letter reports the electrical and field-emission properties of Au-decorated boron nitride nanotubes (Au-BNNTs). The insulating BNNTs become metallic after Au coating as the Au coverage exceeds a critical value. The Au decoration modifies the work function of the BNNTs and, as a consequence, the field-emission current densities of Au-BNNTs are significantly enhanced. Correspondingly, the turn-on field of the Au-BNNTs is reduced to one third and the emission current density is increased by four orders in contrast to pure BNNTs. The experimental results demonstrate that such Au-BNNTs are promising electron field emitters.