Magnetism in BN nanotubes induced by Carbon Substitution

We performed ab initio calculation on the pristine and carbon-doped (5,5) and (9,0) BN nanotubes. It was found that Carbon substitution for either boron or nitrogen in BN nanotubes can induce spontaneous magnetization. Calculations based on density functional theory with the local-spin-density-approximation on the electronic band structure revealed a spin polarized, dispersionless band near the Fermi energy. The magnetization can be attributed to the carbon 2p electron. Compared to other theoretical models of light-element or metal-free magnetic materials, the Carbon-doped BN nanotubes are more experimentally accessible and can be potentially useful.