Direct deposition of high purity and quality boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) on Si substrate were obtained using low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). We find Fe-Mg-O species may act as catalysts for growing BNNTs. This synthesis process conforms to vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism. As-grown BNNTs also show a large optical energy band gap of 6.12 eV, approaching to hexagonal phase BN single crystals. Meanwhile, as-grown BNNTs exhibit an intense UV-emission band located at 345 nm and a weak deep band at 237 nm. Their optoelectronic properties make them have promising for future nanoscale deep-UV light emitting devices. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.