US Patent 8206674 - Production of boron nitride nanotubes

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8206674.html

Since 1995 laboratories have been able to produce few-walled boron nitride nanotubes but only in small batches. This patent from researchers at NASA teaches a new fabrication process to increase the yield of boron nitride nanotubes providing high strength-to-weight, high temperature resistance, and radiation shielding properties for aerospace applications. Claim 1 reads:

1. A process for producing boron nitride nanotubes and nanostructures, which process comprises thermally exciting a boron-containing target in a chamber under nitrogen pressure which is elevated above 2 atmospheres and less than 250 atmospheres.