Polarization dependent X-ray absorption near-edge spectra of boron nitride nanotubes

We report polarization dependent, scanning transmission X-ray microscopy measurements of individual boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and analyze them by means of first-principles calculations. X-ray absorption near-edge spectra of hexagonal boron-nitride (hBN) are calculated as a function of light polarization and layer stacking and best agreement with recent experimental data is obtained for the commonly assumed AA' stacking. Our experimental BNNT spectra show a pronounced polarization dependence which is qualitatively well reproduced in the calculations. We show that the BNNT has a mixed stacking sequence which may explain some of the differences seen between the hBN and BNNT line shapes.