Ultra-sensitive Hall sensors based on graphene encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dauber, Jan; Stampfer, Christoph; Peter Grünberg Institute

2015-05-11

The encapsulation of graphene in hexagonal boron nitride provides graphene on substrate with excellent material quality. Here, we present the fabrication and characterization of Hall sensor elements based on graphene boron nitride heterostructures, where we gain from high mobility and low charge carrier density at room temperature. We show a detailed device characterization including Hall effect measurements under vacuum and ambient conditions. We achieve a current- and voltage-related sensitivity of up to 5700 V/AT and 3 V/VT, respectively, outpacing state-of-the-art silicon and III/V Hall sensor devices. Finally, we extract a magnetic resolution limited by low frequency electric noise of less than 50more » nT/√(Hz) making our graphene sensors highly interesting for industrial applications.« less

Hybrid-PIC Modeling of the Transport of Atomic Boron in a Hall Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Brandon D.; Boyd, Iaian D.; Kamhawi, Hani

2015-01-01

Computational analysis of the transport of boron eroded from the walls of a Hall thruster is performed by implementing sputter yields of hexagonal boron nitride and velocity distribution functions of boron within the hybrid-PIC model HPHall. The model is applied to simulate NASA's HiVHAc Hall thruster at a discharge voltage of 500V and discharge powers of 1-3 kW. The number densities of ground- and 4P-state boron are computed. The density of ground-state boron is shown to be a factor of about 30 less than the plasma density. The density of the excited state is shown to be about three orders of magnitude less than that of the ground state, indicating that electron impact excitation does not significantly affect the density of ground-state boron in the discharge channel or near-field plume of a Hall thruster. Comparing the rates of excitation and ionization suggests that ionization has a greater influence on the density of ground-state boron, but is still negligible. The ground-state boron density is then integrated and compared to cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) measurements for each operating point. The simulation results show good agreement with the measurements for all operating points and provide evidence in support of CRDS as a tool for measuring Hall thruster erosion in situ.

Enhanced optoelectronic performances of vertically aligned hexagonal boron nitride nanowalls-nanocrystalline diamond heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sankaran, Kamatchi Jothiramalingam; Hoang, Duc Quang; Kunuku, Srinivasu; Korneychuk, Svetlana; Turner, Stuart; Pobedinskas, Paulius; Drijkoningen, Sien; van Bael, Marlies K.; D' Haen, Jan; Verbeeck, Johan; Leou, Keh-Chyang; Lin, I.-Nan; Haenen, Ken

2016-07-01

Field electron emission (FEE) properties of vertically aligned hexagonal boron nitride nanowalls (hBNNWs) grown on Si have been markedly enhanced through the use of nitrogen doped nanocrystalline diamond (nNCD) films as an interlayer. The FEE properties of hBNNWs-nNCD heterostructures show a low turn-on field of 15.2 V/μm, a high FEE current density of 1.48 mA/cm2 and life-time up to a period of 248 min. These values are far superior to those for hBNNWs grown on Si substrates without the nNCD interlayer, which have a turn-on field of 46.6 V/μm with 0.21 mA/cm2 FEE current density and life-time of 27 min. Cross-sectional TEM investigation reveals that the utilization of the diamond interlayer circumvented the formation of amorphous boron nitride prior to the growth of hexagonal boron nitride. Moreover, incorporation of carbon in hBNNWs improves the conductivity of hBNNWs. Such a unique combination of materials results in efficient electron transport crossing nNCD-to-hBNNWs interface and inside the hBNNWs that results in enhanced field emission of electrons. The prospective application of these materials is manifested by plasma illumination measurements with lower threshold voltage (370 V) and longer life-time, authorizing the role of hBNNWs-nNCD heterostructures in the enhancement of electron emission.

Computational simulation of subatomic-resolution AFM and STM images for graphene/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures with intercalated defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Junsu; Kim, Minjung; Chelikowsky, James R.; Kim, Gunn

2016-07-01

Using ab initio density functional calculations, we predict subatomic-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images of vertical heterostructures of graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with an intercalated metal atom (Li, K, Cr, Mn, Co, or Cu), and study the effects of the extrinsic metal defect on the interfacial coupling. We find that the structural deformation of the graphene/h-BN layer caused by the metal defect strongly affects the AFM images, whereas orbital hybridization between the metal defect and the graphene/h-BN layer characterizes the STM images.

Search for giant magnetic anisotropy in transition-metal dimers on defected hexagonal boron nitride sheet

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, J.; Wang, H.; Wu, R. Q., E-mail: wur@uci.edu

2016-05-28

Structural and magnetic properties of many transition-metal dimers embedded in a defected hexagonal boron nitride monolayer are investigated through density functional calculations to search for systems with magnetic anisotropy energies (MAEs) larger than 30meV. In particular, Ir–Ir@Dh–BN is found to have both large MAE (∼126 meV) and high structural stability against dissociation and diffusion, and it hence can serve as magnetic unit in spintronics and quantum computing devices. This giant MAE mainly results from the spin orbit coupling and the magnetization of the upper Ir atom, which is in a rather isolated environment.

Covalent coupling via dehalogenation on Ni(111) supported boron nitride and graphene.

PubMed

Morchutt, Claudius; Björk, Jonas; Krotzky, Sören; Gutzler, Rico; Kern, Klaus

2015-02-11

Polymerization of 1,3,5-tris(4-bromophenyl)benzene via dehalogenation on graphene and hexagonal boron nitride is investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy experiments and density functional theory calculations. This work reveals how the interactions between molecules and graphene or h-BN grown on Ni(111) govern the surface-confined synthesis of polymers through C-C coupling.

Engineering and Localization of Quantum Emitters in Large Hexagonal Boron Nitride Layers.

PubMed

Choi, Sumin; Tran, Toan Trong; Elbadawi, Christopher; Lobo, Charlene; Wang, Xuewen; Juodkazis, Saulius; Seniutinas, Gediminas; Toth, Milos; Aharonovich, Igor

2016-11-02

Hexagonal boron nitride is a wide-band-gap van der Waals material that has recently emerged as a promising platform for quantum photonics experiments. In this work, we study the formation and localization of narrowband quantum emitters in large flakes (up to tens of micrometers wide) of hexagonal boron nitride. The emitters can be activated in as-grown hexagonal boron nitride by electron irradiation or high-temperature annealing, and the emitter formation probability can be increased by ion implantation or focused laser irradiation of the as-grown material. Interestingly, we show that the emitters are always localized at the edges of the flakes, unlike most luminescent point defects in three-dimensional materials. Our results constitute an important step on the roadmap of deploying hexagonal boron nitride in nanophotonics applications.

Single photon emission from plasma treated 2D hexagonal boron nitride.

PubMed

Xu, Zai-Quan; Elbadawi, Christopher; Tran, Toan Trong; Kianinia, Mehran; Li, Xiuling; Liu, Daobin; Hoffman, Timothy B; Nguyen, Minh; Kim, Sejeong; Edgar, James H; Wu, Xiaojun; Song, Li; Ali, Sajid; Ford, Mike; Toth, Milos; Aharonovich, Igor

2018-05-03

Artificial atomic systems in solids are becoming increasingly important building blocks in quantum information processing and scalable quantum nanophotonic networks. Amongst numerous candidates, 2D hexagonal boron nitride has recently emerged as a promising platform hosting single photon emitters. Here, we report a number of robust plasma and thermal annealing methods for fabrication of emitters in tape-exfoliated hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) crystals. A two-step process comprising Ar plasma etching and subsequent annealing in Ar is highly robust, and yields an eight-fold increase in the concentration of emitters in hBN. The initial plasma-etching step generates emitters that suffer from blinking and bleaching, whereas the two-step process yields emitters that are photostable at room temperature with emission wavelengths greater than ∼700 nm. Density functional theory modeling suggests that the emitters might be associated with defect complexes that contain oxygen. This is further confirmed by generating the emitters via annealing hBN in air. Our findings advance the present understanding of the structure of quantum emitters in hBN and enhance the nanofabrication toolkit needed to realize integrated quantum nanophotonic circuits.

Excellent electrical conductivity of the exfoliated and fluorinated hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets.

PubMed

Xue, Yafang; Liu, Qian; He, Guanjie; Xu, Kaibing; Jiang, Lin; Hu, Xianghua; Hu, Junqing

2013-01-24

The insulator characteristic of hexagonal boron nitride limits its applications in microelectronics. In this paper, the fluorinated hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets were prepared by doping fluorine into the boron nitride nanosheets exfoliated from the bulk boron nitride in isopropanol via a facile chemical solution method with fluoboric acid; interestingly, these boron nitride nanosheets demonstrate a typical semiconductor characteristic which were studied on a new scanning tunneling microscope-transmission electron microscope holder. Since this property changes from an insulator to a semiconductor of the boron nitride, these nanosheets will be able to extend their applications in designing and fabricating electronic nanodevices.

Energetics and formation mechanism of borders between hexagonal boron nitride and graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sawahata, Hisaki; Yamanaka, Ayaka; Maruyama, Mina; Okada, Susumu

2018-06-01

We studied the energetics of two-dimensional heterostructures consisting of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and graphene with respect to the border structure and heterobond species using density functional theory. A BC heterobond is energetically preferable at the border between h-BN and graphene. We also found that the polarization at the zigzag border increases the total energy of the heterostructures. Competition between the bond formation energy and the polarization energy leads to chiral borders at which BC heterobonds are dominant. By taking the formation process of the heterostructures into account, the zigzag border with BC heterobonds is found to be preferentially synthesized from graphene edges under hydrogen-rich conditions.

Theoretical investigation of calcium-decorated β12 boron sheet for hydrogen storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Xiao; Gu, Yuantong; Kou, Liangzhi

2018-03-01

From first-principles calculations based on density functional theory, we find that the recently synthesized β12 boron sheet is a perfect candidate for calcium-decoration and hydrogen storage application. In contrast to graphene where defects are required to capture Ca, the naturally formed hexagonal hollow ring in β12 boron sheet provides the ideal site for Ca adsorption, and up to 6H2 molecules for each Ca atom can be captured with a desirable binding energy of ∼0.2 eV/H2. The gravimetric hydrogen density for Ca decorated boron sheet can reach up to 8.92 wt%. From the electronic analysis, it is found that both the orbital hybridizations and polarization mechanism play significant roles in H2 adsorption and storage.

Boron nitride composites

DOEpatents

Kuntz, Joshua D.; Ellsworth, German F.; Swenson, Fritz J.; Allen, Patrick G.

2017-02-21

According to one embodiment, a composite product includes: a matrix material including hexagonal boron nitride and one or more borate binders; and a plurality of cubic boron nitride particles dispersed in the matrix material. According to another embodiment, a composite product includes: a matrix material including hexagonal boron nitride and amorphous boron nitride; and a plurality of cubic boron nitride particles dispersed in the matrix material.

Phonon-Assisted Resonant Tunneling of Electrons in Graphene-Boron Nitride Transistors.

PubMed

Vdovin, E E; Mishchenko, A; Greenaway, M T; Zhu, M J; Ghazaryan, D; Misra, A; Cao, Y; Morozov, S V; Makarovsky, O; Fromhold, T M; Patanè, A; Slotman, G J; Katsnelson, M I; Geim, A K; Novoselov, K S; Eaves, L

2016-05-06

We observe a series of sharp resonant features in the differential conductance of graphene-hexagonal boron nitride-graphene tunnel transistors over a wide range of bias voltages between 10 and 200 mV. We attribute them to electron tunneling assisted by the emission of phonons of well-defined energy. The bias voltages at which they occur are insensitive to the applied gate voltage and hence independent of the carrier densities in the graphene electrodes, so plasmonic effects can be ruled out. The phonon energies corresponding to the resonances are compared with the lattice dispersion curves of graphene-boron nitride heterostructures and are close to peaks in the single phonon density of states.

Optical properties of boron-group (V) hexagonal nanowires: DFT investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santhibhushan, B.; Soni, Mahesh; Srivastava, Anurag

2017-07-01

The paper presents structural, electronic and optical properties of boron-group V hexagonal nanowires (h-NW) within the framework of density functional theory. The h-NW of boron-group V compounds with an analogous diameter of 12 Å have been designed in (1 1 1) plane. Stability analysis performed through formation energies reveal that, the stability of these structures decreases with increasing atomic number of the group V element. The band nature predicts that these nanowires are good electrical conductors. Optical behaviour of the nanowires has been analysed through absorption coefficient, reflectivity, refractive index, optical conductivity and electron energy loss spectrum (EELS), that are computed from the frequency-dependent complex dielectric function. The analysis reveals high reactivity of BP and BAs h-NWs to the incident light especially in the IR and visible ranges, and the optical transparency of BN h-NW in the visible and UV ranges.

Raman spectroscopy measurement of bilayer graphene's twist angle to boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheng, Bin; Wang, Peng; Pan, Cheng

2015-07-20

When graphene is placed on hexagonal boron nitride with a twist angle, new properties develop due to the resulting moiré superlattice. Here, we report a method using Raman spectroscopy to make rapid, non-destructive measurements of the twist angle between bilayer graphene and hexagonal boron nitride. The lattice orientation is determined by using flakes with both bilayer and monolayer regions, and using the known Raman signature for the monolayer to measure the twist angle of the entire flake. The widths of the second order Raman peaks are found to vary linearly in the superlattice period and are used to determine themore » twist angle. The results are confirmed by using transport measurements to infer the superlattice period by the charge density required to reach the secondary resistance peaks. Small twist angles are also found to produce a significant modification of the first order Raman G band peak.« less

Structural stability and electronic properties of an octagonal allotrope of two dimensional boron nitride.

PubMed

Takahashi, Lauren; Takahashi, Keisuke

2017-03-27

An octagonal allotrope of two dimensional boron nitride is explored through first principles calculations. Calculations show that two dimensional octagonal boron nitride can be formed with a binding energy comparable to two dimensional hexagonal boron nitride. In addition, two dimensional octagonal boron nitride is found to have a band gap smaller than two dimensional hexagonal boron nitride, suggesting the possibility of semiconductive attributes. Two dimensional octagonal boron nitride also has the ability to layer through physisorption. Defects present within two dimensional octagonal boron nitride also lead toward the introduction of a magnetic moment through the absence of boron atoms. The presence of defects is also found to render both hexagonal and octagonal boron nitrides reactive against hydrogen, where greater reactivity is seen in the presence of nitrogen. Thus, two dimensional octagonal boron nitride is confirmed with potential to tailor properties and reactivity through lattice shape and purposeful introduction of defects.

Additive Manufacturing of Dense Hexagonal Boron Nitride Objects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marquez Rossy, Andres E.; Armstrong, Beth L.; Elliott, Amy M.

The feasibility of manufacturing hexagonal boron nitride objects via additive manufacturing techniques was investigated. It was demonstrated that it is possible to hot-extrude thermoplastic filaments containing uniformly distributed boron nitride particles with a volume concentration as high as 60% and that these thermoplastic filaments can be used as feedstock for 3D-printing objects using a fused deposition system. Objects 3D-printed by fused deposition were subsequently sintered at high temperature to obtain dense ceramic products. In a parallel study the behavior of hexagonal boron nitride in aqueous solutions was investigated. It was shown that the addition of a cationic dispersant to anmore » azeotrope enabled the formulation of slurries with a volume concentration of boron nitride as high as 33%. Although these slurries exhibited complex rheological behavior, the results from this study are encouraging and provide a pathway for manufacturing hexagonal boron nitride objects via robocasting.« less

On the buckling of hexagonal boron nitride nanoribbons via structural mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannopoulos, Georgios I.

2018-03-01

Monolayer hexagonal boron nitride nanoribbons have similar crystal structure as graphene nanoribbons, have excellent mechanical, thermal insulating and dielectric properties and additionally present chemical stability. These allotropes of boron nitride can be used in novel applications, in which graphene is not compatible, to achieve remarkable performance. The purpose of the present work is to provide theoretical estimations regarding the buckling response of hexagonal boron nitride monolayer under compressive axial loadings. For this reason, a structural mechanics method is formulated which employs the exact equilibrium atomistic structure of the specific two-dimensional nanomaterial. In order to represent the interatomic interactions appearing between boron and nitrogen atoms, the Dreiding potential model is adopted which is realized by the use of three-dimensional, two-noded, spring-like finite elements of appropriate stiffness matrices. The critical compressive loads that cause the buckling of hexagonal boron nitride nanoribbons are computed with respect to their size and chirality while some indicative buckled shapes of them are illustrated. Important conclusions arise regarding the effect of the size and chirality on the structural stability of the hexagonal boron nitride monolayers. An analytical buckling formula, which provides good fitting of the numerical outcome, is proposed.

STIR: Novel Electronic States by Gating Strongly Correlated Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

plan built on my group’s recent demonstration of electrolyte gating in Strontium Titanate, using an atomically thin hexagonal Boron Nitride barrier to...demonstration of electrolyte gating in Strontium Titanate, using an atomically thin hexagonal Boron Nitride barrier to prevent disorder and chemical...techniques and learned to apply thin hexagonal Boron Nitride to single crystals of materials expected to show some of the most exciting correlated

Nucleation Control for Large, Single Crystalline Domains of Monolayer Hexagonal Boron Nitride via Si-Doped Fe Catalysts

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The scalable chemical vapor deposition of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) single crystals, with lateral dimensions of ∼0.3 mm, and of continuous h-BN monolayer films with large domain sizes (>25 μm) is demonstrated via an admixture of Si to Fe catalyst films. A simple thin-film Fe/SiO2/Si catalyst system is used to show that controlled Si diffusion into the Fe catalyst allows exclusive nucleation of monolayer h-BN with very low nucleation densities upon exposure to undiluted borazine. Our systematic in situ and ex situ characterization of this catalyst system establishes a basis for further rational catalyst design for compound 2D materials. PMID:25664483

Intrinsic ferromagnetism in hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Si, M. S.; Gao, Daqiang, E-mail: gaodq@lzu.edu.cn, E-mail: xueds@lzu.edu.cn; Yang, Dezheng

2014-05-28

Understanding the mechanism of ferromagnetism in hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets, which possess only s and p electrons in comparison with normal ferromagnets based on localized d or f electrons, is a current challenge. In this work, we report an experimental finding that the ferromagnetic coupling is an intrinsic property of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets, which has never been reported before. Moreover, we further confirm it from ab initio calculations. We show that the measured ferromagnetism should be attributed to the localized π states at edges, where the electron-electron interaction plays the role in this ferromagnetic ordering. More importantly, we demonstratemore » such edge-induced ferromagnetism causes a high Curie temperature well above room temperature. Our systematical work, including experimental measurements and theoretical confirmation, proves that such unusual room temperature ferromagnetism in hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets is edge-dependent, similar to widely reported graphene-based materials. It is believed that this work will open new perspectives for hexagonal boron nitride spintronic devices.« less

Signatures of Phonon and Defect-Assisted Tunneling in Planar Metal-Hexagonal Boron Nitride-Graphene Junctions.

PubMed

Chandni, U; Watanabe, K; Taniguchi, T; Eisenstein, J P

2016-12-14

Electron tunneling spectroscopy measurements on van der Waals heterostructures consisting of metal and graphene (or graphite) electrodes separated by atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride tunnel barriers are reported. The tunneling conductance, dI/dV, at low voltages is relatively weak, with a strong enhancement reproducibly observed to occur at around |V| ≈ 50 mV. While the weak tunneling at low energies is attributed to the absence of substantial overlap, in momentum space, of the metal and graphene Fermi surfaces, the enhancement at higher energies signals the onset of inelastic processes in which phonons in the heterostructure provide the momentum necessary to link the Fermi surfaces. Pronounced peaks in the second derivative of the tunnel current, d 2 I/dV 2 , are observed at voltages where known phonon modes in the tunnel junction have a high density of states. In addition, features in the tunneling conductance attributed to single electron charging of nanometer-scale defects in the boron nitride are also observed in these devices. The small electronic density of states of graphene allows the charging spectra of these defect states to be electrostatically tuned, leading to "Coulomb diamonds" in the tunneling conductance.

Epitaxial hexagonal boron nitride on Ir(111): A work function template

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulz, Fabian; Drost, Robert; Hämäläinen, Sampsa K.; Demonchaux, Thomas; Seitsonen, Ari P.; Liljeroth, Peter

2014-06-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a prominent member in the growing family of two-dimensional materials with potential applications ranging from being an atomically smooth support for other two-dimensional materials to templating growth of molecular layers. We have studied the structure of monolayer h-BN grown by chemical vapor deposition on Ir(111) by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS) experiments and state-of-the-art density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The lattice mismatch between the h-BN and Ir(111) surface results in the formation of a moiré superstructure with a periodicity of ˜29 Å and a corrugation of ˜0.4 Å. By measuring the field emission resonances above the h-BN layer, we find a modulation of the work function within the moiré unit cell of ˜0.5 eV. DFT simulations for a 13-on-12 h-BN/Ir(111) unit cell confirm our experimental findings and allow us to relate the change in the work function to the subtle changes in the interaction between boron and nitrogen atoms and the underlying substrate atoms within the moiré unit cell. Hexagonal boron nitride on Ir(111) combines weak topographic corrugation with a strong work function modulation over the moiré unit cell. This makes h-BN/Ir(111) a potential substrate for electronically modulated thin film and heterosandwich structures.

Synthesis of large single-crystal hexagonal boron nitride grains on Cu-Ni alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Guangyuan; Wu, Tianru; Yuan, Qinghong; Wang, Huishan; Wang, Haomin; Ding, Feng; Xie, Xiaoming; Jiang, Mianheng

2015-01-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has attracted significant attention because of its superior properties as well as its potential as an ideal dielectric layer for graphene-based devices. The h-BN films obtained via chemical vapour deposition in earlier reports are always polycrystalline with small grains because of high nucleation density on substrates. Here we report the successful synthesis of large single-crystal h-BN grains on rational designed Cu-Ni alloy foils. It is found that the nucleation density can be greatly reduced to 60 per mm2 by optimizing Ni ratio in substrates. The strategy enables the growth of single-crystal h-BN grains up to 7,500 μm2, approximately two orders larger than that in previous reports. This work not only provides valuable information for understanding h-BN nucleation and growth mechanisms, but also gives an effective alternative to exfoliated h-BN as a high-quality dielectric layer for large-scale nanoelectronic applications.

Chemical Interaction-Guided, Metal-Free Growth of Large-Area Hexagonal Boron Nitride on Silicon-Based Substrates.

PubMed

Behura, Sanjay; Nguyen, Phong; Debbarma, Rousan; Che, Songwei; Seacrist, Michael R; Berry, Vikas

2017-05-23

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is an ideal platform for interfacing with two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials to reduce carrier scattering for high-quality 2D electronics. However, scalable, transfer-free growth of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) remains a challenge. Currently, h-BN-based 2D heterostructures require exfoliation or chemical transfer of h-BN grown on metals resulting in small areas or significant interfacial impurities. Here, we demonstrate a surface-chemistry-influenced transfer-free growth of large-area, uniform, and smooth h-BN directly on silicon (Si)-based substrates, including Si, silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ), and silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), via low-pressure chemical vapor deposition. The growth rates increase with substrate electronegativity, Si < Si 3 N 4 < SiO 2 , consistent with the adsorption rates calculated for the precursor molecules via atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Under graphene with high grain density, this h-BN film acts as a polymer-free, planar-dielectric interface increasing carrier mobility by 3.5-fold attributed to reduced surface roughness and charged impurities. This single-step, chemical interaction guided, metal-free growth mechanism of h-BN for graphene heterostructures establishes a potential pathway for the design of complex and integrated 2D-heterostructured circuitry.

Consolidation of cubic and hexagonal boron nitride composites

DOE PAGES

Du Frane, W. L.; Cervantes, O.; Ellsworth, G. F.; ...

2015-12-08

When we Consolidate cubic boron nitride (cBN) it typically requires either a matrix of metal bearing materials that are undesirable for certain applications, or very high pressures within the cBN phase stability field that are prohibitive to manufacturing size and cost. We present new methodology for consolidating high stiffness cBN composites within a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) matrix (15–25 vol%) with the aid of a binder phase (0–6 vol%) at moderate pressures (0.5–1.0 GPa) and temperatures (900–1300 °C). The composites are demonstrated to be highly tailorable with a range of compositions and resulting physical/mechanical properties. Ultrasonic measurements indicate that inmore » some cases these composites have elastic mechanical properties that exceed those of the highest strength steel alloys. Moreover, two methods were identified to prevent phase transformation of the metastable cBN phase into hBN during consolidation: 1. removal of hydrocarbons, and 2. increased cBN particle size. Lithium tetraborate worked better as a binder than boron oxide, aiding consolidation without enhancing cBN to hBN phase transformation kinetics. These powder mixtures consolidated within error of their full theoretical mass densities at 1 GPa, and had only slightly lower densities at 0.5 GPa. This shows potential for consolidation of these composites into larger parts, in a variety of shapes, at even lower pressures using more conventional manufacturing methods, such as hot-pressing.« less

Permeability of two-dimensional graphene and hexagonal-boron nitride to hydrogen atom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Varun; Kumar, Ankit; Ray, Nirat

2018-05-01

The permeability of atomic hydrogen in monolayer hexagonal Boron Nitride(h-BN) and graphene has been studied using first-principles density functional theory based simulations. For the specific cases of physisorption and chemisoroption, barrier heights are calculated using the nudged elastic band approach. We find that the barrier potential for physisorption through the ring is lower for graphene than h-BN. In the case of chemisorption, where the H atom passes through by making bonds with the atoms in the ring, the barrier potential for the graphene was found to be higher than that of h-BN. We conclude that the penetration of H atom with notable kinetic energy (<3eV) through physiosorption is more probable for graphene as compared to h-BN. Whereas through chemisorption, lower kinetic energy (>3eV) H-atoms have a higher chance to penetrate through h-BN than graphene.

Single-layer graphdiyne-covered Pt(111) surface: improved catalysis confined under two-dimensional overlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xi; Lin, Zheng-Zhe

2018-05-01

In recent years, two-dimensional confined catalysis, i.e., the enhanced catalytic reactions in confined space between metal surface and two-dimensional overlayer, makes a hit and opens up a new way to enhance the performance of catalysts. In this work, graphdiyne overlayer was proposed as a more excellent material than graphene or hexagonal boron nitride for two-dimensional confined catalysis on Pt(111) surface. Density functional theory calculations revealed the superiority of graphdiyne overlayer originates from the steric hindrance effect which increases the catalytic ability and lowers the reaction barriers. Moreover, with the big triangle holes as natural gas tunnels, graphdiyne possesses higher efficiency for the transit of gaseous reactants and products than graphene or hexagonal boron nitride. The results in this work would benefit future development of two-dimensional confined catalysis. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Hexagonal boron nitride intercalated multi-layer graphene: a possible ultimate solution to ultra-scaled interconnect technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yong-Jun; Sun, Qing-Qing; Chen, Lin; Zhou, Peng; Wang, Peng-Fei; Ding, Shi-Jin; Zhang, David Wei

2012-03-01

We proposed intercalation of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in multilayer graphene to improve its performance in ultra-scaled interconnects for integrated circuit. The effect of intercalated hBN layer in bilayer graphene is investigated using non-equilibrium Green's functions. We find the hBN intercalated bilayer graphene exhibit enhanced transport properties compared with pristine bilayer ones, and the improvement is attributed to suppression of interlayer scattering and good planar bonding condition of inbetween hBN layer. Based on these results, we proposed a via structure that not only benefits from suppressed interlayer scattering between multilayer graphene, but also sustains the unique electrical properties of graphene when many graphene layers are stacking together. The ideal current density across the structure can be as high as 4.6×109 A/cm2 at 1V, which is very promising for the future high-performance interconnect.

Moiré-Modulated Conductance of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Tunnel Barriers.

PubMed

Summerfield, Alex; Kozikov, Aleksey; Cheng, Tin S; Davies, Andrew; Cho, Yong-Jin; Khlobystov, Andrei N; Mellor, Christopher J; Foxon, C Thomas; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Eaves, Laurence; Novoselov, Kostya S; Novikov, Sergei V; Beton, Peter H

2018-06-27

Monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) tunnel barriers investigated using conductive atomic force microscopy reveal moiré patterns in the spatial maps of their tunnel conductance consistent with the formation of a moiré superlattice between the hBN and an underlying highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) substrate. This variation is attributed to a periodc modulation of the local density of states and occurs for both exfoliated hBN barriers and epitaxially grown layers. The epitaxial barriers also exhibit enhanced conductance at localized subnanometer regions which are attributed to exposure of the substrate to a nitrogen plasma source during the high temperature growth process. Our results show clearly a spatial periodicity of tunnel current due to the formation of a moiré superlattice and we argue that this can provide a mechanism for elastic scattering of charge carriers for similar interfaces embedded in graphene/hBN resonant tunnel diodes.

Decoupled electron and phonon transports in hexagonal boron nitride-silicene bilayer heterostructure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cai, Yongqing; Pei, Qing-Xiang, E-mail: peiqx@ihpc.a-star.edu.sg, E-mail: zhangg@ihpc.a-star.edu.sg; Zhang, Gang, E-mail: peiqx@ihpc.a-star.edu.sg, E-mail: zhangg@ihpc.a-star.edu.sg

2016-02-14

Calculations based on the density functional theory and empirical molecular dynamics are performed to investigate interlayer interaction, electronic structure and thermal transport of a bilayer heterostructure consisting of silicene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). In this heterostructure, the two layers are found to interact weakly via a non-covalent binding. As a result, the Dirac cone of silicene is preserved with the Dirac cone point being located exactly at the Fermi level, and only a small amount of electrons are transferred from h-BN to silicene, suggesting that silicene dominates the electronic transport. Molecular dynamics calculation results demonstrate that the heat currentmore » along h-BN is six times of that along silicene, suggesting that h-BN dominates the thermal transport. This decoupled role of h-BN and silicene in thermal and electronic transport suggests that the BN-silicene bilayer heterostructure is promising for thermoelectric applications.« less

Defect sensitive etching of hexagonal boron nitride single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edgar, J. H.; Liu, S.; Hoffman, T.; Zhang, Yichao; Twigg, M. E.; Bassim, Nabil D.; Liang, Shenglong; Khan, Neelam

2017-12-01

Defect sensitive etching (DSE) was developed to estimate the density of non-basal plane dislocations in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) single crystals. The crystals employed in this study were precipitated by slowly cooling (2-4 °C/h) a nickel-chromium flux saturated with hBN from 1500 °C under 1 bar of flowing nitrogen. On the (0001) planes, hexagonal-shaped etch pits were formed by etching the crystals in a eutectic mixture of NaOH and KOH between 450 °C and 525 °C for 1-2 min. There were three types of pits: pointed bottom, flat bottom, and mixed shape pits. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy revealed that the pointed bottom etch pits examined were associated with threading dislocations. All of these dislocations had an a-type burgers vector (i.e., they were edge dislocations, since the line direction is perpendicular to the [ 2 11 ¯ 0 ]-type direction). The pit widths were much wider than the pit depths as measured by atomic force microscopy, indicating the lateral etch rate was much faster than the vertical etch rate. From an Arrhenius plot of the log of the etch rate versus the inverse temperature, the activation energy was approximately 60 kJ/mol. This work demonstrates that DSE is an effective method for locating threading dislocations in hBN and estimating their densities.

Thermal conductivity of ultra-thin chemical vapor deposited hexagonal boron nitride films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alam, M. T.; Bresnehan, M. S.; Robinson, J. A.; Haque, M. A.

2014-01-01

Thermal conductivity of freestanding 10 nm and 20 nm thick chemical vapor deposited hexagonal boron nitride films was measured using both steady state and transient techniques. The measured value for both thicknesses, about 100 ± 10 W m-1 K-1, is lower than the bulk basal plane value (390 W m-1 K-1) due to the imperfections in the specimen microstructure. Impressively, this value is still 100 times higher than conventional dielectrics. Considering scalability and ease of integration, hexagonal boron nitride grown over large area is an excellent candidate for thermal management in two dimensional materials-based nanoelectronics.

Nature of Bonding in Bowl-Like B36 Cluster Revisited: Concentric (6π+18π) Double Aromaticity and Reason for the Preference of a Hexagonal Hole in a Central Location.

PubMed

Li, Rui; You, Xue-Rui; Wang, Kang; Zhai, Hua-Jin

2018-05-04

The bowl-shaped C 6v B 36 cluster with a central hexagon hole is considered an ideal molecular model for low-dimensional boron-based nanosystems. Owing to the electron deficiency of boron, chemical bonding in the B 36 cluster is intriguing, complicated, and has remained elusive despite a couple of papers in the literature. Herein, a bonding analysis is given through canonical molecular orbitals (CMOs) and adaptive natural density partitioning (AdNDP), further aided by natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis and orbital composition calculations. The concerted computational data establish the idea of concentric double π aromaticity for the B 36 cluster, with inner 6π and outer 18π electron counting, which both conform to the (4n+2) Hückel rule. The updated bonding picture differs from existing knowledge of the system. A refined bonding model is also proposed for coronene, of which the B 36 cluster is an inorganic analogue. It is further shown that concentric double π aromaticity in the B 36 cluster is retained and spatially fixed, irrespective of the migration of the hexagonal hole; the latter process changes the system energetically. The hexagonal hole is a destabilizing factor for σ/π CMOs. The central hexagon hole affects substantially fewer CMOs, thus making the bowl-shaped C 6v B 36 cluster the global minimum. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Safety Assessment of Boron Nitride as Used in Cosmetics.

PubMed

Fiume, Monice M; Bergfeld, Wilma F; Belsito, Donald V; Hill, Ronald A; Klaassen, Curtis D; Liebler, Daniel C; Marks, James G; Shank, Ronald C; Slaga, Thomas J; Snyder, Paul W; Andersen, F Alan

2015-01-01

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel (Panel) assessed the safety of boron nitride which functions in cosmetics as a slip modifier (ie, it has a lubricating effect). Boron nitride is an inorganic compound with a crystalline form that can be hexagonal, spherical, or cubic; the hexagonal form is presumed to be used in cosmetics. The highest reported concentration of use of boron nitride is 25% in eye shadow formulations. Although boron nitride nanotubes are produced, boron nitride is not listed as a nanomaterial used in cosmetic formulations. The Panel reviewed available chemistry, animal data, and clinical data and concluded that this ingredient is safe in the present practices of use and concentration in cosmetic formulations. © The Author(s) 2015.

All-boron fullerene exhibits a strong affinity to inorganic anions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colherinhas, Guilherme; Fileti, Eudes Eterno; Chaban, Vitaly V.

2017-03-01

Experimentally observed all-boron fullerene, B-80, inspires systematic investigation of its physical chemical properties and search for possible applications. We hereby report density functional theory calculations to characterize interactions of B-80 with the selected imidazolium room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), dimethylimidazolium nitrate and dimethylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate. Whereas the imidazolium cation exhibits a rather poor affinity to B-80, the inorganic anions form polar covalent bonds with the boron atom occupying a central position within a B-6 hexagon. Attachment of the RTIL ion pairs leads to a significant alteration of the electronic spectra, charge density distribution, valence and conduction molecular orbitals. The total binding energies keeping the RTIL@B80 complexes together range 200-250 kcal mol-1, being higher than the energies of many interactions in chemistry. The observed phenomenon predicts an excellent solubility of B-80 in the considered RTILs, but may also reveal a poor stability of B-80 in the polar media. Our results motivate further efforts in studying the behavior of the all-boron fullerene in polar environments.

Ni foam assisted synthesis of high quality hexagonal boron nitride with large domain size and controllable thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ying, Hao; Li, Xiuting; Li, Deshuai; Huang, Mingqiang; Wan, Wen; Yao, Qian; Chen, Xiangping; Wang, Zhiwei; Wu, Yanqing; Wang, Le; Chen, Shanshan

2018-04-01

The scalable synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is of great interest for its numerous applications in novel electronic devices. Highly-crystalline h-BN films, with single-crystal sizes up to hundreds of microns, are demonstrated via a novel Ni foam assisted technique reported here for the first time. The nucleation density of h-BN domains can be significantly reduced due to the high boron solubility, as well as the large specific surface area of the Ni foam. The crystalline structure of the h-BN domains is found to be well aligned with, and therefore strongly dependent upon, the underlying Pt lattice orientation. Growth-time dependent experiments confirm the presence of a surface mediated self-limiting growth mechanism for monolayer h-BN on the Pt substrate. However, utilizing remote catalysis from the Ni foam, bilayer h-BN films can be synthesized breaking the self-limiting effect. This work provides further understanding of the mechanisms involved in the growth of h-BN and proposes a facile synthesis technique that may be applied to further applications in which control over the crystal alignment, and the numbers of layers is crucial.

Synthesis of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Mono layer: Control of Nucleation and Crystal Morphology

DOE PAGES

Stehle, Yijing Y.; Meyer, III, Harry M.; Unocic, Raymond R.; ...

2015-11-10

Mono layer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) attracts significant attention due to the potential to be used as a complementary two-dimensional dielectric in fabrication of functional 2D heterostructures. Here we investigate the growth stages of the hBN single crystals and show that hBN crystals change their shape from triangular to truncated triangular and further to hexagonal depending on copper substrate distance from the precursor. We suggest that the observed hBN crystal shape variation is affected by the ratio of boron to nitrogen active species concentrations on the copper surface inside the CVD reactor. Strong temperature dependence reveals the activation energies formore » the hBN nucleation process of similar to 5 eV and crystal growth of similar to 3.5 eV. We also show that the resulting h-BN film morphology is strongly affected by the heating method of borazane precursor and the buffer gas. Elucidation of these details facilitated synthesis of high quality large area monolayer hexagonal boron nitride by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition on copper using borazane as a precursor.« less

Acetylene chain reaction on hydrogenated boron nitride monolayers: a density functional theory study.

PubMed

Ponce-Pérez, R; Cocoletzi, Gregorio H; Takeuchi, Noboru

2017-11-28

Spin-polarized first-principles total-energy calculations have been performed to investigate the possible chain reaction of acetylene molecules mediated by hydrogen abstraction on hydrogenated hexagonal boron nitride monolayers. Calculations have been done within the periodic density functional theory (DFT), employing the PBE exchange correlation potential, with van der Waals corrections (vdW-DF). Reactions at two different sites have been considered: hydrogen vacancies on top of boron and on top of nitrogen atoms. As previously calculated, at the intermediate state of the reaction, when the acetylene molecule is attached to the surface, the adsorption energy is of the order of -0.82 eV and -0.20 eV (measured with respect to the energy of the non interacting molecule-substrate system) for adsorption on top of boron and nitrogen atoms, respectively. After the hydrogen abstraction takes place, the system gains additional energy, resulting in adsorption energies of -1.52 eV and -1.30 eV, respectively. These results suggest that the chain reaction is energetically favorable. The calculated minimum energy path (MEP) for hydrogen abstraction shows very small energy barriers of the order of 5 meV and 22 meV for the reaction on top of boron and nitrogen atoms, respectively. Finally, the density of states (DOS) evolution study helps to understand the chain reaction mechanism. Graphical abstract Acetylene chain reaction on hydrogenated boron nitride monolayers.

Geometric and electronic structures of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride with multi-vacancy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Do-Hyun; Kim, Hag-Soo; Song, Min Woo; Lee, Seunghyun; Lee, Sang Yun

2017-05-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is an electrical insulator with a large band gap of 5 eV and a good thermal conductor of which melting point reaches about 3000 °C. Due to these properties, much attention was given to the thermal stability rather than the electrical properties of h-BN experimentally and theoretically. In this study, we report calculations that the electronic structure of monolayer h-BN can be influenced by the presence of a vacancy defect which leads to a geometric deformation in the hexagonal lattice structure. The vacancy was varied from mono- to tri-vacancy in a supercell, and different defective structures under the same vacancy density were considered in the case of an odd number of vacancies. Consequently, all cases of vacancy defects resulted in a geometric distortion in monolayer h-BN, and new energy states were created between valence and conduction band with the Fermi level shift. Notably, B atoms around vacancies attracted one another while repulsion happened between N atoms around vacancies, irrespective of vacancy density. The calculation of formation energy revealed that multi-vacancy including more B-vacancies has much lower formation energy than vacancies with more N-vacancies. This work suggests that multi-vacancy created in monolayer h-BN will have more B-vacancies and that the presence of multi-vacancy can make monolayer h-BN electrically conductive by the new energy states and the Fermi level shift.

Geometric and electronic structures of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride with multi-vacancy.

PubMed

Kim, Do-Hyun; Kim, Hag-Soo; Song, Min Woo; Lee, Seunghyun; Lee, Sang Yun

2017-01-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is an electrical insulator with a large band gap of 5 eV and a good thermal conductor of which melting point reaches about 3000 °C. Due to these properties, much attention was given to the thermal stability rather than the electrical properties of h-BN experimentally and theoretically. In this study, we report calculations that the electronic structure of monolayer h-BN can be influenced by the presence of a vacancy defect which leads to a geometric deformation in the hexagonal lattice structure. The vacancy was varied from mono- to tri-vacancy in a supercell, and different defective structures under the same vacancy density were considered in the case of an odd number of vacancies. Consequently, all cases of vacancy defects resulted in a geometric distortion in monolayer h-BN, and new energy states were created between valence and conduction band with the Fermi level shift. Notably, B atoms around vacancies attracted one another while repulsion happened between N atoms around vacancies, irrespective of vacancy density. The calculation of formation energy revealed that multi-vacancy including more B-vacancies has much lower formation energy than vacancies with more N-vacancies. This work suggests that multi-vacancy created in monolayer h-BN will have more B-vacancies and that the presence of multi-vacancy can make monolayer h-BN electrically conductive by the new energy states and the Fermi level shift.

Defect states in hexagonal boron nitride: Assignments of observed properties and prediction of properties relevant to quantum computation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sajid, A.; Reimers, Jeffrey R.; Ford, Michael J.

2018-02-01

Key properties of nine possible defect sites in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), VN,VN -1,CN,VNO2 B,VNNB,VNCB,VBCN,VBCNS iN , and VNCBS iB , are predicted using density-functional theory and are corrected by applying results from high-level ab initio calculations. Observed h-BN electron-paramagnetic resonance signals at 22.4, 20.83, and 352.70 MHz are assigned to VN,CN, and VNO2 B , respectively, while the observed photoemission at 1.95 eV is assigned to VNCB . Detailed consideration of the available excited states, allowed spin-orbit couplings, zero-field splitting, and optical transitions is made for the two related defects VNCB and VBCN . VNCB is proposed for realizing long-lived quantum memory in h-BN. VBCN is predicted to have a triplet ground state, implying that spin initialization by optical means is feasible and suitable optical excitations are identified, making this defect of interest for possible quantum-qubit operations.

Toward achieving flexible and high sensitivity hexagonal boron nitride neutron detectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maity, A.; Grenadier, S. J.; Li, J.

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) detectors have demonstrated the highest thermal neutron detection efficiency to date among solid-state neutron detectors at about 51%. We report here the realization of h-BN neutron detectors possessing one order of magnitude enhancement in the detection area but maintaining an equal level of detection efficiency of previous achievement.

Toward achieving flexible and high sensitivity hexagonal boron nitride neutron detectors

DOE PAGES

Maity, A.; Grenadier, S. J.; Li, J.; ...

2017-07-17

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) detectors have demonstrated the highest thermal neutron detection efficiency to date among solid-state neutron detectors at about 51%. We report here the realization of h-BN neutron detectors possessing one order of magnitude enhancement in the detection area but maintaining an equal level of detection efficiency of previous achievement.

Large-area few-layer hexagonal boron nitride prepared by quadrupole field aided exfoliation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lun Lu, Han; Zhi Rong, Min; Qiu Zhang, Ming

2018-03-01

A quadrupole electric field-mediated exfoliation method is proposed to convert micron-sized hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) powder into few-layer hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNS). Under optimum conditions (400 Hz, 40 V, 32 μg ml-1, sodium deoxycholate, TAE medium), the h-BN powders (thickness >200 nm, horizontal scale ˜10 μm) are successfully exfoliated into 0.5-4 nm (1-10 layers) thick h-BNNS with the same horizontal scale. Dynamic laser scattering and atomic force microscope data show that the yield is 47.6% (for the portion with the thickness of 0.5-6 nm), and all of the vertical sizes are reduced to smaller than 18 nm (45 layers).

Adsorption of cyanogen chloride on the surface of boron nitride nanotubes for CNCl sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Movlarooy, Tayebeh; Fadradi, Mahboobeh Amiri

2018-05-01

The adsorption of CNCl gas, on the surface of boron nitride nanotubes in pure form, as well as doped with Al and Ga, based on the density functional theory (DFT) has been studied. The electron and structural properties of pristine and doped nanotubes have been investigated. By calculating the adsorption energy, the most stable positions and the equilibrium distance are obtained, and charge transferred and electronic properties have been calculated. The most stable molecule adsorption position for pure nanotube is obtained at the center of the hexagon and for doped nanotube above the impurity atom from N side.

Epitaxial growth of hexagonal boron nitride monolayers by a three-step boration-oxidation-nitration process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Frank; Hüfner, Stefan; Sachdev, Hermann; Gsell, Stefan; Schreck, Matthias

2010-08-01

The formation of well-ordered monolayers of hexagonal boron nitride on the surface of a Rh/YSZ/Si(111) multilayer substrate via a three-step boration-oxidation-nitration process was investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), x-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). The chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of trimethylborate B(OCH3)3 results in a selective decomposition of the precursor, leading to a dilute distribution of boron within the interstitials of the Rh lattice. After oxidation, the layer of a boron oxygen species of about 1 nm thickness can be transformed into a hexagonal monolayer of BN by annealing in NH3 atmosphere. The results of the present study clearly show that the formation of BN monolayers is also possible when boron and nitrogen are provided successively from separate sources. This procedure represents an alternative routine for the preparation of well-ordered BN monolayers, which benefits from a strong reduction of hazardous potential and economic costs compared to the use of borazine as the current standard precursor.

Chemical Vapor-Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride as a Scalable Template for High-Performance Organic Field-Effect Transistors

DOE PAGES

Lee, Tae Hoon; Kim, Kwanpyo; Kim, Gwangwoo; ...

2017-02-27

Organic field-effect transistors have attracted much attention because of their potential use in low-cost, large-area, flexible electronics. High-performance organic transistors require a low density of grain boundaries in their organic films and a decrease in the charge trap density at the semiconductor–dielectric interface for efficient charge transport. In this respect, the role of the dielectric material is crucial because it primarily determines the growth of the film and the interfacial trap density. Here, we demonstrate the use of chemical vapor-deposited hexagonal boron nitride (CVD h-BN) as a scalable growth template/dielectric for high-performance organic field-effect transistors. The field-effect transistors based onmore » C60 films grown on single-layer CVD h-BN exhibit an average mobility of 1.7 cm 2 V –1 s –1 and a maximal mobility of 2.9 cm 2 V –1 s –1 with on/off ratios of 10 7. The structural and morphology analysis shows that the epitaxial, two-dimensional growth of C 60 on CVD h-BN is mainly responsible for the superior charge transport behavior. In conclusion, we believe that CVD h-BN can serve as a growth template for various organic semiconductors, allowing the development of large-area, high-performance flexible electronics.« less

Chemical Vapor-Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride as a Scalable Template for High-Performance Organic Field-Effect Transistors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Tae Hoon; Kim, Kwanpyo; Kim, Gwangwoo

Organic field-effect transistors have attracted much attention because of their potential use in low-cost, large-area, flexible electronics. High-performance organic transistors require a low density of grain boundaries in their organic films and a decrease in the charge trap density at the semiconductor–dielectric interface for efficient charge transport. In this respect, the role of the dielectric material is crucial because it primarily determines the growth of the film and the interfacial trap density. Here, we demonstrate the use of chemical vapor-deposited hexagonal boron nitride (CVD h-BN) as a scalable growth template/dielectric for high-performance organic field-effect transistors. The field-effect transistors based onmore » C60 films grown on single-layer CVD h-BN exhibit an average mobility of 1.7 cm 2 V –1 s –1 and a maximal mobility of 2.9 cm 2 V –1 s –1 with on/off ratios of 10 7. The structural and morphology analysis shows that the epitaxial, two-dimensional growth of C 60 on CVD h-BN is mainly responsible for the superior charge transport behavior. In conclusion, we believe that CVD h-BN can serve as a growth template for various organic semiconductors, allowing the development of large-area, high-performance flexible electronics.« less

Anomalous thermal conductivity of monolayer boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tabarraei, Alireza, E-mail: atabarra@uncc.edu; Wang, Xiaonan

In this paper, we use nonequilibrium molecular dynamics modeling to investigate the thermal properties of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride nanoribbons under uniaxial strain along their longitudinal axis. Our simulations predict that hexagonal boron nitride shows an anomalous thermal response to the applied uniaxial strain. Contrary to three dimensional materials, under uniaxial stretching, the thermal conductivity of boron nitride nanoribbons first increases rather than decreasing until it reaches its peak value and then starts decreasing. Under compressive strain, the thermal conductivity of monolayer boron nitride ribbons monolithically reduces rather than increasing. We use phonon spectrum and dispersion curves to investigate themore » mechanism responsible for the unexpected behavior. Our molecular dynamics modeling and density functional theory results show that application of longitudinal tensile strain leads to the reduction of the group velocities of longitudinal and transverse acoustic modes. Such a phonon softening mechanism acts to reduce the thermal conductivity of the nanoribbons. On the other hand, a significant increase in the group velocity (stiffening) of the flexural acoustic modes is observed, which counteracts the phonon softening effects of the longitudinal and transverse modes. The total thermal conductivity of the ribbons is a result of competition between these two mechanisms. At low tensile strain, the stiffening mechanism overcomes the softening mechanism which leads to an increase in the thermal conductivity. At higher tensile strain, the softening mechanism supersedes the stiffening and the thermal conductivity slightly reduces. Our simulations show that the decrease in the thermal conductivity under compressive strain is attributed to the formation of buckling defects which reduces the phonon mean free path.« less

Large Area Few Layers Hexagonal Boron Nitride Prepared by Quadrupole Field Aided Exfoliation.

PubMed

Hanlun, Lu; Rong, Min Zhi; Zhang, Ming Qiu

2018-01-16

A quadrupole electric field mediated exfoliation method is proposed to convert micron sized hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) powders into few layers hexagonal boron nitride nano-sheets (h-BNNS). Under the optimum conditions (400 Hz, 40 V, 32μg/mL, sodium deoxycholate, TAE medium), the hBN powders (thickness > 200 nm, horizontal scale ~ 10 μm) are successfully exfoliated into 0.5-4 nm (1-10 layers) thick h-BNNS with the same horizontal scale. Dynamic laser scattering (DLS) and atomic force microscope (AFM) statistics show that the yield is 47.6 % (for the portion with the thickness of 0.5-6 nm), and all of the vertical sizes are reduced to smaller than 18 nm (45 layers). © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Surface functionalization of hexagonal boron nitride and its effect on the structure and performance of composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Wenqin; Zhang, Wei; Gao, Yuwen; Liang, Guozheng; Gu, Aijuan; Yuan, Li

2013-04-01

A new organized hexagonal boron nitride (OhBN) with significantly increased amount of amine groups was synthesized, and characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, UV-vis Transmittance Spectra, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and the potentiometric titration. The content of amine groups for OhBN is about 5 times of that for original hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Based on the preparation of OhBN, new composites consisting of OhBN and bismaleimide (BD) resin were developed, which show greatly improved integrated performance (including dynamic mechanical, dielectric and thermal properties) compared with BD resin and the hBN/BD composites. In the case of the OhBN/BD composite with 15 wt% OhBN, its storage modulus, dielectric loss, thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion are about 1.2, 0.56, 1.11 and 0.92 times of the corresponding values of hBN/BD composite, respectively; moreover, the glass transition temperature of the former is 15 °C higher than that of the latter. These interesting results suggest that the integrated performance of the composites is closely related to the surface nature of the fillers because the change in the surface nature not only varies the chemical structure, free volume and crosslinking density of the composite, but also determines the interfacial nature between inorganic fillers and the resin matrix. This investigation demonstrates that the method proposed herein provides a new approach to prepare organized inorganic fillers as well as corresponding composites with controlled structure and expected performances for cutting-edge industries.

Single Crystalline Film of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Atomic Monolayer by Controlling Nucleation Seeds and Domains

PubMed Central

Wu, Qinke; Park, Ji-Hoon; Park, Sangwoo; Jung, Seong Jun; Suh, Hwansoo; Park, Noejung; Wongwiriyapan, Winadda; Lee, Sungjoo; Lee, Young Hee; Song, Young Jae

2015-01-01

A monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) film with controllable domain morphology and domain size (varying from less than 1 μm to more than 100 μm) with uniform crystalline orientation was successfully synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The key for this extremely large single crystalline domain size of a h-BN monolayer is a decrease in the density of nucleation seeds by increasing the hydrogen gas flow during the h-BN growth. Moreover, the well-defined shape of h-BN flakes can be selectively grown by controlling Cu-annealing time under argon atmosphere prior to h-BN growth, which provides the h-BN shape varies in triangular, trapezoidal, hexagonal and complex shapes. The uniform crystalline orientation of h-BN from different nucleation seeds can be easily confirmed by polarized optical microscopy (POM) with a liquid crystal coating. Furthermore, seamlessly merged h-BN flakes without structural domain boundaries were evidence by a selective hydrogen etching after a full coverage of a h-BN film was achieved. This seamless large-area and atomic monolayer of single crystalline h-BN film can offer as an ideal and practical template of graphene-based devices or alternative two-dimensional materials for industrial applications with scalability. PMID:26537788

Single Crystalline Film of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Atomic Monolayer by Controlling Nucleation Seeds and Domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qinke; Park, Ji-Hoon; Park, Sangwoo; Jung, Seong Jun; Suh, Hwansoo; Park, Noejung; Wongwiriyapan, Winadda; Lee, Sungjoo; Lee, Young Hee; Song, Young Jae

2015-11-01

A monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) film with controllable domain morphology and domain size (varying from less than 1 μm to more than 100 μm) with uniform crystalline orientation was successfully synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The key for this extremely large single crystalline domain size of a h-BN monolayer is a decrease in the density of nucleation seeds by increasing the hydrogen gas flow during the h-BN growth. Moreover, the well-defined shape of h-BN flakes can be selectively grown by controlling Cu-annealing time under argon atmosphere prior to h-BN growth, which provides the h-BN shape varies in triangular, trapezoidal, hexagonal and complex shapes. The uniform crystalline orientation of h-BN from different nucleation seeds can be easily confirmed by polarized optical microscopy (POM) with a liquid crystal coating. Furthermore, seamlessly merged h-BN flakes without structural domain boundaries were evidence by a selective hydrogen etching after a full coverage of a h-BN film was achieved. This seamless large-area and atomic monolayer of single crystalline h-BN film can offer as an ideal and practical template of graphene-based devices or alternative two-dimensional materials for industrial applications with scalability.

Ion beam modification of the structure and properties of hexagonal boron nitride: An infrared and X-ray diffraction study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aradi, E.; Naidoo, S. R.; Billing, D. G.; Wamwangi, D.; Motochi, I.; Derry, T. E.

2014-07-01

The vibrational mode for the cubic symmetry of boron nitride (BN) has been produced by boron ion implantation of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). The optimum fluence at 150 keV was found to be 5 × 1014 ions/cm2. The presence of the c-BN phase was inferred using glancing incidence XRD (GIXRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). After implantation, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy indicated a peak at 1092 cm-1 which corresponds to the vibrational mode for nanocrystalline BN (nc-BN). The glancing angle XRD pattern after implantation exhibited c-BN diffraction peaks relative to the implantation depth of 0.4 μm.

Lithium doping and vacancy effects on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of hexagonal boron nitride sheet: A first-principles calculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fartab, Dorsa S.; Kordbacheh, Amirhossein Ahmadkhan

2018-06-01

The first-principles calculations based on spin-polarized density functional theory is carried out to investigate the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of a hexagonal boron nitride sheet (h-BNS) doped by one or two lithium atom(s). Moreover, a vacancy in the neighborhood of one Li-substituted atom is introduced into the system. All optimized structures indicate significant local deformations with Li atom(s) protruded to the exterior of the sheet. The defects considered at N site are energetically more favorable than their counterpart structures at B site. The spin-polarized impurity states appear within the bandgap region of the pristine h-BNS, which lead to a spontaneous magnetization with the largest magnetic moments of about 2 μB in where a single or two B atom(s) are replaced by Li atom(s). Furthermore, the Li substitution for a single B atom increases the density of holes compared to that of electrons forming a p-type semiconductor. More interestingly, the structure in which two Li are substituted two neighboring B atoms appears to show desired half-metallic behavior that may be applicable in spintronic. The results provide a way to enhance the conductivity and magnetism of the pristine h-BNS for potential applications in BN-based nanoscale devices.

Half-metallic ferromagnetism in substitutionally doped boronitrene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ukpong, A. M.; Chetty, N.

2012-11-01

We perform first-principles molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the magnetoelectronic response of substitutionally doped boronitrene to thermal excitation. We show that the local geometry, size, and edge termination of the substitutional complexes of boron, carbon, or nitrogen determine the thermodynamic stability of the monolayer. We find that hexagonal boron or triangular carbon clusters induce finite magnetic moments with 100% spin-polarized Fermi-level electrons in boronitrene. In such carbon substitutions, the spontaneous magnetic moment increases with the size of the embedded carbon cluster, and results in half-metallic ferrimagnetism above 750 K with a corresponding Curie point of 1250 K, above which the magnetization density vanishes. We predict an ultrahigh temperature half-metallic ferromagnetic phase in impurity-free boronitrene, when any three nearest-neighbor nitrogen atoms are substituted with boron, with unquenched magnetic moment up to its melting point.

Spherical boron nitride particles and method for preparing them

DOEpatents

Phillips, Jonathan; Gleiman, Seth S.; Chen, Chun-Ku

2003-11-25

Spherical and polyhedral particles of boron nitride and method of preparing them. Spherical and polyhedral particles of boron nitride are produced from precursor particles of hexagonal phase boron nitride suspended in an aerosol gas. The aerosol is directed to a microwave plasma torch. The torch generates plasma at atmospheric pressure that includes nitrogen atoms. The presence of nitrogen atoms is critical in allowing boron nitride to melt at atmospheric pressure while avoiding or at least minimizing decomposition. The plasma includes a plasma hot zone, which is a portion of the plasma that has a temperature sufficiently high to melt hexagonal phase boron nitride. In the hot zone, the precursor particles melt to form molten particles that acquire spherical and polyhedral shapes. These molten particles exit the hot zone, cool, and solidify to form solid particles of boron nitride with spherical and polyhedral shapes. The molten particles can also collide and join to form larger molten particles that lead to larger spherical and polyhedral particles.

Oriented graphene nanoribbons embedded in hexagonal boron nitride trenches

PubMed Central

Chen, Lingxiu; He, Li; Wang, Hui Shan; Wang, Haomin; Tang, Shujie; Cong, Chunxiao; Xie, Hong; Li, Lei; Xia, Hui; Li, Tianxin; Wu, Tianru; Zhang, Daoli; Deng, Lianwen; Yu, Ting; Xie, Xiaoming; Jiang, Mianheng

2017-01-01

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are ultra-narrow strips of graphene that have the potential to be used in high-performance graphene-based semiconductor electronics. However, controlled growth of GNRs on dielectric substrates remains a challenge. Here, we report the successful growth of GNRs directly on hexagonal boron nitride substrates with smooth edges and controllable widths using chemical vapour deposition. The approach is based on a type of template growth that allows for the in-plane epitaxy of mono-layered GNRs in nano-trenches on hexagonal boron nitride with edges following a zigzag direction. The embedded GNR channels show excellent electronic properties, even at room temperature. Such in-plane hetero-integration of GNRs, which is compatible with integrated circuit processing, creates a gapped channel with a width of a few benzene rings, enabling the development of digital integrated circuitry based on GNRs. PMID:28276532

Microplasma Processed Ultrathin Boron Nitride Nanosheets for Polymer Nanocomposites with Enhanced Thermal Transport Performance.

PubMed

Zhang, Ri-Chao; Sun, Dan; Lu, Ai; Askari, Sadegh; Macias-Montero, Manuel; Joseph, Paul; Dixon, Dorian; Ostrikov, Kostya; Maguire, Paul; Mariotti, Davide

2016-06-01

This Research Article reports on the enhancement of the thermal transport properties of nanocomposite materials containing hexagonal boron nitride in poly(vinyl alcohol) through room-temperature atmospheric pressure direct-current microplasma processing. Results show that the microplasma treatment leads to exfoliation of the hexagonal boron nitride in isopropyl alcohol, reducing the number of stacks from >30 to a few or single layers. The thermal diffusivity of the resulting nanocomposites reaches 8.5 mm(2) s(-1), 50 times greater than blank poly(vinyl alcohol) and twice that of nanocomposites containing nonplasma treated boron nitride nanosheets. From TEM analysis, we observe much less aggregation of the nanosheets after plasma processing along with indications of an amorphous carbon interfacial layer, which may contribute to stable dispersion of boron nitride nanosheets in the resulting plasma treated colloids.

Atomically Thin Hexagonal Boron Nitride Nanofilm for Cu Protection: The Importance of Film Perfection.

PubMed

Khan, Majharul Haque; Jamali, Sina S; Lyalin, Andrey; Molino, Paul J; Jiang, Lei; Liu, Hua Kun; Taketsugu, Tetsuya; Huang, Zhenguo

2017-01-01

Outstanding protection of Cu by high-quality boron nitride nanofilm (BNNF) 1-2 atomic layers thick in salt water is observed, while defective BNNF accelerates the reaction of Cu toward water. The chemical stability, insulating nature, and impermeability of ions through the BN hexagons render BNNF a great choice for atomic-scale protection. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Crystalline boron nitride aerogels

DOEpatents

Zettl, Alexander K.; Rousseas, Michael; Goldstein, Anna P.; Mickelson, William; Worsley, Marcus A.; Woo, Leta

2017-04-04

This disclosure provides methods and materials related to boron nitride aerogels. In one aspect, a material comprises an aerogel comprising boron nitride. The boron nitride has an ordered crystalline structure. The ordered crystalline structure may include atomic layers of hexagonal boron nitride lying on top of one another, with atoms contained in a first layer being superimposed on atoms contained in a second layer.

Hydrogenation and hydrogen intercalation of hexagonal boron nitride on Ni(1 1 1): reactivity and electronic structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Späth, F.; Gebhardt, J.; Düll, F.; Bauer, U.; Bachmann, P.; Gleichweit, C.; Görling, A.; Steinrück, H.-P.; Papp, C.

2017-09-01

We investigate the reactivity of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) on a Ni(1 1 1) single crystal towards atomic hydrogen over a wide exposure range. Near edge x-ray absorption fine structure and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) show that for low hydrogen exposures hydrogenation of the h-BN sheet is found. In contrast, intercalation of hydrogen between h-BN and the Ni(1 1 1) substrate occurs for high exposures. For intermediate regimes, a mixture of intercalation and hydrogenation is observed. From temperature-programmed desorption and temperature-programmed XPS experiments, we conclude that the hydrogen covalently bound to h-BN is rather stable with a desorption temperature of 600 K, while intercalated hydrogen is desorbing already at 390 K. Further insight into the structural arrangements and the thermodynamics of the system is obtained by comparing our experimental results with extensive density-functional theory calculations. Together with ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, the calculations provide detailed insight into the influence of hydrogenation on the electronic structure of h-BN.

Large Reduction of Hot Spot Temperature in Graphene Electronic Devices with Heat-Spreading Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

PubMed

Choi, David; Poudel, Nirakar; Park, Saungeun; Akinwande, Deji; Cronin, Stephen B; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Yao, Zhen; Shi, Li

2018-04-04

Scanning thermal microscopy measurements reveal a significant thermal benefit of including a high thermal conductivity hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) heat-spreading layer between graphene and either a SiO 2 /Si substrate or a 100 μm thick Corning flexible Willow glass (WG) substrate. At the same power density, an 80 nm thick h-BN layer on the silicon substrate can yield a factor of 2.2 reduction of the hot spot temperature, whereas a 35 nm thick h-BN layer on the WG substrate is sufficient to obtain a factor of 4.1 reduction. The larger effect of the h-BN heat spreader on WG than on SiO 2 /Si is attributed to a smaller effective heat transfer coefficient per unit area for three-dimensional heat conduction into the thick, low-thermal conductivity WG substrate than for one-dimensional heat conduction through the thin oxide layer on silicon. Consequently, the h-BN lateral heat-spreading length is much larger on WG than on SiO 2 /Si, resulting in a larger degree of temperature reduction.

Tuning dissociation using isoelectronically doped graphene and hexagonal boron nitride: Water and other small molecules

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Al-Hamdani, Yasmine S.; Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ; Alfè, Dario

2016-04-21

Novel uses for 2-dimensional materials like graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) are being frequently discovered especially for membrane and catalysis applications. Still however, a great deal remains to be understood about the interaction of environmentally and industrially relevant molecules such as water with these materials. Taking inspiration from advances in hybridising graphene and h-BN, we explore using density functional theory, the dissociation of water, hydrogen, methane, and methanol on graphene, h-BN, and their isoelectronic doped counterparts: BN doped graphene and C doped h-BN. We find that doped surfaces are considerably more reactive than their pristine counterparts and by comparingmore » the reactivity of several small molecules, we develop a general framework for dissociative adsorption. From this a particularly attractive consequence of isoelectronic doping emerges: substrates can be doped to enhance their reactivity specifically towards either polar or non-polar adsorbates. As such, these substrates are potentially viable candidates for selective catalysts and membranes, with the implication that a range of tuneable materials can be designed.« less

Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics and Lattice Dynamics-Based Force Field for Modeling Hexagonal Boron Nitride in Mechanical and Interfacial Applications.

PubMed

Govind Rajan, Ananth; Strano, Michael S; Blankschtein, Daniel

2018-04-05

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is an up-and-coming two-dimensional material, with applications in electronic devices, tribology, and separation membranes. Herein, we utilize density-functional-theory-based ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and lattice dynamics calculations to develop a classical force field (FF) for modeling hBN. The FF predicts the crystal structure, elastic constants, and phonon dispersion relation of hBN with good accuracy and exhibits remarkable agreement with the interlayer binding energy predicted by random phase approximation calculations. We demonstrate the importance of including Coulombic interactions but excluding 1-4 intrasheet interactions to obtain the correct phonon dispersion relation. We find that improper dihedrals do not modify the bulk mechanical properties and the extent of thermal vibrations in hBN, although they impact its flexural rigidity. Combining the FF with the accurate TIP4P/Ice water model yields excellent agreement with interaction energies predicted by quantum Monte Carlo calculations. Our FF should enable an accurate description of hBN interfaces in classical MD simulations.

Tuning dissociation using isoelectronically doped graphene and hexagonal boron nitride: Water and other small molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Hamdani, Yasmine S.; Alfè, Dario; von Lilienfeld, O. Anatole; Michaelides, Angelos

2016-04-01

Novel uses for 2-dimensional materials like graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) are being frequently discovered especially for membrane and catalysis applications. Still however, a great deal remains to be understood about the interaction of environmentally and industrially relevant molecules such as water with these materials. Taking inspiration from advances in hybridising graphene and h-BN, we explore using density functional theory, the dissociation of water, hydrogen, methane, and methanol on graphene, h-BN, and their isoelectronic doped counterparts: BN doped graphene and C doped h-BN. We find that doped surfaces are considerably more reactive than their pristine counterparts and by comparing the reactivity of several small molecules, we develop a general framework for dissociative adsorption. From this a particularly attractive consequence of isoelectronic doping emerges: substrates can be doped to enhance their reactivity specifically towards either polar or non-polar adsorbates. As such, these substrates are potentially viable candidates for selective catalysts and membranes, with the implication that a range of tuneable materials can be designed.

Effect of 10B isotope and vacancy defects on the phonon modes of two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sherajul Islam, Md.; Anindya, Khalid N.; Bhuiyan, Ashraful G.; Tanaka, Satoru; Makino, Takayuki; Hashimoto, Akihiro

2018-02-01

We report the details of the effects of the 10B isotope and those of B and N vacancies combined with the isotope on the phonon modes of two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). The phonon density of states and localization problems are solved using the forced vibrational method, which is suitable for an intricate and disordered system. We observe an upward shift of Raman-active E2g-mode optical phonons (32 cm-1) for a 100% 10B isotope, which matches well with the experiment and simple harmonic oscillator model. However, a downward shift of E2g-mode phonons is observed for B or N vacancies and the combination of the isotope and vacancy-type disordered BN. Strong localized eigenmodes are found for all types of defects, and a typical localization length is on the order of ˜7 nm for naturally occurring BN samples. These results are very important for understanding the heat dissipation and electron transport properties of BN-based nanoelectronics.

A high-mobility electronic system at an electrolyte-gated oxide surface

DOE PAGES

Gallagher, Patrick; Lee, Menyoung; Petach, Trevor A.; ...

2015-03-12

Electrolyte gating is a powerful technique for accumulating large carrier densities at a surface. Yet this approach suffers from significant sources of disorder: electrochemical reactions can damage or alter the sample, and the ions of the electrolyte and various dissolved contaminants sit Angstroms from the electron system. Accordingly, electrolyte gating is well suited to studies of superconductivity and other phenomena robust to disorder, but of limited use when reactions or disorder must be avoided. Here we demonstrate that these limitations can be overcome by protecting the sample with a chemically inert, atomically smooth sheet of hexagonal boron nitride. We illustratemore » our technique with electrolyte-gated strontium titanate, whose mobility when protected with boron nitride improves more than 10-fold while achieving carrier densities nearing 10 14 cm –2. In conclusion, our technique is portable to other materials, and should enable future studies where high carrier density modulation is required but electrochemical reactions and surface disorder must be minimized.« less

Isotopic effects on phonon anharmonicity in layered van der Waals crystals: Isotopically pure hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cuscó, Ramon; Artús, Luis; Edgar, James H.; Liu, Song; Cassabois, Guillaume; Gil, Bernard

2018-04-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h -BN) is a layered crystal that is attracting a great deal of attention as a promising material for nanophotonic applications. The strong optical anisotropy of this crystal is key to exploit polaritonic modes for manipulating light-matter interactions in 2D materials. h -BN has also great potential for solid-state neutron detection and neutron imaging devices, given the exceptionally high thermal neutron capture cross section of the boron-10 isotope. A good knowledge of phonons in layered crystals is essential for harnessing long-lived phonon-polariton modes for nanophotonic applications and may prove valuable for developing solid-state 10BN neutron detectors with improved device architectures and higher detection efficiencies. Although phonons in graphene and isoelectronic materials with a similar hexagonal layer structure have been studied, the effect of isotopic substitution on the phonons of such lamellar compounds has not been addressed yet. Here we present a Raman scattering study of the in-plane high-energy Raman active mode on isotopically enriched single-crystal h -BN. Phonon frequency and lifetime are measured in the 80-600-K temperature range for 10B-enriched, 11B-enriched, and natural composition high quality crystals. Their temperature dependence is explained in the light of perturbation theory calculations of the phonon self-energy. The effects of crystal anisotropy, isotopic disorder, and anharmonic phonon-decay channels are investigated in detail. The isotopic-induced changes in the phonon density of states are shown to enhance three-phonon anharmonic decay channels in 10B-enriched crystals, opening the possibility of isotope tuning of the anharmonic phonon decay processes.

Probing carbon impurities in hexagonal boron nitride epilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uddin, M. R.; Li, J.; Lin, J. Y.; Jiang, H. X.

2017-05-01

Carbon doped hexagonal boron nitride epilayers have been grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Photocurrent excitation spectroscopy has been utilized to probe the energy levels associated with carbon impurities in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). The observed transition peaks in photocurrent excitation spectra correspond well to the energy positions of the bandgap, substitutional donors (CB, carbon impurities occupying boron sites), and substitutional acceptors (CN, carbon impurities occupying nitrogen sites). From the observed transition peak positions, the derived energy level of CB donors in h-BN is ED ˜ 0.45 eV, which agrees well with the value deduced from the temperature dependent electrical resistivity. The present study further confirms that the room temperature bandgap of h-BN is about 6.42-6.45 eV, and the CN deep acceptors have an energy level of about 2.2-2.3 eV. The results also infer that carbon doping introduces both shallow donors (CB) and deep acceptors (CN) via self-compensation, and the energy level of carbon donors appears to be too deep to enable carbon as a viable candidate as an n-type dopant in h-BN epilayers.

Inter-layer potential for hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leven, Itai; Azuri, Ido; Kronik, Leeor; Hod, Oded

2014-03-01

A new interlayer force-field for layered hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) based structures is presented. The force-field contains three terms representing the interlayer attraction due to dispersive interactions, repulsion due to anisotropic overlaps of electron clouds, and monopolar electrostatic interactions. With appropriate parameterization, the potential is able to simultaneously capture well the binding and lateral sliding energies of planar h-BN based dimer systems as well as the interlayer telescoping and rotation of double walled boron-nitride nanotubes of different crystallographic orientations. The new potential thus allows for the accurate and efficient modeling and simulation of large-scale h-BN based layered structures.

Defect mediated van der Waals epitaxy of hexagonal boron nitride on graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heilmann, M.; Bashouti, M.; Riechert, H.; Lopes, J. M. J.

2018-04-01

Van der Waals heterostructures comprising of hexagonal boron nitride and graphene are promising building blocks for novel two-dimensional devices such as atomically thin transistors or capacitors. However, demonstrators of those devices have been so far mostly fabricated by mechanical assembly, a non-scalable and time-consuming method, where transfer processes can contaminate the surfaces. Here, we investigate a direct growth process for the fabrication of insulating hexagonal boron nitride on high quality epitaxial graphene using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Samples were grown at varying temperatures and times and studied using atomic force microscopy, revealing a growth process limited by desorption at high temperatures. Nucleation was mostly commencing from morphological defects in epitaxial graphene, such as step edges or wrinkles. Raman spectroscopy combined with x-ray photoelectron measurements confirm the formation of hexagonal boron nitride and prove the resilience of graphene against the nitrogen plasma used during the growth process. The electrical properties and defects in the heterostructures were studied with high lateral resolution by tunneling current and Kelvin probe force measurements. This correlated approach revealed a nucleation apart from morphological defects in epitaxial graphene, which is mediated by point defects. The presented results help understanding the nucleation and growth behavior during van der Waals epitaxy of 2D materials, and point out a route for a scalable production of van der Waals heterostructures.

High-Performance Polymers Sandwiched with Chemical Vapor Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitrides as Scalable High-Temperature Dielectric Materials.

PubMed

Azizi, Amin; Gadinski, Matthew R; Li, Qi; AlSaud, Mohammed Abu; Wang, Jianjun; Wang, Yi; Wang, Bo; Liu, Feihua; Chen, Long-Qing; Alem, Nasim; Wang, Qing

2017-09-01

Polymer dielectrics are the preferred materials of choice for power electronics and pulsed power applications. However, their relatively low operating temperatures significantly limit their uses in harsh-environment energy storage devices, e.g., automobile and aerospace power systems. Herein, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films are prepared from chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and readily transferred onto polyetherimide (PEI) films. Greatly improved performance in terms of discharged energy density and charge-discharge efficiency is achieved in the PEI sandwiched with CVD-grown h-BN films at elevated temperatures when compared to neat PEI films and other high-temperature polymer and nanocomposite dielectrics. Notably, the h-BN-coated PEI films are capable of operating with >90% charge-discharge efficiencies and delivering high energy densities, i.e., 1.2 J cm -3 , even at a temperature close to the glass transition temperature of polymer (i.e., 217 °C) where pristine PEI almost fails. Outstanding cyclability and dielectric stability over a straight 55 000 charge-discharge cycles are demonstrated in the h-BN-coated PEI at high temperatures. The work demonstrates a general and scalable pathway to enable the high-temperature capacitive energy applications of a wide range of engineering polymers and also offers an efficient method for the synthesis and transfer of 2D nanomaterials at the scale demanded for applications. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Toward achieving flexible and high sensitivity hexagonal boron nitride neutron detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maity, A.; Grenadier, S. J.; Li, J.; Lin, J. Y.; Jiang, H. X.

2017-07-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) detectors have demonstrated the highest thermal neutron detection efficiency to date among solid-state neutron detectors at about 51%. We report here the realization of h-BN neutron detectors possessing one order of magnitude enhancement in the detection area but maintaining an equal level of detection efficiency of previous achievement. These 3 mm × 3 mm detectors were fabricated from 50 μm thick freestanding and flexible 10B enriched h-BN (h-10BN) films, grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition followed by mechanical separation from sapphire substrates. Mobility-lifetime results suggested that holes are the majority carriers in unintentionally doped h-BN. The detectors were tested under thermal neutron irradiation from californium-252 (252Cf) moderated by a high density polyethylene moderator. A thermal neutron detection efficiency of ˜53% was achieved at a bias voltage of 200 V. Conforming to traditional solid-state detectors, the realization of h-BN epilayers with enhanced electrical transport properties is the key to enable scaling up the device sizes. More specifically, the present results revealed that achieving an electrical resistivity of greater than 1014 Ωṡcm and a leakage current density of below 3 × 10-10 A/cm2 is needed to fabricate large area h-BN detectors and provided guidance for achieving high sensitivity solid state neutron detectors based on h-BN.

Method for exfoliation of hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Yi (Inventor); Connell, John W. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A new method is disclosed for the exfoliation of hexagonal boron nitride into mono- and few-layered nanosheets (or nanoplatelets, nanomesh, nanoribbons). The method does not necessarily require high temperature or vacuum, but uses commercially available h-BN powders (or those derived from these materials, bulk crystals) and only requires wet chemical processing. The method is facile, cost efficient, and scalable. The resultant exfoliated h-BN is dispersible in an organic solvent or water thus amenable for solution processing for unique microelectronic or composite applications.

Evaluation of boron nitride nanotubes and hexagonal boron nitrides as nanocarriers for cancer drugs.

PubMed

Emanet, Melis; Şen, Özlem; Çulha, Mustafa

2017-04-01

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and hexagonal boron nitrides (hBNs) are novel nanostructures with high mechanical strengths, large surface areas and excellent biocompatibilities. Here, the potential use of BNNTs and hBNs as nanocarriers was comparatively investigated for use with cancer drugs. Doxorubicin (Dox) and folate are used as model drugs and targeting agents, respectively. The obtained results indicate that BNNTs have about a threefold higher Dox loading capacity than hBNs. It was also found that cellular uptake of folate-Dox-BNNTs was much higher when compared with Dox-BNNTs for HeLa cells, due to the presence of folate receptors on the cell surface, leading to increased cancer cell death. In summary, folate and Dox conjugated BNNTs are promising agents in nanomedicine and may have potential drug delivery applications.

Investigations on photoelectrochemical performance of boron doped ZnO nanorods synthesized by facile hydrothermal technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Akash; Chakraborty, Mohua; Thangavel, R.

2018-05-01

Undoped and 10% Boron (B)-doped Zinc Oxide nanorods (ZnO NRs) on Tin doped Indium Oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates were synthesized using facile sol-gel, spin coating and hydrothermal method. The impact of adding Boron on the structural, optical properties, surface morphology and photoelectrochemical (PEC) performances of the ZnO NRs have been investigated. The XRD pattern confirmed the formation of pure hexagonal phase with space group P63mc (186). The same can also be clearly observed form the FESEM images. The UV-Vis study shows the narrowing in band gap from 3.22 eV to 3.19 eV with incorporation of Boron in ZnO matrix. The B-doped ZnO NRs sample shows an enhanced photocurrent density of 1.31 mA/cm2 at 0.5 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), which is more than 171% enhancement compared to bare ZnO NRs (0.483 mA/cm2) in 0.1 M Na2SO4 aqueous solution. The results clearly indicates that the boron doped ZnO NRs can be used as an efficient photoelectrode material for photoelectrochemical cell.

Structural and electronic properties of multilayer graphene on monolayer hexagonal boron nitride/nickel (111) interface system: A van der Waals density functional study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yelgel, Celal

2016-02-01

The structural and electronic properties of multilayer graphene adsorbed on monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)/Ni(111) interface system are investigated using the density functional theory with a recently developed non-local van der Waals density functional (rvv10). The most energetically favourable configuration for a monolayer h-BN/Ni(111) interface is found to be N atom atop the Ni atoms and B atom in fcc site with the interlayer distance of 2.04 Å and adsorption energy of 302 meV/BN. Our results show that increasing graphene layers on a monolayer h-BN/Ni(111) interface leads to a weakening of the interfacial interaction between the monolayer h-BN and Ni(111) surface. The adsorption energy of graphene layers on the h-BN/Ni(111) interface is found to be in the range of the 50-120 meV/C atom as the vertical distance from h-BN to the bottommost graphene layers decreases. With the adsorption of a multilayer graphene on the monolayer h-BN/Ni(111) interface system, the band gap of 0.12 eV and 0.25 eV opening in monolayer graphene and bilayer graphene near the K point is found with an upward shifting of the Fermi level. However, a stacking-sensitive band gap is opened in trilayer graphene. We obtain the band gap of 0.35 eV close to the K point with forming a Mexican hat band structure for ABC-stacked trilayer graphene.

Multifunctional cyanate ester nanocomposites reinforced by hexagonal boron nitride after noncovalent biomimetic functionalization.

PubMed

Wu, Hongchao; Kessler, Michael R

2015-03-18

Boron nitride (BN) reinforced polymer nanocomposites have attracted a growing research interest in the microelectronic industry for their uniquely thermal conductive but electrical insulating properties. To overcome the challenges in surface functionalization, in this study, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanoparticles were noncovalently modified with polydopamine in a solvent-free aqueous condition. The strong π-π interaction between the hexagonal structural BN and aromatic dopamine molecules facilitated 15 wt % polydopamine encapsulating the nanoparticles. High-performance bisphenol E cyanate ester (BECy) was incorporated by homogeneously dispersed h-BN at different loadings and functionalities to investigate their effects on thermo-mechanical, dynamic-mechanical, and dielectric properties, as well as thermal conductivity. Different theoretical and empirical models were successfully applied to predict thermal and dielectric properties of h-BN/BECy nanocomposites. Overall, the prepared h-BN/BECy nanocomposites exhibited outstanding performance in dimensional stability, dynamic-mechanical properties, and thermal conductivity, together with the controllable dielectric property and preserved thermal stability for high-temperature applications.

Boron nitride composites

DOEpatents

Kuntz, Joshua D.; Ellsworth, German F.; Swenson, Fritz J.; Allen, Patrick G.

2016-02-16

According to one embodiment, a composite product includes hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), and a plurality of cubic boron nitride (cBN) particles, wherein the plurality of cBN particles are dispersed in a matrix of the hBN. According to another embodiment, a composite product includes a plurality of cBN particles, and one or more borate-containing binders.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Petach, Trevor A.; Reich, Konstantin V.; Zhang, Xiao

Ionic liquid gating has a number of advantages over solid-state gating, especially for flexible or transparent devices and for applications requiring high carrier densities. But, the large number of charged ions near the channel inevitably results in Coulomb scattering, which limits the carrier mobility in otherwise clean systems. We develop a model for this Coulomb scattering. We then validate our model experimentally using ionic liquid gating of graphene across varying thicknesses of hexagonal boron nitride, demonstrating that disorder in the bulk ionic liquid often dominates the scattering.

Island shape, size and interface dependency on electronic and magnetic properties of graphene hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) in-plane hybrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akman, Nurten; Özdoğan, Cem

2018-04-01

We systematically investigate the energetics of ion implantation, stability, electronic, and magnetic properties of graphene/hexagonal boron nitrate (h-BN) in-plane hybrids through first principle calculations. We consider hexagonal and triangular islands in supercells of graphene and h-BN layouts. In the case of triangular islands, both phases mix with each other by either solely Csbnd N or Csbnd B bonds. We also patterned triangles with predominating Csbnd N or Csbnd B bonds at their interfaces. The energetics of island implantation is discussed in detail. Formation energies point out that the island implantation could be even exothermic for all hybrids studied in this work. Effects of size and shape of the island, and dominating bonding sort at the island-layout interfaces on the stability, band gap, and magnetic properties of hybrids are studied particularly. The hybrids become more stable with increasing island size. Regardless of the layout, hybrids with hexagonal islands are all non-magnetic and semiconducting. One can thus open a band gap in the semimetallic graphene by mixing it with the h-BN phase. In general, hybrids containing graphene triangles show metallic property and exhibit considerable amount of magnetic moments for possible localized spin utilizations. Total magnetic moment of hybrids with both graphene and h-BN layouts increases with growing triangle island as well. The spin densities of magnetic hybrids are derived from interfaces of the islands and diminish towards their center. We suggest that the increase in stability and magnetic moment depend on the number of atoms at the interfaces rather than the island size.

Observation of biexcitonic emission at extremely low power density in tungsten disulfide atomic layers grown on hexagonal boron nitride.

PubMed

Okada, Mitsuhiro; Miyauchi, Yuhei; Matsuda, Kazunari; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Shinohara, Hisanori; Kitaura, Ryo

2017-03-23

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) including WS 2 , MoS 2 , WSe 2 and WS 2 , are two-dimensional semiconductors with direct bandgap, providing an excellent field for exploration of many-body effects in 2-dimensions (2D) through optical measurements. To fully explore the physics of TMDCs, the prerequisite is preparation of high-quality samples to observe their intrinsic properties. For this purpose, we have focused on high-quality samples, WS 2 grown by chemical vapor deposition method with hexagonal boron nitride as substrates. We observed sharp exciton emissions, whose linewidth is typically 22~23 meV, in photoluminescence spectra at room temperature, which result clearly demonstrates the high-quality of the current samples. We found that biexcitons formed with extremely low-excitation power (240 W/cm 2 ) at 80 K, and this should originate from the minimal amount of localization centers in the present high-quality samples. The results clearly demonstrate that the present samples can provide an excellent field, where one can observe various excitonic states, offering possibility of exploring optical physics in 2D and finding new condensates.

Theoretical Analysis of Thermal Transport in Graphene Supported on Hexagonal Boron Nitride: The Importance of Strong Adhesion Due to π -Bond Polarization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pak, Alexander J.; Hwang, Gyeong S.

2016-09-01

One important attribute of graphene that makes it attractive for high-performance electronics is its inherently large thermal conductivity (κ ) for the purposes of thermal management. Using a combined density-functional theory and classical molecular-dynamics approach, we predict that the κ of graphene supported on hexagonal boron nitride (h -BN) can be as large as 90% of the κ of suspended graphene, in contrast to the significant suppression of κ (more than 70% reduction) on amorphous silica. Interestingly, we find that this enhanced thermal transport is largely attributed to increased lifetimes of the in-plane acoustic phonon modes, which is a notable contrast from the dominant contribution of out-of-plane acoustic modes in suspended graphene. This behavior is possible due to the charge polarization throughout graphene that induces strong interlayer adhesion between graphene and h -BN. These findings highlight the potential benefit of layered dielectric substrates such as h -BN for graphene-based thermal management, in addition to their electronic advantages. Furthermore, our study brings attention to the importance of understanding the interlayer interactions of graphene with layered dielectric materials which may offer an alternative technological platform for substrates in electronics.

Chemical and Bandgap Engineering in Monolayer Hexagonal Boron Nitride

PubMed Central

Ba, Kun; Jiang, Wei; Cheng, Jingxin; Bao, Jingxian; Xuan, Ningning; Sun, Yangye; Liu, Bing; Xie, Aozhen; Wu, Shiwei; Sun, Zhengzong

2017-01-01

Monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) possesses a wide bandgap of ~6 eV. Trimming down the bandgap is technically attractive, yet poses remarkable challenges in chemistry. One strategy is to topological reform the h-BN’s hexagonal structure, which involves defects or grain boundaries (GBs) engineering in the basal plane. The other way is to invite foreign atoms, such as carbon, to forge bizarre hybrid structures like hetero-junctions or semiconducting h-BNC materials. Here we successfully developed a general chemical method to synthesize these different h-BN derivatives, showcasing how the chemical structure can be manipulated with or without a graphene precursor, and the bandgap be tuned to ~2 eV, only one third of the pristine one’s. PMID:28367992

Metal-free spin and spin-gapless semiconducting heterobilayers: monolayer boron carbonitrides on hexagonal boron nitride.

PubMed

Pan, Hongzhe; Zhang, Hongyu; Sun, Yuanyuan; Ding, Yingchun; Chen, Jie; Du, Youwei; Tang, Nujiang

2017-06-07

The interfaces between monolayer boron carbonitrides and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) play an important role in their practical applications. Herein, we respectively investigate the structural and electronic properties of two metal-free heterobilayers constructed by vertically stacking two-dimensional (2D) spintronic materials (B 4 CN 3 and B 3 CN 4 ) on a h-BN monolayer from the viewpoints of lattice match and lattice mismatch models using density functional calculations. It is found that both B 4 CN 3 and B 3 CN 4 monolayers can be stably adsorbed on the h-BN monolayer due to the van der Waals interactions. Intriguingly, we demonstrate that the bipolar magnetic semiconductor (BMS) behavior of the B 4 CN 3 layer and the spin gapless semiconductor (SGS) property of the B 3 CN 4 layer can be well preserved in the B 4 CN 3 /BN and B 3 CN 4 /BN heterobilayers, respectively. The magnetic moments and spintronic properties of the two systems originate mainly from the 2p z electrons of the carbon atoms in the B 4 CN 3 and B 3 CN 4 layers. Furthermore, the BMS behavior of the B 4 CN 3 /BN bilayer is very robust while the electronic property of the B 3 CN 4 /BN bilayer is sensitive to interlayer couplings. These theoretical results are helpful both in understanding the interlayer coupling between B 4 CN 3 or B 3 CN 4 and h-BN monolayers and in providing a possibility of fabricating 2D composite B 4 CN 3 /BN and B 3 CN 4 /BN metal-free spintronic materials theoretically.

Corrosion resistance of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride on copper

PubMed Central

Mahvash, F.; Eissa, S.; Bordjiba, T.; Tavares, A. C.; Szkopek, T.; Siaj, M.

2017-01-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a layered material with high thermal and chemical stability ideal for ultrathin corrosion resistant coatings. Here, we report the corrosion resistance of Cu with hBN grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Cyclic voltammetry measurements reveal that hBN layers inhibit Cu corrosion and oxygen reduction. We find that CVD grown hBN reduces the Cu corrosion rate by one order of magnitude compared to bare Cu, suggesting that this ultrathin layer can be employed as an atomically thin corrosion-inhibition coating. PMID:28191822

A simple method to synthesize polyhedral hexagonal boron nitride nanofibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Liang-xu; Zheng, Ying; Li, Zhao-hui; shen, Xiao-nv; Wei, Ke-mei

2007-12-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) fibers with polyhedral morphology were synthesized with a simple-operational, large-scale and low-cost method. The sample obtained was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), electron energy lose spectroscopy (EELS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), etc., which matched with h-BN. Environment scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) indicated that the BN fibers possess polyhedral morphology. The diameter of the BN fibers is mainly in the range of 100-500 nm.

Electron tunneling through atomically flat and ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Gwan-Hyoung; Yu, Young-Jun; Lee, Changgu; Dean, Cory; Shepard, Kenneth L.; Kim, Philip; Hone, James

2011-12-01

Electron tunneling through atomically flat and ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) on gold-coated mica was investigated using conductive atomic force microscopy. Low-bias direct tunneling was observed in mono-, bi-, and tri-layer h-BN. For all thicknesses, Fowler-Nordheim tunneling (FNT) occurred at high bias, showing an increase of breakdown voltage with thickness. Based on the FNT model, the barrier height for tunneling (3.07 eV) and dielectric strength (7.94 MV/cm) of h-BN are obtained; these values are comparable to those of SiO2.

Methods of forming boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trowbridge, Tammy L; Wertsching, Alan K; Pinhero, Patrick J

A method of forming a boron nitride. The method comprises contacting a metal article with a monomeric boron-nitrogen compound and converting the monomeric boron-nitrogen compound to a boron nitride. The boron nitride is formed on the same or a different metal article. The monomeric boron-nitrogen compound is borazine, cycloborazane, trimethylcycloborazane, polyborazylene, B-vinylborazine, poly(B-vinylborazine), or combinations thereof. The monomeric boron-nitrogen compound is polymerized to form the boron nitride by exposure to a temperature greater than approximately 100.degree. C. The boron nitride is amorphous boron nitride, hexagonal boron nitride, rhombohedral boron nitride, turbostratic boron nitride, wurzite boron nitride, combinations thereof, or boronmore » nitride and carbon. A method of conditioning a ballistic weapon and a metal article coated with the monomeric boron-nitrogen compound are also disclosed.« less

Chemisorption of Hydroxide on 2D Materials From DFT Calculations: Graphene Versus Hexagonal Boron Nitride

PubMed Central

Grosjean, Benoit; Pean, Clarisse; Siria, Alessandro; Bocquet, Lyderic; Vuilleumier, Rodolphe; Bocquet, Marie-Laure

2017-01-01

Recent nanofluidic measurements revealed strongly different surface charge measurements for boron-nitride and graphitic nanotubes when in contact with saline and alkaline water. 1,2 These observations contrast with the similar reactivity of a graphene layer and its boron nitride counterpart, using Density Functional Theory (DFT) framework, for intact and dissociative adsorption of gaseous water molecules. Here, we investigate, by DFT in implicit water, single and multiple adsorption of anionic hydroxide on single layers. A differential adsorption strength is found in vacuum for the first ionic adsorption on the two materials – chemisorbed on BN while physisorbed on graphene. The effect of implicit solvation reduces all adsorption values resulting in a favorable (non-favorable) adsorption on BN (graphene). We also calculate a pKa ≃ 6 for BN in water, in good agreement with experiments. Comparatively, the unfavorable results for graphene in water echoes the weaker surface charge measurements, but points to an alternative scenario. PMID:27809540

Boron nitride solid state neutron detector

DOEpatents

Doty, F. Patrick

2004-04-27

The present invention describes an apparatus useful for detecting neutrons, and particularly for detecting thermal neutrons, while remaining insensitive to gamma radiation. Neutrons are detected by direct measurement of current pulses produced by an interaction of the neutrons with hexagonal pyrolytic boron nitride.

Characterization and manipulation of individual defects in insulating hexagonal boron nitride using scanning tunnelling microscopy.

PubMed

Wong, Dillon; Velasco, Jairo; Ju, Long; Lee, Juwon; Kahn, Salman; Tsai, Hsin-Zon; Germany, Chad; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Zettl, Alex; Wang, Feng; Crommie, Michael F

2015-11-01

Defects play a key role in determining the properties and technological applications of nanoscale materials and, because they tend to be highly localized, characterizing them at the single-defect level is of particular importance. Scanning tunnelling microscopy has long been used to image the electronic structure of individual point defects in conductors, semiconductors and ultrathin films, but such single-defect electronic characterization remains an elusive goal for intrinsic bulk insulators. Here, we show that individual native defects in an intrinsic bulk hexagonal boron nitride insulator can be characterized and manipulated using a scanning tunnelling microscope. This would typically be impossible due to the lack of a conducting drain path for electrical current. We overcome this problem by using a graphene/boron nitride heterostructure, which exploits the atomically thin nature of graphene to allow the visualization of defect phenomena in the underlying bulk boron nitride. We observe three different defect structures that we attribute to defects within the bulk insulating boron nitride. Using scanning tunnelling spectroscopy we obtain charge and energy-level information for these boron nitride defect structures. We also show that it is possible to manipulate the defects through voltage pulses applied to the scanning tunnelling microscope tip.

Origin of band gaps in graphene on hexagonal boron nitride

PubMed Central

Jung, Jeil; DaSilva, Ashley M.; MacDonald, Allan H.; Adam, Shaffique

2015-01-01

Recent progress in preparing well-controlled two-dimensional van der Waals heterojunctions has opened up a new frontier in materials physics. Here we address the intriguing energy gaps that are sometimes observed when a graphene sheet is placed on a hexagonal boron nitride substrate, demonstrating that they are produced by an interesting interplay between structural and electronic properties, including electronic many-body exchange interactions. Our theory is able to explain the observed gap behaviour by accounting first for the structural relaxation of graphene’s carbon atoms when placed on a boron nitride substrate, and then for the influence of the substrate on low-energy π-electrons located at relaxed carbon atom sites. The methods we employ can be applied to many other van der Waals heterojunctions. PMID:25695638

Determination of the optical band-gap energy of cubic and hexagonal boron nitride using luminescence excitation spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, D. A.; McGlynn, A. G.; Towlson, B. M.; Gunn, M.; Jones, D.; Jenkins, T. E.; Winter, R.; Poolton, N. R. J.

2008-02-01

Using synchrotron-based luminescence excitation spectroscopy in the energy range 4-20 eV at 8 K, the indirect Γ-X optical band-gap transition in cubic boron nitride is determined as 6.36 ± 0.03 eV, and the quasi-direct band-gap energy of hexagonal boron nitride is determined as 5.96 ± 0.04 eV. The composition and structure of the materials are self-consistently established by optically detected x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and both x-ray diffraction and Raman measurements on the same samples give independent confirmation of their chemical and structural purity: together, the results are therefore considered as providing definitive measurements of the optical band-gap energies of the two materials.

Light scattering and random lasing in aqueous suspensions of hexagonal boron nitride nanoflakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Brien, S. A.; Harvey, A.; Griffin, A.; Donnelly, T.; Mulcahy, D.; Coleman, J. N.; Donegan, J. F.; McCloskey, D.

2017-11-01

Liquid phase exfoliation allows large scale production of 2D materials in solution. The particles are highly anisotropic and strongly scatter light. While spherical particles can be accurately and precisely described by a single parameter—the radius, 2D nanoflakes, however, cannot be so easily described. We investigate light scattering in aqueous solutions of 2D hexagonal boron nitride nanoflakes in the single and multiple scattering regimes. In the single scattering regime, the anisotropic 2D materials show a much stronger depolarization of light when compared to spherical particles of similar size. In the multiple scattering regime, the scattering as a function of optical path for hexagonal boron nitride nanoflakes of a given lateral length was found to be qualitatively equivalent to scattering from spheres with the same diameter. We also report the presence of random lasing in high concentration suspensions of aqueous h-BN mixed with Rhodamine B dye. The h-BN works as a scattering agent and Rhodamine B as a gain medium for the process. We observed random lasing at 587 nm with a threshold energy of 0.8 mJ.

Light scattering and random lasing in aqueous suspensions of hexagonal boron nitride nanoflakes.

PubMed

O'Brien, S A; Harvey, A; Griffin, A; Donnelly, T; Mulcahy, D; Coleman, J N; Donegan, J F; McCloskey, D

2017-11-24

Liquid phase exfoliation allows large scale production of 2D materials in solution. The particles are highly anisotropic and strongly scatter light. While spherical particles can be accurately and precisely described by a single parameter-the radius, 2D nanoflakes, however, cannot be so easily described. We investigate light scattering in aqueous solutions of 2D hexagonal boron nitride nanoflakes in the single and multiple scattering regimes. In the single scattering regime, the anisotropic 2D materials show a much stronger depolarization of light when compared to spherical particles of similar size. In the multiple scattering regime, the scattering as a function of optical path for hexagonal boron nitride nanoflakes of a given lateral length was found to be qualitatively equivalent to scattering from spheres with the same diameter. We also report the presence of random lasing in high concentration suspensions of aqueous h-BN mixed with Rhodamine B dye. The h-BN works as a scattering agent and Rhodamine B as a gain medium for the process. We observed random lasing at 587 nm with a threshold energy of 0.8 mJ.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jain, Richa Naja, E-mail: ltprichanaja@gmail.com; Chakraborty, Brahmananda; Ramaniah, Lavanya M.

The electronic structure and hydrogen storage capability of Yttrium-doped BNNTs has been theoretically investigated using first principles density functional theory (DFT). Yttrium atom prefers the hollow site in the center of the hexagonal ring with a binding energy of 0.8048eV. Decorating by Y makes the system half-metallic and magnetic with a magnetic moment of 1.0µ{sub B}. Y decorated Boron-Nitride (8,0) nanotube can adsorb up to five hydrogen molecules whose average binding energy is computed as 0.5044eV. All the hydrogen molecules are adsorbed with an average desorption temperature of 644.708 K. Taking that the Y atoms can be placed only in alternatemore » hexagons, the implied wt% comes out to be 5.31%, a relatively acceptable value for hydrogen storage materials. Thus, this system can serve as potential hydrogen storage medium.« less

Boron nitride - Composition, optical properties, and mechanical behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pouch, John J.; Alterovitz, Samuel A.; Miyoshi, Kazuhisa; Warner, Joseph D.

1987-01-01

A low energy ion beam deposition technique was used to grow boron nitride films on quartz, germanium, silicon, gallium arsenide, and indium phosphate. The film structure was amorphous with evidence of a hexagonal phase. The peak boron concentration was 82 at. percent. The carbon and oxygen impurities were in the 5 to 8 at. percent range. Boron-nitrogen and boron-boron bonds were revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The index of refraction varied from 1.65 to 1.67 for films deposited on III-V compound semiconductors. The coefficient of friction for boron nitride in sliding contact with diamond was less than 0.1. The substrate was silicon.

Boron nitride: Composition, optical properties and mechanical behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pouch, John J.; Alterovitz, Samuel A.; Miyoshi, Kazuhisa; Warner, Joseph D.

1987-01-01

A low energy ion beam deposition technique was used to grow boron nitride films on quartz, germanium, silicon, gallium arsenide, and indium phosphate. The film structure was amorphous with evidence of a hexagonal phase. The peak boron concentration was 82 at %. The carbon and oxygen impurities were in the 5 to 8 at % range. Boron-nitrogen and boron-boron bonds were revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The index of refraction varied from 1.65 to 1.67 for films deposited on III-V compound semiconductors. The coefficient of friction for boron nitride in sliding contact with diamond was less than 0.1. The substrate was silicon.

Experimental observation of boron nitride chains.

PubMed

Cretu, Ovidiu; Komsa, Hannu-Pekka; Lehtinen, Ossi; Algara-Siller, Gerardo; Kaiser, Ute; Suenaga, Kazu; Krasheninnikov, Arkady V

2014-12-23

We report the formation and characterization of boron nitride atomic chains. The chains were made from hexagonal boron nitride sheets using the electron beam inside a transmission electron microscope. We find that the stability and lifetime of the chains are significantly improved when they are supported by another boron nitride layer. With the help of first-principles calculations, we prove the heteroatomic structure of the chains and determine their mechanical and electronic properties. Our study completes the analogy between various boron nitride and carbon polymorphs, in accordance with earlier theoretical predictions.

Disorder from the Bulk Ionic Liquid in Electric Double Layer Transistors

DOE PAGES

Petach, Trevor A.; Reich, Konstantin V.; Zhang, Xiao; ...

2017-07-28

Ionic liquid gating has a number of advantages over solid-state gating, especially for flexible or transparent devices and for applications requiring high carrier densities. But, the large number of charged ions near the channel inevitably results in Coulomb scattering, which limits the carrier mobility in otherwise clean systems. We develop a model for this Coulomb scattering. We then validate our model experimentally using ionic liquid gating of graphene across varying thicknesses of hexagonal boron nitride, demonstrating that disorder in the bulk ionic liquid often dominates the scattering.

Gate-tunable resonant tunneling in double bilayer graphene heterostructures.

PubMed

Fallahazad, Babak; Lee, Kayoung; Kang, Sangwoo; Xue, Jiamin; Larentis, Stefano; Corbet, Christopher; Kim, Kyounghwan; Movva, Hema C P; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Register, Leonard F; Banerjee, Sanjay K; Tutuc, Emanuel

2015-01-14

We demonstrate gate-tunable resonant tunneling and negative differential resistance in the interlayer current-voltage characteristics of rotationally aligned double bilayer graphene heterostructures separated by hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) dielectric. An analysis of the heterostructure band alignment using individual layer densities, along with experimentally determined layer chemical potentials indicates that the resonance occurs when the energy bands of the two bilayer graphene are aligned. We discuss the tunneling resistance dependence on the interlayer hBN thickness, as well as the resonance width dependence on mobility and rotational alignment.

Large Excitonic Reflectivity of Monolayer MoSe2 Encapsulated in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scuri, Giovanni; Zhou, You; High, Alexander A.; Wild, Dominik S.; Shu, Chi; De Greve, Kristiaan; Jauregui, Luis A.; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Kim, Philip; Lukin, Mikhail D.; Park, Hongkun

2018-01-01

We demonstrate that a single layer of MoSe2 encapsulated by hexagonal boron nitride can act as an electrically switchable mirror at cryogenic temperatures, reflecting up to 85% of incident light at the excitonic resonance. This high reflectance is a direct consequence of the excellent coherence properties of excitons in this atomically thin semiconductor. We show that the MoSe2 monolayer exhibits power-and wavelength-dependent nonlinearities that stem from exciton-based lattice heating in the case of continuous-wave excitation and exciton-exciton interactions when fast, pulsed laser excitation is used.

A platform for large-scale graphene electronics--CVD growth of single-layer graphene on CVD-grown hexagonal boron nitride.

PubMed

Wang, Min; Jang, Sung Kyu; Jang, Won-Jun; Kim, Minwoo; Park, Seong-Yong; Kim, Sang-Woo; Kahng, Se-Jong; Choi, Jae-Young; Ruoff, Rodney S; Song, Young Jae; Lee, Sungjoo

2013-05-21

Direct chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of single-layer graphene on CVD-grown hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) film can suggest a large-scale and high-quality graphene/h-BN film hybrid structure with a defect-free interface. This sequentially grown graphene/h-BN film shows better electronic properties than that of graphene/SiO2 or graphene transferred on h-BN film, and suggests a new promising template for graphene device fabrication. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Graphene-hexagonal boron nitride resonant tunneling diodes as high-frequency oscillators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gaskell, J.; Fromhold, T. M.; Greenaway, M. T.

We assess the potential of two-terminal graphene-hexagonal boron nitride-graphene resonant tunneling diodes as high-frequency oscillators, using self-consistent quantum transport and electrostatic simulations to determine the time-dependent response of the diodes in a resonant circuit. We quantify how the frequency and power of the current oscillations depend on the diode and circuit parameters including the doping of the graphene electrodes, device geometry, alignment of the graphene lattices, and the circuit impedances. Our results indicate that current oscillations with frequencies of up to several hundred GHz should be achievable.

Ultrasensitive gas detection of large-area boron-doped graphene

DOE PAGES

Lv, Ruitao; Chen, Gugang; Li, Qing; ...

2015-11-02

Heteroatom doping is an efficient way to modify the chemical and electronic properties of graphene. In particular, boron doping is expected to induce a p-type conducting behavior to pristine (undoped) graphene which could lead to diverse applications. But, the experimental progress on atomic scale visualization and sensing properties of large-area boron-doped graphene (BG) sheets is still very scarce. This work describes the controlled growth of centimeter size, high-crystallinity BG sheets. Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy are used to visualize the atomic structure and the local density of states around boron dopants. We confirmed that BG behaves as a p-type conductormore » and a unique croissant-like feature is frequently observed within the BG lattice, which is caused by the presence of B-C trimmers embedded within the hexagonal lattice. Interestingly, it is demonstrated for the first time that BG exhibits unique sensing capabilities when detecting toxic gases, such as NO 2 and NH 3 , being able to detect extremely low concentrations (e.g. parts per trillion, parts per billion). Our work envisions that other attractive applications could now be explored based on as-synthesized BG.« less

Layer speciation and electronic structure investigation of freestanding hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

WangEqual Contribution To This Work., Jian; Wang, Zhiqiang; Cho, Hyunjin; Kim, Myung Jong; Sham, T. K.; Sun, Xuhui

2015-01-01

Chemical imaging, thickness mapping, layer speciation and polarization dependence have been performed on single and multilayered (up to three layers and trilayered nanosheets overlapping to form 6 and 9 layers) hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanosheets by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy. Spatially-resolved XANES directly from freestanding regions of different layers has been extracted and compared with sample normal and 30° tilted configurations. Notably a double feature σ* excitonic state and a stable high energy σ* state were observed at the boron site in addition to the intense π* excitonic state. The boron projected σ* DOS, especially the first σ* exciton, is sensitive to surface modification, particularly in the single layered hBN nanosheet which shows more significant detectable contaminants and defects such as tri-coordinated boron/nitrogen oxide. The nitrogen site has shown very weak or no excitonic character. The distinct excitonic effect on boron and nitrogen was interpreted to the partly ionic state of hBN. Bulk XANES of hBN nanosheets was also measured to confirm the spectro-microscopic STXM result. Finally, the unoccupied electronic structures of hBN and graphene were compared.Chemical imaging, thickness mapping, layer speciation and polarization dependence have been performed on single and multilayered (up to three layers and trilayered nanosheets overlapping to form 6 and 9 layers) hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanosheets by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy. Spatially-resolved XANES directly from freestanding regions of different layers has been extracted and compared with sample normal and 30° tilted configurations. Notably a double feature σ* excitonic state and a stable high energy σ* state were observed at the boron site in addition to the intense π* excitonic state. The boron projected σ* DOS, especially the first σ* exciton, is sensitive to surface modification, particularly in the single layered hBN nanosheet which shows more significant detectable contaminants and defects such as tri-coordinated boron/nitrogen oxide. The nitrogen site has shown very weak or no excitonic character. The distinct excitonic effect on boron and nitrogen was interpreted to the partly ionic state of hBN. Bulk XANES of hBN nanosheets was also measured to confirm the spectro-microscopic STXM result. Finally, the unoccupied electronic structures of hBN and graphene were compared. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr04445b

Compression parameters of hexagonal boron nitride on direct compression mixture of microcrystalline cellulose and modified starch.

PubMed

Halaçoğlu, Mekin Doğa; Uğurlu, Timuçin

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of conventional lubricants including a new candidate lubricant "hexagonal boron nitride (HBN)" on direct compression powders. Lubricants such as magnesium stearate (MGST), glyceryl behenate, stearic acid, talc and polyethylene glycol6000 were studied and tablets were manufactured on a single station instrumented tablet press. This study comprised the continuation of our previous one, so mixture of microcrystalline cellulose and modified starch was used as a master formula to evaluate effects of lubricants on pharmaceutical excipients that undergo complete plastic deformation without any fragmentation under compression pressure. Bulk and tapped densities, and Carr's index parameters were calculated for powders. Tensile strength, cohesion index, lower punch ejection force and lubricant effectiveness values were investigated for tablets. The deformation mechanisms of tablets were studied during compression from the Heckel plots with or without lubricant. MGST was found to be the most effective lubricant and HBN was found very close to it. HBN did not show a significant negative effect on the crushing strength and disintegration time of the tablets when we compared with MGST. Based on the Heckel plots at the level of 1%, formulation prepared with HBN showed the most pronounced plastic character.

Modification of the electronic properties of hexagonal boron-nitride in BN/graphene vertical heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Pan, Minghu; Liang, Liangbo; Lin, Wenzhi; ...

2016-09-28

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures consist of isolated atomic planar structures, assembled layer- by-layer into desired structures in a well-defined sequence. Graphene deposited on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has been first considered as a testbed system for vdW heterostructures, and many others have been demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally, revealing many attractive properties and phenomena. However, much less emphasis has been placed on how graphene actively affects h-BN properties. Here, we perform local probe measurements on single-layer h-BN grown over graphene and highlight the manifestation of a proximity effect that significantly affects the electronic properties of h-BN due to itsmore » coupling with the underlying graphene. We find electronic states originating from the graphene layer and the Cu substrate to be injected into the wide electronic gap of the h-BN top layer. Such proximity effect is further confirmed in a study of the variation of h-BN in-gap states with interlayer couplings, elucidated using a combination of topographical/ spectroscopic measurements and first-principles density functional theory calculations. In conclusion, the findings of this work indicate the potential of mutually engineering electronic properties of the components of vdW heterostructures.« less

Realization of highly efficient hexagonal boron nitride neutron detectors

DOE PAGES

Maity, A.; Doan, T. C.; Li, J.; ...

2016-08-16

Here, we report the achievement of highly efficient 10B enriched hexagonal boron nitride (h- 10BN) direct conversion neutron detectors. These detectors were realized from freestanding 4-in. diameter h- 10BN wafers 43 μm in thickness obtained from epitaxy growth and subsequent mechanical separation from sapphire substrates. Both sides of the film were subjected to ohmic contact deposition to form a simple vertical “photoconductor-type” detector. Transport measurements revealed excellent vertical transport properties including high electrical resistivity (>10 13 Ω cm) and mobility-lifetime (μτ) products. A much larger μτ product for holes compared to that of electrons along the c-axis of h- BNmore » was observed, implying that holes (electrons) behave like majority (minority) carriers in undoped h- BN. Exposure to thermal neutrons from a californium-252 ( 252Cf) source moderated by a high density polyethylene moderator reveals that 43 μm h- 10BN detectors possess 51.4% detection efficiency at a bias voltage of 400 V, which is the highest reported efficiency for any semiconductor-based neutron detector. The results point to the possibility of obtaining highly efficient, compact solid-state neutron detectors with high gamma rejection and low manufacturing and maintenance costs.« less

The interface between ferroelectric and 2D material for a Ferroelectric Field-Effect Transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Nahee; Kang, Haeyong; Lee, Sang-Goo; Lee, Young Hee; Suh, Dongseok

We have studied electrical property of ferroelectric field-effect transistor which consists of graphene on hexagonal Boron-Nitride (h-BN) gated by a ferroelectric, PMN-PT (i.e. (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3) O3-xPbTiO3) single-crystal substrate. The PMN-PT was expected to have an effect on polarization field into the graphene channel and to induce a giant amount of surface charge. The hexagonal Boron-Nitride (h-BN) flake was directly exfoliated on the PMN-PT substrate for preventing graphene from directly contacting on the PMN-PT substrate. It can make us to observe the effect of the interface between ferroelectric and 2D material on the device operation. Monolayer graphene as 2D channel material, which was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, was transferred on top of the hexagonal Boron-Nitride (h-BN) by using the conventional dry-transfer method. Here, we can demonstrate that the structure of graphene/hexagonal-BN/ferroelectric field-effect transistor makes us to clearly understand the device operation as well as the interface between ferroelectric and 2D materials by inserting h-BN between them. The phenomena such as anti-hysteresis, current saturation behavior, and hump-like increase of channel current, will be discussed by in terms of ferroelectric switching, polarization-assisted charge trapping.

Chemical reaction of hexagonal boron nitride and graphite nanoclusters in mechanical milling systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Muramatsu, Y.; Grush, M.; Callcott, T.A.

1997-04-01

Synthesis of boron-carbon-nitride (BCN) hybrid alloys has been attempted extensively by many researchers because the BCN alloys are considered an extremely hard material called {open_quotes}super diamond,{close_quotes} and the industrial application for wear-resistant materials is promising. A mechanical alloying (MA) method of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with graphite has recently been studied to explore the industrial synthesis of the BCN alloys. To develop the MA method for the BCN alloy synthesis, it is necessary to confirm the chemical reaction processes in the mechanical milling systems and to identify the reaction products. Therefore, the authors have attempted to confirm the chemical reactionmore » process of the h-BN and graphite in mechanical milling systems using x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) methods.« less

Effect of polymer residues on the electrical properties of large-area graphene–hexagonal boron nitride planar heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Voyloy, Dimitry; Lassiter, Matthew G.; Sokolov, Alexei P.; ...

2017-06-19

Polymer residue plays an important role in the performance of 2D heterostructured materials. Herein, we study the effect of polymer residual impurities on the electrical properties of graphene–boron nitride planar heterostructures. Large-area graphene (Gr) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayers were synthesized using chemical vapor deposition techniques. Atomic van-der-Waals heterostructure layers based on varied configurations of Gr and h-BN layers were assembled. The average interlayer resistance of the heterojunctions over a 1 cm 2 area for several planar heterostructure configurations was assessed by impedance spectroscopy and modeled by equivalent electrical circuits. As a result, conductive AFM measurements showed that themore » presence of polymer residues on the surface of the Gr and h-BN monolayers resulted in significant resistance deviations over nanoscale regions.« less

Effect of polymer residues on the electrical properties of large-area graphene–hexagonal boron nitride planar heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Voyloy, Dimitry; Lassiter, Matthew G.; Sokolov, Alexei P.

Polymer residue plays an important role in the performance of 2D heterostructured materials. Herein, we study the effect of polymer residual impurities on the electrical properties of graphene–boron nitride planar heterostructures. Large-area graphene (Gr) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayers were synthesized using chemical vapor deposition techniques. Atomic van-der-Waals heterostructure layers based on varied configurations of Gr and h-BN layers were assembled. The average interlayer resistance of the heterojunctions over a 1 cm 2 area for several planar heterostructure configurations was assessed by impedance spectroscopy and modeled by equivalent electrical circuits. As a result, conductive AFM measurements showed that themore » presence of polymer residues on the surface of the Gr and h-BN monolayers resulted in significant resistance deviations over nanoscale regions.« less

The influence of metal Mg on micro-morphology and crystallinity of spherical hexagonal boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Ning, E-mail: zhangning5832@163.com; Liu, Huan; Kan, Hongmin

2015-08-15

Highlights: • The action mechanism of Mg to the synthesis of spherical BN was explored. • The influence of Mg content on the crystallinity of h-BN powders was studied. • Even if not added any template, the spherical h-BN could be prepared. - Abstract: This search used the boric acid and borax as a source of boron, urea as a nitrogen source, Mg as metal catalyst, and thus prepared different micro-morphology and crystallinity hexagonal boron nitride powders under a flowing ammonia atmosphere at a nitriding temperature of 750 °C. The effect of Mg content on the crystallinity and micro-morphology ofmore » hexagonal boron nitride powders was studied, and the Mg action mechanism was explored. Without the added surfactant, the graphitization index (GI) was 6.87, and the diameter of the spherical h-BN was bigger. When the added Mg were 0.1 g, 0.3 g, 0.5 g and 0.7 g, the (GI) decreased to 6.04, 5.67, 4.62 and 4.84, respectively. When the Mg content was higher (0.9 g), GI value increased rapidly, and the crystallinity became bad. When the Mg content was 0.5 g, the dispersion of h-BN powders was at its optimum and refinement apparently, and the crystallinity at its highest.« less

Low pressure growth of cubic boron nitride films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ong, Tiong P. (Inventor); Shing, Yuh-Han (Inventor)

1997-01-01

A method for forming thin films of cubic boron nitride on substrates at low pressures and temperatures. A substrate is first coated with polycrystalline diamond to provide a uniform surface upon which cubic boron nitride can be deposited by chemical vapor deposition. The cubic boron nitride film is useful as a substitute for diamond coatings for a variety of applications in which diamond is not suitable. any tetragonal or hexagonal boron nitride. The cubic boron nitride produced in accordance with the preceding example is particularly well-suited for use as a coating for ultra hard tool bits and abrasives, especially those intended to use in cutting or otherwise fabricating iron.

Inexpensive Method for Coating the Interior of Silica Growth Ampoules with Pyrolytic Boron Nitride

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Jianbin; Regel, Liya L.; Wilcox, William R.

2003-01-01

An inexpensive method was developed for coating the interior of silica ampoules with hexagonal boron nitride. An aqueous solution of boric acid was used to coat the ampoule prior to drying in a vacuum at 200 C. This coating was converted to transparent boron nitride by heating in ammonia at 1000 C. Coated ampoules were used to achieve detached solidification of indium antimonide on earth.

Superior thermal conductivity in suspended bilayer hexagonal boron nitride

PubMed Central

Wang, Chengru; Guo, Jie; Dong, Lan; Aiyiti, Adili; Xu, Xiangfan; Li, Baowen

2016-01-01

We reported the basal-plane thermal conductivity in exfoliated bilayer hexagonal boron nitride h-BN that was measured using suspended prepatterned microstructures. The h-BN sample suitable for thermal measurements was fabricated by dry-transfer method, whose sample quality, due to less polymer residues on surfaces, is believed to be superior to that of PMMA-mediated samples. The measured room temperature thermal conductivity is around 484 Wm−1K−1(+141 Wm−1K−1/ −24 Wm−1K−1) which exceeds that in bulk h-BN, providing experimental observation of the thickness-dependent thermal conductivity in suspended few-layer h-BN. PMID:27142571

Electron paramagnetic resonance of deep boron in silicon carbide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baranov, P. G.; Mokhov, E. N.

1996-04-01

In this article we report the first EPR observation of deep boron centres in silicon carbide. A direct identification of the boron atom involved in the defect centre, considered as deep boron, has been established by the presence of a hyperfine interaction with 0268-1242/11/4/005/img1 and 0268-1242/11/4/005/img2 nuclei in isotope-enriched 6H-SiC:B crystals. Deep boron centres were shown from EPR spectra to have axial symmetry along the hexagonal axis. A correspondence between the EPR spectra and the luminescence, ODMR and DLTS spectra of deep boron centres has been indicated. The structural model for a deep boron centre as a boron - vacancy pair is presented and the evidence for bistable behaviour of deep boron centres is discussed.

Effect of boron and phosphorus codoping on the electronic and optical properties of graphitic carbon nitride monolayers: First-principle simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yousefi, Mahdieh; Faraji, Monireh; Asgari, Reza; Moshfegh, Alireza Z.

2018-05-01

We study the effect of boron (B) and phosphorous (P) doping and B/P codoping on electronic and optical properties of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4 or GCN) monolayers using density functional simulations. The energy band structure indicates that the incorporation of both B and P into a hexagonal lattice of GCN reduces the energy band gap from 3.1 for pristine GCN to 1.9 eV, thus extending light absorption toward the visible region. Moreover, on the basis of calculating absorption spectra and dielectric function, the codoped system exhibits an improved absorption intensity in the visible region and more electronic transitions, which named π* electronic transitions that occurred and were prohibited in the pristine GCN. These transitions can be attributed to charge redistribution upon doping, caused by distorted configurable B/P-codoped GCN confirmed by both electron density and Mulliken charge population. Therefore, B/P-codoped GCN is expected to be an auspicious candidate to be used as a promising photoelectrode in photoelectrochemical water splitting reactions leading to efficient solar H2 production.

Novel 3D metallic boron nitride containing only sp2 bonds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hao; Zhang, Wei; Huai, Ping

2017-09-01

As the closest isoelectronic analogue of carbon, boron nitride (BN) shares a similar structure with carbon from 1D nanotubes, 2D nanosheets, and 3D diamond structures. However, most BN structures are insulators, which limits their application. In this work, under the inspiration of the sp2 hybridized carbon honeycomb, we propose a hexagonal phase of BN consisting of only sp2 bonds, which exhibits intriguingly intrinsic metallicity. First-principles calculations confirm that this phase is both thermally and dynamically stable. Moreover, the calculations on the band structure, partial density states and electron localization function suggest that the metallic behavior is attributable to the delocalized B-2p electrons, leading to second-neighbor interaction between the p z states of sp2-bonded B atoms in adjacent layers. Our findings not only enrich the BN allotrope family with 3D structures but also stimulate further experimental interest in applications of metallic BN in electronic devices.

Boron nitride colloidal solutions, ultralight aerogels and freestanding membranes through one-step exfoliation and functionalization

PubMed Central

Lei, Weiwei; Mochalin, Vadym N.; Liu, Dan; Qin, Si; Gogotsi, Yury; Chen, Ying

2015-01-01

Manufacturing of aerogels and membranes from hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is much more difficult than from graphene or graphene oxides because of the poor dispersibility of h-BN in water, which limits its exfoliation and preparation of colloidal solutions. Here, a simple, one-step mechano-chemical process to exfoliate and functionalize h-BN into highly water-dispersible, few-layer h-BN containing amino groups is presented. The colloidal solutions of few-layer h-BN can have unprecedentedly high concentrations, up to 30 mg ml−1, and are stable for up to several months. They can be used to produce ultralight aerogels with a density of 1.4 mg cm−3, which is ∼1,500 times less than bulk h-BN, and freestanding membranes simply by cryodrying and filtration, respectively. The material shows strong blue light emission under ultraviolet excitation, in both dispersed and dry state. PMID:26611437

Introducing Overlapping Grain Boundaries in Chemical Vapor Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride Monolayer Films

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

We demonstrate the growth of overlapping grain boundaries in continuous, polycrystalline hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayer films via scalable catalytic chemical vapor deposition. Unlike the commonly reported atomically stitched grain boundaries, these overlapping grain boundaries do not consist of defect lines within the monolayer films but are composed of self-sealing bilayer regions of limited width. We characterize this overlapping h-BN grain boundary structure in detail by complementary (scanning) transmission electron microscopy techniques and propose a catalytic growth mechanism linked to the subsurface/bulk of the process catalyst and its boron and nitrogen solubilities. Our data suggest that the overlapping grain boundaries are comparatively resilient against deleterious pinhole formation associated with grain boundary defect lines and thus may reduce detrimental breakdown effects when polycrystalline h-BN monolayer films are used as ultrathin dielectrics, barrier layers, or separation membranes. PMID:28410557

Synergic nitrogen source route to inorganic fullerene-like boron nitride with vessel, hollow sphere, onion, and peanut nanostructures.

PubMed

Xu, Fen; Xie, Yi; Zhang, Xu; Zhang, Shuyuan; Liu, Xianming; Tian, Xiaobo

2004-01-26

In this paper we describe the large-scale synthesis of inorganic fullerene-like (IF-like) hexagonal boron nitride with vessel, hollow sphere, peanut, and onion structures by reacting BBr(3) with the synergic nitrogen sources NaNH(2) and NH(4)Cl at 400-450 degrees C for 6-12 h. The composition of products could be confirmed to be pure boron nitride with hexagonal structures by the XRD patterns and FT-IR, XPS, and EDXA spectra. The representative HRTEM images clearly reveal the layerlike features of the products. Here, the peanut-like structure of the IF-like BN is reported for the first time, and added to the list as one kind of new morphology of BN nanomaterials. The similarity in the structure between h-BN and graphite is responsible for the formation of IF-like BN with nanostructures of vessels, hollow spheres, peanuts, and onions.

Shock compression behavior of a mixture of cubic and hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xiaojun; Yang, Gang; Zhao, Bin; Li, Peiyun; Yang, Jun; Leng, Chunwei; Liu, Hanyu; Huang, Haijun; Fei, Yingwei

2018-05-01

We report Hugoniot measurements on a mixture of cubic boron nitride (cBN) and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN, ˜10% in weight) to investigate the shock compression behavior of BN at Hugoniot stresses up to 110 GPa. We observed a discontinuity at ˜77 GPa along the Hugoniot and interpreted it as the manifestation of the shock-induced phase transition of hBN to cBN. The experimental stress at 77-110 GPa shows significant deviation from the hydrodynamic Hugoniot of cBN calculated using the Mie-Grüneisen model coupled with the reported 300 K-isotherms of cBN. Our investigation reveals that material strength in cBN increases with the experimental stress at least up to 110 GPa. The material strength might be preserved at higher stress if we consider the previously reported high stress data.

Friction of water on graphene and hexagonal boron nitride from ab initio methods: very different slippage despite very similar interface structures.

PubMed

Tocci, Gabriele; Joly, Laurent; Michaelides, Angelos

2014-12-10

Friction is one of the main sources of dissipation at liquid water/solid interfaces. Despite recent progress, a detailed understanding of water/solid friction in connection with the structure and energetics of the solid surface is lacking. Here, we show for the first time that ab initio molecular dynamics can be used to unravel the connection between the structure of nanoscale water and friction for liquid water in contact with graphene and with hexagonal boron nitride. We find that although the interface presents a very similar structure between the two sheets, the friction coefficient on boron nitride is ≈ 3 times larger than that on graphene. This comes about because of the greater corrugation of the energy landscape on boron nitride arising from specific electronic structure effects. We discuss how a subtle dependence of the friction on the atomistic details of a surface, which is not related to its wetting properties, may have a significant impact on the transport of water at the nanoscale, with implications for the development of membranes for desalination and for osmotic power harvesting.

Growth of single-layer boron nitride dome-shaped nanostructures catalysed by iron clusters.

PubMed

Torre, A La; Åhlgren, E H; Fay, M W; Ben Romdhane, F; Skowron, S T; Parmenter, C; Davies, A J; Jouhannaud, J; Pourroy, G; Khlobystov, A N; Brown, P D; Besley, E; Banhart, F

2016-08-11

We report on the growth and formation of single-layer boron nitride dome-shaped nanostructures mediated by small iron clusters located on flakes of hexagonal boron nitride. The nanostructures were synthesized in situ at high temperature inside a transmission electron microscope while the e-beam was blanked. The formation process, typically originating at defective step-edges on the boron nitride support, was investigated using a combination of transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and computational modelling. Computational modelling showed that the domes exhibit a nanotube-like structure with flat circular caps and that their stability was comparable to that of a single boron nitride layer.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Du Frane, W. L.; Cervantes, O.; Ellsworth, G. F.

When we Consolidate cubic boron nitride (cBN) it typically requires either a matrix of metal bearing materials that are undesirable for certain applications, or very high pressures within the cBN phase stability field that are prohibitive to manufacturing size and cost. We present new methodology for consolidating high stiffness cBN composites within a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) matrix (15–25 vol%) with the aid of a binder phase (0–6 vol%) at moderate pressures (0.5–1.0 GPa) and temperatures (900–1300 °C). The composites are demonstrated to be highly tailorable with a range of compositions and resulting physical/mechanical properties. Ultrasonic measurements indicate that inmore » some cases these composites have elastic mechanical properties that exceed those of the highest strength steel alloys. Moreover, two methods were identified to prevent phase transformation of the metastable cBN phase into hBN during consolidation: 1. removal of hydrocarbons, and 2. increased cBN particle size. Lithium tetraborate worked better as a binder than boron oxide, aiding consolidation without enhancing cBN to hBN phase transformation kinetics. These powder mixtures consolidated within error of their full theoretical mass densities at 1 GPa, and had only slightly lower densities at 0.5 GPa. This shows potential for consolidation of these composites into larger parts, in a variety of shapes, at even lower pressures using more conventional manufacturing methods, such as hot-pressing.« less

Tunable Ultrafast Photon Source and Imaging System for Studying Carrier Dynamics in Graphene Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-23

structure systems (for example of graphene and boron nitride ). Figure 2 shows the homebuilt Raman spectroscopy setup in our lab which uses two...pseudo-Dirac points in the band structure. In a run up to these studies, we have also developed a technique to optically image boron nitride flakes with...2) Dheeraj Golla, K. Chattrakun, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, Brian J. LeRoy, Arvinder Sandhu, “Optical thickness determination of hexagonal boron

Ultra-bright emission from hexagonal boron nitride defects as a new platform for bio-imaging and bio-labelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elbadawi, Christopher; Tran, Trong Toan; Shimoni, Olga; Totonjian, Daniel; Lobo, Charlene J.; Grosso, Gabriele; Moon, Hyowan; Englund, Dirk R.; Ford, Michael J.; Aharonovich, Igor; Toth, Milos

2016-12-01

Bio-imaging requires robust ultra-bright probes without causing any toxicity to the cellular environment, maintain their stability and are chemically inert. In this work we present hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanoflakes which exhibit narrowband ultra-bright single photon emitters1. The emitters are optically stable at room temperature and under ambient environment. hBN has also been noted to be noncytotoxic and seen significant advances in functionalization with biomolecules2,3. We further demonstrate two methods of engineering this new range of extremely robust multicolour emitters across the visible and near infrared spectral ranges for large scale sensing and biolabeling applications.

Evidence for Defect-Mediated Tunneling in Hexagonal Boron Nitride-Based Junctions.

PubMed

Chandni, U; Watanabe, K; Taniguchi, T; Eisenstein, J P

2015-11-11

We investigate electron tunneling through atomically thin layers of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Metal (Cr/Au) and semimetal (graphite) counter-electrodes are employed. While the direct tunneling resistance increases nearly exponentially with barrier thickness as expected, the thicker junctions also exhibit clear signatures of Coulomb blockade, including strong suppression of the tunnel current around zero bias and step-like features in the current at larger biases. The voltage separation of these steps suggests that single-electron charging of nanometer-scale defects in the hBN barrier layer are responsible for these signatures. We find that annealing the metal-hBN-metal junctions removes these defects and the Coulomb blockade signatures in the tunneling current.

Thickness determination of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride films by scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sutter, P., E-mail: psutter@bnl.gov; Sutter, E.

2014-09-01

We assess scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) for thickness measurements on few-layer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), the layered dielectric of choice for integration with graphene and other two-dimensional materials. Observations on h-BN islands with large, atomically flat terraces show that the secondary electron intensity in SEM reflects monolayer height changes in films up to least 10 atomic layers thickness. From a quantitative analysis of AES data, the energy-dependent electron escape depth in h-BN films is deduced. The results show that AES is suitable for absolute thickness measurements of few-layer h-BN of 1 to 6 layers.

Magnetic tunnel junctions with monolayer hexagonal boron nitride tunnel barriers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Piquemal-Banci, M.; Galceran, R.; Bouzehouane, K.

We report on the integration of atomically thin 2D insulating hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) tunnel barriers into Co/h-BN/Fe magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). The h-BN monolayer is directly grown by chemical vapor deposition on Fe. The Conductive Tip Atomic Force Microscopy (CT-AFM) measurements reveal the homogeneity of the tunnel behavior of our h-BN layers. As expected for tunneling, the resistance depends exponentially on the number of h-BN layers. The h-BN monolayer properties are also characterized through integration into complete MTJ devices. A Tunnel Magnetoresistance of up to 6% is observed for a MTJ based on a single atomically thin h-BN layer.

Interface amorphization in hexagonal boron nitride films on sapphire substrate grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xu; Nitta, Shugo; Pristovsek, Markus; Liu, Yuhuai; Nagamatsu, Kentaro; Kushimoto, Maki; Honda, Yoshio; Amano, Hiroshi

2018-05-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films directly grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by pulsed-mode metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy exhibit an interlayer for growth temperatures above 1200 °C. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows that this interlayer is amorphous, while the crystalline h-BN layer above has a distinct orientational relationship with the sapphire substrate. Electron energy loss spectroscopy shows the energy-loss peaks of B and N in both the amorphous interlayer and the overlying crystalline h-BN layer, while Al and O signals are also seen in the amorphous interlayer. Thus, the interlayer forms during h-BN growth through the decomposition of the sapphire at elevated temperatures.

Controlled Synthesis of Atomically Layered Hexagonal Boron Nitride via Chemical Vapor Deposition.

PubMed

Liu, Juanjuan; Kutty, R Govindan; Liu, Zheng

2016-11-29

Hexagonal boron nitrite (h-BN) is an attractive material for many applications including electronics as a complement to graphene, anti-oxidation coatings, light emitters, etc. However, the synthesis of high-quality h-BN is still a great challenge. In this work, via controlled chemical vapor deposition, we demonstrate the synthesis of h-BN films with a controlled thickness down to atomic layers. The quality of as-grown h-BN is confirmed by complementary characterizations including high-resolution transition electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy. This work will pave the way for production of large-scale and high-quality h-BN and its applications as well.

Determination of Carrier Polarity in Fowler-Nordheim Tunneling and Evidence of Fermi Level Pinning at the Hexagonal Boron Nitride/Metal Interface.

PubMed

Hattori, Yoshiaki; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Nagashio, Kosuke

2018-04-11

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is an important insulating substrate for two-dimensional (2D) heterostructure devices and possesses high dielectric strength comparable to SiO 2 . Here, we report two clear differences in their physical properties. The first one is the occurrence of Fermi level pinning at the metal/h-BN interface, unlike that at the metal/SiO 2 interface. The second one is that the carrier of Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling through h-BN is a hole, which is opposite to an electron in the case of SiO 2 . These unique characteristics are verified by I- V measurements in the graphene/h-BN/metal heterostructure device with the aid of a numerical simulation, where the barrier height of graphene can be modulated by a back gate voltage owing to its low density of states. Furthermore, from a systematic investigation using a variety of metals, it is confirmed that the hole F-N tunneling current is a general characteristic because the Fermi levels of metals are pinned in the small energy range around ∼3.5 eV from the top of the conduction band of h-BN, with a pinning factor of 0.30. The accurate energy band alignment at the h-BN/metal interface provides practical knowledge for 2D heterostructure devices.

A template-free solvent-mediated synthesis of high surface area boron nitride nanosheets for aerobic oxidative desulfurization.

PubMed

Wu, Peiwen; Zhu, Wenshuai; Chao, Yanhong; Zhang, Jinshui; Zhang, Pengfei; Zhu, Huiyuan; Li, Changfeng; Chen, Zhigang; Li, Huaming; Dai, Sheng

2016-01-04

Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNs) with rather high specific surface area (SSA) are important two-dimensional layer-structured materials. Here, a solvent-mediated synthesis of h-BNNs revealed a template-free lattice plane control strategy that induced high SSA nanoporous structured h-BNNs with outstanding aerobic oxidative desulfurization performance.

Phonon Transport at the Interfaces of Vertically Stacked Graphene and Hexagonal Boron Nitride Heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Yan, Zhequan; Chen, Liang; Yoon, Mina; ...

2016-01-12

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a substrate for graphene based nano-electronic devices. We investigate the ballistic phonon transport at the interface of vertically stacked graphene and h-BN heterostructures using first principles density functional theory and atomistic Green's function simulations considering the influence of lattice stacking. We compute the frequency and wave-vector dependent transmission function and observe distinct stacking-dependent phonon transmission features for the h-BN/graphene/h-BN sandwiched systems. We find that the in-plane acoustic modes have the dominant contributions to the phonon transmission and thermal boundary conductance (TBC) for the interfaces with the carbon atom located directly on top of the boronmore » atom (C–B matched) because of low interfacial spacing. The low interfacial spacing is a consequence of the differences in the effective atomic volume of N and B and the difference in the local electron density around N and B. For the structures with the carbon atom directly on top of the nitrogen atom (C–N matched), the spatial distance increases and the contribution of in-plane modes to the TBC decreases leading to higher contributions by out-of-plane acoustic modes. We find that the C–B matched interfaces have stronger phonon–phonon coupling than the C–N matched interfaces, which results in significantly higher TBC (more than 50%) in the C–B matched interface. The findings in this study will provide insights to understand the mechanism of phonon transport at h-BN/graphene/h-BN interfaces, to better explain the experimental observations and to engineer these interfaces to enhance heat dissipation in graphene based electronic devices.« less

Band Gap Engineering of Boron Nitride by Graphene and Its Application as Positive Electrode Material in Asymmetric Supercapacitor Device.

PubMed

Saha, Sanjit; Jana, Milan; Khanra, Partha; Samanta, Pranab; Koo, Hyeyoung; Murmu, Naresh Chandra; Kuila, Tapas

2015-07-08

Nanostructured hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite is prepared by insertion of h-BN into the graphene oxide through hydrothermal reaction. Formation of the super lattice is confirmed by the existence of two separate UV-visible absorption edges corresponding to two different band gaps. The composite materials show enhanced electrical conductivity as compared to the bulk h-BN. A high specific capacitance of ∼824 F g(-1) is achieved at a current density of 4 A g(-1) for the composite in three-electrode electrochemical measurement. The potential window of the composite electrode lies in the range from -0.1 to 0.5 V in 6 M aqueous KOH electrolyte. The operating voltage is increased to 1.4 V in asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device where the thermally reduced graphene oxide is used as the negative electrode and the h-BN/RGO composite as the positive electrode. The ASC exhibits a specific capacitance of 145.7 F g(-1) at a current density of 6 A g(-1) and high energy density of 39.6 W h kg(-1) corresponding to a large power density of ∼4200 W kg(-1). Therefore, a facile hydrothermal route is demonstrated for the first time to utilize h-BN-based composite materials as energy storage electrode materials for supercapacitor applications.

Boron Nitride Nanostructures: Fabrication, Functionalization and Applications.

PubMed

Yin, Jun; Li, Jidong; Hang, Yang; Yu, Jin; Tai, Guoan; Li, Xuemei; Zhang, Zhuhua; Guo, Wanlin

2016-06-01

Boron nitride (BN) structures are featured by their excellent thermal and chemical stability and unique electronic and optical properties. However, the lack of controlled synthesis of quality samples and the electrically insulating property largely prevent realizing the full potential of BN nanostructures. A comprehensive overview of the current status of the synthesis of two-dimensional hexagonal BN sheets, three dimensional porous hexagonal BN materials and BN-involved heterostructures is provided, highlighting the advantages of different synthetic methods. In addition, structural characterization, functionalizations and prospective applications of hexagonal BN sheets are intensively discussed. One-dimensional BN nanoribbons and nanotubes are then discussed in terms of structure, fabrication and functionality. In particular, the existing routes in pursuit of tunable electronic and magnetic properties in various BN structures are surveyed, calling upon synergetic experimental and theoretical efforts to address the challenges for pioneering the applications of BN into functional devices. Finally, the progress in BN superstructures and novel B/N nanostructures is also briefly introduced. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Microscopic origin of low frequency noise in MoS{sub 2} field-effect transistors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghatak, Subhamoy; Jain, Manish; Ghosh, Arindam

2014-09-01

We report measurement of low frequency 1/f noise in molybdenum di-sulphide (MoS{sub 2}) field-effect transistors in multiple device configurations including MoS{sub 2} on silicon dioxide as well as MoS{sub 2}-hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) heterostructures. All as-fabricated devices show similar magnitude of noise with number fluctuation as the dominant mechanism at high temperatures and density, although the calculated density of traps is two orders of magnitude higher than that at the SiO{sub 2} interface. Measurements on the heterostructure devices with vacuum annealing and dual gated configuration reveals that along with the channel, metal-MoS{sub 2} contacts also play a significant role inmore » determining noise magnitude in these devices.« less

Taming interfacial electronic properties of platinum nanoparticles on vacancy-abundant boron nitride nanosheets for enhanced catalysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, Wenshuai; Wu, Zili; Foo, Guo Shiou

Taming interfacial electronic effects on Pt nanoparticles modulated by their concomitants has emerged as an intriguing approach to optimize Pt catalytic performance. Here, we report Pt nanoparticles assembled on vacancy-abundant hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets and their use as a model catalyst to embrace an interfacial electronic effect on Pt induced by the nanosheets with N-vacancies and B-vacancies for superior CO oxidation catalysis. Experimental results indicate that strong interaction exists between Pt and the vacancies. Bader charge analysis shows that with Pt on B-vacancies, the nanosheets serve as a Lewis acid to accept electrons from Pt, and on the contrary, whenmore » Pt sits on N-vacancies, the nanosheets act as a Lewis base for donating electrons to Pt. The overall-electronic effect demonstrates an electron-rich feature of Pt after assembling on hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets. Such an interfacial electronic effect makes Pt favour the adsorption of O 2, alleviating CO poisoning and promoting the catalysis.« less

Taming interfacial electronic properties of platinum nanoparticles on vacancy-abundant boron nitride nanosheets for enhanced catalysis

DOE PAGES

Zhu, Wenshuai; Wu, Zili; Foo, Guo Shiou; ...

2017-06-09

Taming interfacial electronic effects on Pt nanoparticles modulated by their concomitants has emerged as an intriguing approach to optimize Pt catalytic performance. Here, we report Pt nanoparticles assembled on vacancy-abundant hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets and their use as a model catalyst to embrace an interfacial electronic effect on Pt induced by the nanosheets with N-vacancies and B-vacancies for superior CO oxidation catalysis. Experimental results indicate that strong interaction exists between Pt and the vacancies. Bader charge analysis shows that with Pt on B-vacancies, the nanosheets serve as a Lewis acid to accept electrons from Pt, and on the contrary, whenmore » Pt sits on N-vacancies, the nanosheets act as a Lewis base for donating electrons to Pt. The overall-electronic effect demonstrates an electron-rich feature of Pt after assembling on hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets. Such an interfacial electronic effect makes Pt favour the adsorption of O 2, alleviating CO poisoning and promoting the catalysis.« less

Impact of tensile strain on the thermal transport of zigzag hexagonal boron nitride nanoribbon: An equilibrium molecular dynamics study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navid, Ishtiaque Ahmed; Intisar Khan, Asir; Subrina, Samia

2018-02-01

The thermal conductivity of single layer strained hexagonal boron nitride nanoribbon (h-BNNR) has been computed using the Green—Kubo formulation of Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics (EMD) simulation. We have investigated the impact of strain on thermal transport of h-BNNR by varying the applied tensile strain from 1% upto 5% through uniaxial loading. The thermal conductivity of h-BNNR decreases monotonically with the increase of uniaxial tensile strain keeping the sample size and temperature constant. The thermal conductivity can be reduced upto 86% for an applied uniaxial tensile strain of 5%. The impact of temperature and width variation on the thermal conductivity of h-BNNR has also been studied under different uniaxial tensile strain conditions. With the increase in temperature, the thermal conductivity of strained h-BNNR exhibits a decaying characteristics whereas it shows an opposite pattern with the increasing width. Such study would provide a good insight on the strain tunable thermal transport for the potential device application of boron nitride nanostructures.

Transport properties of ultrathin black phosphorus on hexagonal boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doganov, Rostislav A.; Özyilmaz, Barbaros; Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 3, 117542 Singapore

2015-02-23

Ultrathin black phosphorus, or phosphorene, is a two-dimensional material that allows both high carrier mobility and large on/off ratios. Similar to other atomic crystals, like graphene or layered transition metal dichalcogenides, the transport behavior of few-layer black phosphorus is expected to be affected by the underlying substrate. The properties of black phosphorus have so far been studied on the widely utilized SiO{sub 2} substrate. Here, we characterize few-layer black phosphorus field effect transistors on hexagonal boron nitride—an atomically smooth and charge trap-free substrate. We measure the temperature dependence of the field effect mobility for both holes and electrons and explainmore » the observed behavior in terms of charged impurity limited transport. We find that in-situ vacuum annealing at 400 K removes the p-doping of few-layer black phosphorus on both boron nitride and SiO{sub 2} substrates and reduces the hysteresis at room temperature.« less

Dyakonov surface waves at the interface between hexagonal-boron-nitride and isotropic material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, B.; Ren, G.; Gao, Y.; Wang, Q.; Wan, C.; Wang, J.; Jian, S.

2016-12-01

In this paper we analyze the propagation of Dyakonov surface waves (DSWs) at the interface between hexagonal-boron-nitride (h-BN) and isotropic dielectric material. Various properties of DSWs supported at the dielectric-elliptic and dielectric-hyperbolic types of interfaces have been theoretically investigated, including the real effective index, propagation length, the angular existence domain (AED) and the composition ratio of evanescent field components in an h-BN crystal and isotropic dielectric material, respectively. The analysis in this paper reveals that h-BN could be a promising anisotropic material to observe the propagation of DSWs and may have potential diverse applications, such as high sensitivity stress sensing or optical sensing of analytes infiltrating dielectric materials.

Modelling heat conduction in polycrystalline hexagonal boron-nitride films

PubMed Central

Mortazavi, Bohayra; Pereira, Luiz Felipe C.; Jiang, Jin-Wu; Rabczuk, Timon

2015-01-01

We conducted extensive molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the thermal conductivity of polycrystalline hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) films. To this aim, we constructed large atomistic models of polycrystalline h-BN sheets with random and uniform grain configuration. By performing equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulations, we investigated the influence of the average grain size on the thermal conductivity of polycrystalline h-BN films at various temperatures. Using the EMD results, we constructed finite element models of polycrystalline h-BN sheets to probe the thermal conductivity of samples with larger grain sizes. Our multiscale investigations not only provide a general viewpoint regarding the heat conduction in h-BN films but also propose that polycrystalline h-BN sheets present high thermal conductivity comparable to monocrystalline sheets. PMID:26286820

Effective cleaning of hexagonal boron nitride for graphene devices.

PubMed

Garcia, Andrei G F; Neumann, Michael; Amet, François; Williams, James R; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Goldhaber-Gordon, David

2012-09-12

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films have attracted considerable interest as substrates for graphene. ( Dean, C. R. et al. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2010 , 5 , 722 - 6 ; Wang, H. et al. Electron Device Lett. 2011 , 32 , 1209 - 1211 ; Sanchez-Yamagishi, J. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2012 , 108 , 1 - 5 .) We study the presence of organic contaminants introduced by standard lithography and substrate transfer processing on h-BN films exfoliated on silicon oxide substrates. Exposure to photoresist processing adds a large broad luminescence peak to the Raman spectrum of the h-BN flake. This signal persists through typical furnace annealing recipes (Ar/H(2)). A recipe that successfully removes organic contaminants and results in clean h-BN flakes involves treatment in Ar/O(2) at 500 °C.

van der Waals heterostructures of germanene, stanene, and silicene with hexagonal boron nitride and their topological domain walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Maoyuan; Liu, Liping; Liu, Cheng-Cheng; Yao, Yugui

2016-04-01

We investigate van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures made of germanene, stanene, or silicene with hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). The intriguing topological properties of these buckled honeycomb materials can be maintained and further engineered in the heterostructures, where the competition between the substrate effect and external electric fields can be used to control the tunable topological phase transitions. Using such heterostructures as building blocks, various vdW topological domain walls (DW) are designed, along which there exist valley polarized quantum spin Hall edge states or valley-contrasting edge states which are protected by valley(spin)- resolved topological charges and can be tailored by the patterning of the heterojunctions and by external fields.

A template-free solvent-mediated synthesis of high surface area boron nitride nanosheets for aerobic oxidative desulfurization

DOE PAGES

Wu, Peiwen; Zhu, Wenshuai; Chao, Yanhong; ...

2015-10-16

Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNs) with rather high specific surface area (SSA) are important two-dimensional layer-structured materials. Here in this study, a solvent-mediated synthesis of h-BNNs revealed a template-free lattice plane control strategy that induced high SSA nanoporous structured h-BNNs with outstanding aerobic oxidative desulfurization performance.

Evolution of thermo-physical properties and annealing of fast neutron irradiated boron carbide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gosset, Dominique; Kryger, Bernard; Bonal, Jean-Pierre; Verdeau, Caroline; Froment, Karine

2018-03-01

Boron carbide is widely used as a neutron absorber in most nuclear reactors, in particular in fast neutron ones. The irradiation leads to a large helium production (up to 1022/cm3) together with a strong decrease of the thermal conductivity. In this paper, we have performed thermal diffusivity measurements and X-ray diffraction analyses on boron carbide samples coming from control rods of the French Phenix LMFBR reactor. The burnups range from 1021 to 8.1021/cm3. We first confirm the strong decrease of the thermal conductivity at the low burnup, together with high microstructural modifications: swelling, large micro-strains, high defects density, and disordered-like material conductivity. We observe the microstructural parameters are highly anisotropic, with high micro-strains and flattened coherent diffracting domains along the (00l) direction of the hexagonal structure. Performing heat treatments up to high temperature (2200 °C) allows us to observe the material thermal conductivity and microstructure restoration. It then appears the thermal conductivity healing is correlated to the micro-strain relaxation. We then assume the defects responsible for most of the damage are the helium bubbles and the associated stress fields.

Suppression of 1/f noise in near-ballistic h-BN-graphene-h-BN heterostructure field-effect transistors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stolyarov, Maxim A.; Liu, Guanxiong; Balandin, Alexander A., E-mail: balandin@ee.ucr.edu

2015-07-13

We have investigated low-frequency 1/f noise in the boron nitride–graphene–boron nitride heterostructure field-effect transistors on Si/SiO{sub 2} substrates (f is a frequency). The device channel was implemented with a single layer graphene encased between two layers of hexagonal boron nitride. The transistors had the charge carrier mobility in the range from ∼30 000 to ∼36 000 cm{sup 2}/Vs at room temperature. It was established that the noise spectral density normalized to the channel area in such devices can be suppressed to ∼5 × 10{sup −9 }μm{sup 2 }Hz{sup −1}, which is a factor of ×5 – ×10 lower than that in non-encapsulated graphene devices on Si/SiO{sub 2}. The physicalmore » mechanism of noise suppression was attributed to screening of the charge carriers in the channel from traps in SiO{sub 2} gate dielectric and surface defects. The obtained results are important for the electronic and optoelectronic applications of graphene.« less

Strain, stabilities and electronic properties of hexagonal BN bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujimoto, Yoshitaka; Saito, Susumu

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) atomic layers have been regarded as fascinating materials both scientifically and technologically due to the sizable band gap. This sizable band-gap nature of the h-BN atomic layers would provide not only new physical properties but also novel nano- and/or opto-electronics applications. Here, we study the first-principles density-functional study that clarifies the biaxial strain effects on the energetics and the electronic properties of h-BN bilayers. We show that the band gaps of the h-BN bilayers are tunable by applying strains. Furthermore, we show that the biaxial strains can produce a transition from indirect to direct band gaps of the h-BN bilayer. We also discuss that both AA and AB stacking patterns of h-BN bilayer become feasible structures because h-BN bilayers possess two different directions in the stacking patterns. Supported by MEXT Elements Strategy Initiative to Form Core Research Center through Tokodai Institute for Element Strategy, JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP26390062 and JP25107005.

Thermodynamic stability of boron: the role of defects and zero point motion.

PubMed

van Setten, Michiel J; Uijttewaal, Matthé A; de Wijs, Gilles A; de Groot, Robert A

2007-03-07

Its low weight, high melting point, and large degree of hardness make elemental boron a technologically interesting material. The large number of allotropes, mostly containing over a hundred atoms in the unit cell, and their difficult characterization challenge both experimentalists and theoreticians. Even the ground state of this element is still under discussion. For over 30 years, scientists have attempted to determine the relative stability of alpha- and beta-rhombohedral boron. We use density functional calculations in the generalized gradient approximation to study a broad range of possible beta-rhombohedral structures containing interstitial atoms and partially occupied sites within a 105 atoms framework. The two most stable structures are practically degenerate in energy and semiconducting. One contains the experimental 320 atoms in the hexagonal unit cell, and the other contains 106 atoms in the triclinic unit cell. When populated with the experimental 320 electrons, the 106 atom structure exhibits a band gap of 1.4 eV and an in-gap hole trap at 0.35 eV above the valence band, consistent with known experiments. The total energy of these two structures is 23 meV/B lower than the original 105 atom framework, but it is still 1 meV/B above the alpha phase. Adding zero point energies finally makes the beta phase the ground state of elemental boron by 3 meV/B. At finite temperatures, the difference becomes even larger.

Chemisorption of Hydroxide on 2D Materials from DFT Calculations: Graphene versus Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

PubMed

Grosjean, Benoit; Pean, Clarisse; Siria, Alessandro; Bocquet, Lydéric; Vuilleumier, Rodolphe; Bocquet, Marie-Laure

2016-11-17

Recent nanofluidic experiments revealed strongly different surface charge measurements for boron-nitride (BN) and graphitic nanotubes when in contact with saline and alkaline water (Nature 2013, 494, 455-458; Phys. Rev. Lett. 2016, 116, 154501). These observations contrast with the similar reactivity of a graphene layer and its BN counterpart, using density functional theory (DFT) framework, for intact and dissociative adsorption of gaseous water molecules. Here we investigate, by DFT in implicit water, single and multiple adsorption of anionic hydroxide on single layers. A differential adsorption strength is found in vacuum for the first ionic adsorption on the two materials-chemisorbed on BN while physisorbed on graphene. The effect of implicit solvation reduces all adsorption values, resulting in a favorable (nonfavorable) adsorption on BN (graphene). We also calculate a pK a ≃ 6 for BN in water, in good agreement with experiments. Comparatively, the unfavorable results for graphene in water echo the weaker surface charge measurements but point to an alternative scenario.

Transition-metal dispersion on carbon-doped boron nitride nanostructures: Applications for high-capacity hydrogen storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ming; Zhao, Yu-Jun; Liao, Ji-Hai; Yang, Xiao-Bao

2012-07-01

Using density-functional theory calculations, we investigated the adsorption of transition-metal (TM) atoms (TM = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) on carbon doped hexagonal boron nitride (BN) sheet and the corresponding cage (B12N12). With carbon substitution of nitrogen, Sc, V, Cr, and Mn atoms were energetically favorable to be dispersed on the BN nanostructures without clustering or the formation of TM dimers, due to the strong binding between TM atoms and substrate, which contains the half-filled levels above the valence bands maximum. The carbon doped BN nanostructures with dispersed Sc could store up to five and six H2, respectively, with the average binding energy of 0.3 ˜ 0.4 eV, indicating the possibility of fabricating hydrogen storage media with high capacity. We also demonstrated that the geometrical effect is important for the hydrogen storage, leading to a modulation of the charge distributions of d levels, which dominates the binding between H2 and TM atoms.

Extended Tersoff potential for boron nitride: Energetics and elastic properties of pristine and defective h -BN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Los, J. H.; Kroes, J. M. H.; Albe, K.; Gordillo, R. M.; Katsnelson, M. I.; Fasolino, A.

2017-11-01

We present an extended Tersoff potential for boron nitride (BN-ExTeP) for application in large scale atomistic simulations. BN-ExTeP accurately describes the main low energy B, N, and BN structures and yields quantitatively correct trends in the bonding as a function of coordination. The proposed extension of the bond order, added to improve the dependence of bonding on the chemical environment, leads to an accurate description of point defects in hexagonal BN (h -BN) and cubic BN (c -BN). We have implemented this potential in the molecular dynamics LAMMPS code and used it to determine some basic properties of pristine 2D h -BN and the elastic properties of defective h -BN as a function of defect density at zero temperature. Our results show that there is a strong correlation between the size of the static corrugation induced by the defects and the weakening of the in-plane elastic moduli.

Superconducting transition temperature of a boron nitride layer with a high niobium coverage.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vazquez, Gerardo; Magana, Fernando

We explore the possibility of inducing superconductivity in a Boron Nitride (BN) sheet, by doping its surface with Nb atoms sitting on the center of the hexagons. We used first-principles density functional theory in the general gradient approximation. The Quantum-Espresso package was used with norm conserving pseudo potentials. The structure considered was relaxed to their minimum energy configuration. Phonon frequencies were calculated using the linear-response technique on several phonon wave-vector meshes. The electron-phonon coupling parameter was calculated for a number of k meshes. The superconducting critical temperature was estimated using the Allen-Dynes formula with μ* = 0.1 - 0.15. We note that Nb is a good candidate material to show a superconductor transition for the BN-metal system. We thank Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, partial financial support by Grant IN-106514 and we also thank Miztli Super-Computing center the technical assistance.

The preparation and application of white graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Chenghong

2014-12-01

In this article, another thin film named white graphene is introduced, containing its properties, preparation and potential applications. White graphene, which has the same structure with graphene but quite different electrical properties, can be exfoliated from its layered crystal, hexagonal boron nitride. Here two preparation methods of white graphene including supersonic cleavage and supercritical cleavage are presented. Inspired by the cleavage of graphene oxide, supersonic is applied to BN and few-layered films are obtained. Compared with supersonic cleavage, supercritical cleavage proves to be more successful. As supercritical fluid can diffuse into interlayer space of the layered hexagonal boron nitride easily, once reduce the pressure of the supercritical system fast, supercritical fluid among layers expands and escapes form interlayer, consequently exfoliating the hexagonal boron nitride into few layered structure. A series of characterization demonstrate that the monolayer white graphene prepared in the process matches its theoretical thickness 0.333nm and has lateral sizes at the order of 10μm. Supercritical cleavage proves to be successful and shows many advantages, such as good production quality and fast production cycle. Furthermore, the band energy of white graphene, which shows quite different from graphene, is simulated via tight-bonding in theory. The excellent properties will lead to extensive applications of white graphene. As white graphene has not received enough concern and exploration, it's potential to play a significant role in the fields of industry and science.

Relevance of the Nuclear Quantum Effects on the Proton/Deuteron Transmission through Hexagonal Boron Nitride and Graphene Monolayers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ekanayake, Niranji; Huang, Jingsong; Jakowski, Jacek

According to recent experiments, atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride and graphene are permeable to protons and deuterons (and not to other atomic species), and the experimental estimates of the activation energy are lower than the theoretical values by about 0.5 eV for the isolated proton-membrane transfer model. Our analysis of the electronic potential energy surfaces along the normal to the transmission direction, obtained using correlated electronic structure methods, suggests that the aqueous environment is essential to stabilize the proton { as opposed to the hydrogenatom { transmission. Therefore, the process is examined within a molecular model of H 2O {more » H(D) + { material { H 2O. Exact quantum-mechanical scattering calculations are performed to assess the relevance of the nuclear quantum eects, such as tunneling factors and the kinetic isotope eect (KIE). Deuteration is found to aect the thermal reaction rate constants (KIE of 3-4 for hexagonal boron nitride and 20-30 for the graphene) and to eectively lower the barriers to the proton transfer by 0.2 and 0.4 eV for the two membranes, respectively. This lowering eect is reduced for the deuteron by approximately a factor of three. A more comprehensive description of the proton transmission is likely to require an extended explicit aqueous environment.« less

Relevance of the Nuclear Quantum Effects on the Proton/Deuteron Transmission through Hexagonal Boron Nitride and Graphene Monolayers

DOE PAGES

Ekanayake, Niranji; Huang, Jingsong; Jakowski, Jacek; ...

2017-10-02

According to recent experiments, atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride and graphene are permeable to protons and deuterons (and not to other atomic species), and the experimental estimates of the activation energy are lower than the theoretical values by about 0.5 eV for the isolated proton-membrane transfer model. Our analysis of the electronic potential energy surfaces along the normal to the transmission direction, obtained using correlated electronic structure methods, suggests that the aqueous environment is essential to stabilize the proton { as opposed to the hydrogenatom { transmission. Therefore, the process is examined within a molecular model of H 2O {more » H(D) + { material { H 2O. Exact quantum-mechanical scattering calculations are performed to assess the relevance of the nuclear quantum eects, such as tunneling factors and the kinetic isotope eect (KIE). Deuteration is found to aect the thermal reaction rate constants (KIE of 3-4 for hexagonal boron nitride and 20-30 for the graphene) and to eectively lower the barriers to the proton transfer by 0.2 and 0.4 eV for the two membranes, respectively. This lowering eect is reduced for the deuteron by approximately a factor of three. A more comprehensive description of the proton transmission is likely to require an extended explicit aqueous environment.« less

Anticorrosive performance of waterborne epoxy coatings containing water-dispersible hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Mingjun; Ren, Siming; Chen, Jia; Liu, Shuan; Zhang, Guangan; Zhao, Haichao; Wang, Liping; Xue, Qunji

2017-03-01

Homogenous dispersion of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets in solvents or in the polymer matrix is crucial to initiate their many applications. Here, homogeneous dispersion of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) in epoxy matrix was achieved with a water-soluble carboxylated aniline trimer derivative (CAT-) as a dispersant, which was attributed to the strong π-π interaction between h-BN and CAT-, as proved by Raman and UV-vis spectra. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirmed a random dispersion of h-BN nanosheets in the waterborne epoxy coatings. The deterioration process of water-borne epoxy coating with and without h-BN nanosheets during the long-term immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution was investigated by electrochemical measurements and water absorption test. Results implied that the introduction of well dispersed h-BN nanosheets into waterborne epoxy system remarkably improved the corrosion protection performance to substrate. Moreover, 1 wt% BN/EP composite coated substrate exhibited higher impedance modulus (1.3 × 106 Ω cm2) and lower water absorption (4%) than those of pure waterborne epoxy coating coated electrode after long-term immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution, demonstrating its superior anticorrosive performance. This enhanced anticorrosive performance was mainly ascribed to the improved water barrier property of epoxy coating via incorporating homogeneously dispersed h-BN nanosheets.

Three-chain B{sub 6n+14} cages as possible precursors for the syntheses of boron fullerenes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lu, Haigang, E-mail: luhg@sxu.edu.cn; Li, Si-Dian

Using the first principle methods, we proposed a series of three-chain boron cages B{sub 6n+14} (n = 1–12) which are mainly built by fusing three boron semi-double-rings. Their simple geometric structures (approximate D{sub 3} or C{sub 3} symmetry) facilitate their bottom-up syntheses from the hexagonal B{sub 7} and the double-chain boron clusters, such as B{sub 2}, B{sub 4}, B{sub 6}, B{sub 8}H{sub 2}, B{sub 10}H{sub 2}, B{sub 12}H{sub 2}, and the double ring B{sub 20}. The spherical shapes of these three-chain boron cages show that they could be taken as the possible precursors to further synthesize the boron fullerenes, suchmore » as B{sub 80}. Therefore, these three-chain boron cages provide a possible synthesis pathway of the boron fullerenes from the experimentally synthesized small planar boron clusters.« less

Catalytic CVD synthesis of boron nitride and carbon nanomaterials - synergies between experiment and theory.

PubMed

McLean, Ben; Eveleens, Clothilde A; Mitchell, Izaac; Webber, Grant B; Page, Alister J

2017-10-11

Low-dimensional carbon and boron nitride nanomaterials - hexagonal boron nitride, graphene, boron nitride nanotubes and carbon nanotubes - remain at the forefront of advanced materials research. Catalytic chemical vapour deposition has become an invaluable technique for reliably and cost-effectively synthesising these materials. In this review, we will emphasise how a synergy between experimental and theoretical methods has enhanced the understanding and optimisation of this synthetic technique. This review examines recent advances in the application of CVD to synthesising boron nitride and carbon nanomaterials and highlights where, in many cases, molecular simulations and quantum chemistry have provided key insights complementary to experimental investigation. This synergy is particularly prominent in the field of carbon nanotube and graphene CVD synthesis, and we propose here it will be the key to future advances in optimisation of CVD synthesis of boron nitride nanomaterials, boron nitride - carbon composite materials, and other nanomaterials generally.

Electrical transport and capacitance characteristics of metal-insulator-metal structures using hexagonal and cubic boron nitride films as dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teii, Kungen; Kawamoto, Shinsuke; Fukui, Shingo; Matsumoto, Seiichiro

2018-04-01

Metal-insulator-metal capacitor structures using thick hexagonal and cubic boron nitride (hBN and cBN) films as dielectrics are produced by plasma jet-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, and their electrical transport and capacitance characteristics are studied in a temperature range of 298 to 473 K. The resistivity of the cBN film is of the order of 107 Ω cm at 298 K, which is lower than that of the hBN film by two orders of magnitude, while it becomes the same order as the hBN film above ˜423 K. The dominant current transport mechanism at high fields (≥1 × 104 V cm-1) is described by the Frenkel-Poole emission and thermionic emission models for the hBN and cBN films, respectively. The capacitance of the hBN film remains stable for a change in alternating-current frequency and temperature, while that of the cBN film has variations of at most 18%. The dissipation factor as a measure of energy loss is satisfactorily low (≤5%) for both films. The origin of leakage current and capacitance variation is attributed to a high defect density in the film and a transition interlayer between the substrate and the film, respectively. This suggests that cBN films with higher crystallinity, stoichiometry, and phase purity are potentially applicable for dielectrics like hBN films.

Large-area growth of multi-layer hexagonal boron nitride on polished cobalt foils by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

PubMed Central

Xu, Zhongguang; Tian, Hao; Khanaki, Alireza; Zheng, Renjing; Suja, Mohammad; Liu, Jianlin

2017-01-01

Two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), which has a similar honeycomb lattice structure to graphene, is promising as a dielectric material for a wide variety of potential applications based on 2D materials. Synthesis of high-quality, large-size and single-crystalline h-BN domains is of vital importance for fundamental research as well as practical applications. In this work, we report the growth of h-BN films on mechanically polished cobalt (Co) foils using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Under appropriate growth conditions, the coverage of h-BN layers can be readily controlled by growth time. A large-area, multi-layer h-BN film with a thickness of 5~6 nm is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the size of h-BN single domains is 20~100 μm. Dielectric property of as-grown h-BN film is evaluated by characterization of Co(foil)/h-BN/Co(contact) capacitor devices. Breakdown electric field is in the range of 3.0~3.3 MV/cm, which indicates that the epitaxial h-BN film has good insulating characteristics. In addition, the effect of substrate morphology on h-BN growth is discussed regarding different domain density, lateral size, and thickness of the h-BN films grown on unpolished and polished Co foils. PMID:28230178

Synthesis and Characterization of Hexagonal Boron Nitride as a Gate Dielectric

PubMed Central

Jang, Sung Kyu; Youn, Jiyoun; Song, Young Jae; Lee, Sungjoo

2016-01-01

Two different growth modes of large-area hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) film, a conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth mode and a high-pressure CVD growth mode, were compared as a function of the precursor partial pressure. Conventional self-limited CVD growth was obtained below a critical partial pressure of the borazine precursor, whereas a thick h-BN layer (thicker than a critical thickness of 10 nm) was grown beyond a critical partial pressure. An interesting coincidence of a critical thickness of 10 nm was identified in both the CVD growth behavior and in the breakdown electric field strength and leakage current mechanism, indicating that the electrical properties of the CVD h-BN film depended significantly on the film growth mode and the resultant film quality. PMID:27458024

Random telegraph noise in 2D hexagonal boron nitride dielectric films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranjan, A.; Puglisi, F. M.; Raghavan, N.; O'Shea, S. J.; Shubhakar, K.; Pavan, P.; Padovani, A.; Larcher, L.; Pey, K. L.

2018-03-01

This study reports the observation of low frequency random telegraph noise (RTN) in a 2D layered hexagonal boron nitride dielectric film in the pre- and post-soft breakdown phases using conductive atomic force microscopy as a nanoscale spectroscopy tool. The RTN traces of the virgin and electrically stressed dielectric (after percolation breakdown) were compared, and the signal features were statistically analyzed using the Factorial Hidden Markov Model technique. We observe a combination of both two-level and multi-level RTN signals in h-BN, akin to the trends commonly observed for bulk oxides such as SiO2 and HfO2. Experimental evidence suggests frequent occurrence of unstable and anomalous RTN traces in 2D dielectrics which makes extraction of defect energetics challenging.

Controlling Catalyst Bulk Reservoir Effects for Monolayer Hexagonal Boron Nitride CVD.

PubMed

Caneva, Sabina; Weatherup, Robert S; Bayer, Bernhard C; Blume, Raoul; Cabrero-Vilatela, Andrea; Braeuninger-Weimer, Philipp; Martin, Marie-Blandine; Wang, Ruizhi; Baehtz, Carsten; Schloegl, Robert; Meyer, Jannik C; Hofmann, Stephan

2016-02-10

Highly controlled Fe-catalyzed growth of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films is demonstrated by the dissolution of nitrogen into the catalyst bulk via NH3 exposure prior to the actual growth step. This "pre-filling" of the catalyst bulk reservoir allows us to control and limit the uptake of B and N species during borazine exposure and thereby to control the incubation time and h-BN growth kinetics while also limiting the contribution of uncontrolled precipitation-driven h-BN growth during cooling. Using in situ X-ray diffraction and in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy combined with systematic growth calibrations, we develop an understanding and framework for engineering the catalyst bulk reservoir to optimize the growth process, which is also relevant to other 2D materials and their heterostructures.

Hexagonal boron nitride and water interaction parameters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Yanbin; Aluru, Narayana R., E-mail: aluru@illinois.edu; Wagner, Lucas K.

2016-04-28

The study of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in microfluidic and nanofluidic applications at the atomic level requires accurate force field parameters to describe the water-hBN interaction. In this work, we begin with benchmark quality first principles quantum Monte Carlo calculations on the interaction energy between water and hBN, which are used to validate random phase approximation (RPA) calculations. We then proceed with RPA to derive force field parameters, which are used to simulate water contact angle on bulk hBN, attaining a value within the experimental uncertainties. This paper demonstrates that end-to-end multiscale modeling, starting at detailed many-body quantum mechanics andmore » ending with macroscopic properties, with the approximations controlled along the way, is feasible for these systems.« less

Efficiency of Launching Highly Confined Polaritons by Infrared Light Incident on a Hyperbolic Material.

PubMed

Dai, Siyuan; Ma, Qiong; Yang, Yafang; Rosenfeld, Jeremy; Goldflam, Michael D; McLeod, Alex; Sun, Zhiyuan; Andersen, Trond I; Fei, Zhe; Liu, Mengkun; Shao, Yinming; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Thiemens, Mark; Keilmann, Fritz; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo; Fogler, Michael M; Basov, D N

2017-09-13

We investigated phonon-polaritons in hexagonal boron nitride-a naturally hyperbolic van der Waals material-by means of the scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy. Real-space nanoimages we have obtained detail how the polaritons are launched when the light incident on a thin hexagonal boron nitride slab is scattered by various intrinsic and extrinsic inhomogeneities, including sample edges, metallic nanodisks deposited on its top surface, random defects, and surface impurities. The scanned tip of the near-field microscope is itself a polariton launcher whose efficiency proves to be superior to all the other types of polariton launchers we studied. Our work may inform future development of polaritonic nanodevices as well as fundamental studies of collective modes in van der Waals materials.

Synthesis of atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride films on nickel foils by molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakhaie, S.; Wofford, J. M.; Schumann, T.; Jahn, U.; Ramsteiner, M.; Hanke, M.; Lopes, J. M. J.; Riechert, H.

2015-05-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a layered two-dimensional material with properties that make it promising as a dielectric in various applications. We report the growth of h-BN films on Ni foils from elemental B and N using molecular beam epitaxy. The presence of crystalline h-BN over the entire substrate is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopy is used to examine the morphology and continuity of the synthesized films. A scanning electron microscopy study of films obtained using shorter depositions offers insight into the nucleation and growth behavior of h-BN on the Ni substrate. The morphology of h-BN was found to evolve from dendritic, star-shaped islands to larger, smooth triangular ones with increasing growth temperature.

Investigation of hexagonal boron nitride as an atomically thin corrosion passivation coating in aqueous solution.

PubMed

Zhang, Jing; Yang, Yingchao; Lou, Jun

2016-09-09

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) atomic layers were utilized as a passivation coating in this study. A large-area continuous h-BN thin film was grown on nickel foil using a chemical vapor deposition method and then transferred onto sputtered copper as a corrosion passivation coating. The corrosion passivation performance in a Na2SO4 solution of bare and coated copper was investigated by electrochemical methods including cyclic voltammetry (CV), Tafel polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). CV and Tafel analysis indicate that the h-BN coating could effectively suppress the anodic dissolution of copper. The EIS fitting result suggests that defects are the dominant leakage source on h-BN films, and improved anti-corrosion performances could be achieved by further passivating these defects.

Boroxol rings from diffraction data on vitreous boron trioxide.

PubMed

Soper, Alan K

2011-09-14

There has been a considerable debate about the nature of the short range atomic order in vitreous B(2)O(3). Some authorities state that it is not possible to build a model of glassy boron oxide of the correct density containing a large number of six-membered rings which also fits experimental diffraction data, but recent computer simulations appear to overrule that view. To discover which view is correct I use empirical potential structure refinement (EPSR) on existing neutron and x-ray diffraction data to build two models of vitreous B(2)O(3). One of these consists only of single boron and oxygen atoms arranged in a network to reproduce the diffraction data as closely as possible. This model has less than 10% of boron atoms in boroxol rings. The second model is made up of an equimolar mixture of B(3)O(3) hexagonal ring 'molecules' and BO(3) triangular molecules, with no free boron or oxygen atoms. This second model therefore has 75% of the boron atoms in boroxol rings. It is found that both models give closely similar diffraction patterns, suggesting that the diffraction data in this case are not sensitive to the number of boroxol rings present in the structure. This reinforces recent Raman, ab initio, and NMR claims that the percentage of boroxol rings in this material may be as high as 75%. The findings of this study probably explain why some interpretations based on different simulation techniques only find a small fraction of boroxol rings. The results also highlight the power of EPSR for the extraction of accurate atomistic representations of amorphous structures, provided adequate additional, non-scattering data (such as Raman and NMR in this case) are available.

Boron nitride nanotubes and nanosheets.

PubMed

Golberg, Dmitri; Bando, Yoshio; Huang, Yang; Terao, Takeshi; Mitome, Masanori; Tang, Chengchun; Zhi, Chunyi

2010-06-22

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a layered material with a graphite-like structure in which planar networks of BN hexagons are regularly stacked. As the structural analogue of a carbon nanotube (CNT), a BN nanotube (BNNT) was first predicted in 1994; since then, it has become one of the most intriguing non-carbon nanotubes. Compared with metallic or semiconducting CNTs, a BNNT is an electrical insulator with a band gap of ca. 5 eV, basically independent of tube geometry. In addition, BNNTs possess a high chemical stability, excellent mechanical properties, and high thermal conductivity. The same advantages are likely applicable to a graphene analogue-a monatomic layer of a hexagonal BN. Such unique properties make BN nanotubes and nanosheets a promising nanomaterial in a variety of potential fields such as optoelectronic nanodevices, functional composites, hydrogen accumulators, electrically insulating substrates perfectly matching the CNT, and graphene lattices. This review gives an introduction to the rich BN nanotube/nanosheet field, including the latest achievements in the synthesis, structural analyses, and property evaluations, and presents the purpose and significance of this direction in the light of the general nanotube/nanosheet developments.

X-ray absorption spectra: Graphene, h-BN, and their alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhowmick, Somnath; Rusz, Jan; Eriksson, Olle

2013-04-01

Using first-principles density functional theory calculations, in conjunction with the Mahan-Nozières-de Dominicis theory, we calculate the x-ray absorption spectra of the alloys of graphene and monolayer hexagonal boron nitride on a Ni (111) substrate. The chemical neighborhood of the constituent atoms (B, C, and N) inside the alloy differs from that of the parent phases. In a systematic way, we capture the change in the K-edge spectral shape, depending on the chemical neighborhood of B, C, and N. Our work also reiterates the importance of the dynamical core-hole screening for a proper description of the x-ray absorption process in sp2-bonded layered materials.

Influence of point defects on the near edge structure of hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDougall, Nicholas L.; Partridge, Jim G.; Nicholls, Rebecca J.; Russo, Salvy P.; McCulloch, Dougal G.

2017-10-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a wide-band-gap semiconductor with applications including gate insulation layers in graphene transistors, far-ultraviolet light emitting devices and as hydrogen storage media. Due to its complex microstructure, defects in hBN are challenging to identify. Here, we combine x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy with ab initio theoretical modeling to identify energetically favorable defects. Following annealing of hBN samples in vacuum and oxygen, the B and N K edges exhibited angular-dependent peak modifications consistent with in-plane defects. Theoretical calculations showed that the energetically favorable defects all produce signature features in XANES. Comparing these calculations with experiments, the principle defects were attributed to substitutional oxygen at the nitrogen site, substitutional carbon at the boron site, and hydrogen passivated boron vacancies. Hydrogen passivation of defects was found to significantly affect the formation energies, electronic states, and XANES. In the B K edge, multiple peaks above the major 1 s to π* peak occur as a result of these defects and the hydrogen passivated boron vacancy produces the frequently observed doublet in the 1 s to σ* transition. While the N K edge is less sensitive to defects, features attributable to substitutional C at the B site were observed. This defect was also calculated to have mid-gap states in its band structure that may be responsible for the 4.1-eV ultraviolet emission frequently observed from this material.

Microwave-assisted boron and nitrogen co-doped reduced graphene oxide as a transparent conductive electrode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umrao, Sima; Mishra, Himanshu; Srivastava, Anchal; Lee, Sungjoo

2017-07-01

A crystalline Boron (B)- and Nitrogen (N)-co-doped microwave-assisted reduced graphene oxide (BNMRGO) film was investigated as a potential transparent conducting electrode (TCE) material. X-ray diffraction results revealed the good crystallinity of the BNMRGO film, and the presence of a (0004) reflection plane indicated the formation of a few small domains of hexagonal boron nitride in the microwave assisted reduced graphene oxide (MRGO) sheets under the co-doping process. Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic results indicated a reduction of sp3 carbon centers upon co-doping. The ID/IG ratio decreased after co-doping from 0.89 to 0.24, indicating a low average defect density of ˜1.01 × 1010 cm-2. Optoelectronic characterization of the BNMRGO film on a glass substrate revealed a high optical transparency of 82% at 550 nm and a low sheet resistance (Rsh) of 355 Ω/sq, which was lower than that observed from the MRGO sheets (Rsh = 719 Ω/sq). BNMRGO provided a ratio between the direct conductivity (σdc) to the optical conductivity (σoc), that is, the figure of merit of a TCE material, of 5.96. Overall, this work paves the way toward developing a manufacturable TCE.

Synergistic Behavior of Tubes, Junctions, and Sheets Imparts Mechano-Mutable Functionality in 3D Porous Boron Nitride Nanostructures

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

One-dimensional (1D) boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) and 2D hexagonal BN (h-BN) are attractive for demonstrating fundamental physics and promising applications in nano-/microscale devices. However, there is a high anisotropy associated with these BN allotropes as their excellent properties are either along the tube axis or in-plane directions, posing an obstacle in their widespread use in technological and industrial applications. Herein, we report a series of 3D BN prototypes, namely, pillared boron nitride (PBN), by fusing single-wall BNNT and monolayer h-BN aimed at filling this gap. We use density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulations to probe the diverse mechano-mutable properties of PBN prototypes. Our results demonstrate that the synergistic effect of the tubes, junctions, and sheets imparts cooperative deformation mechanisms, which overcome the intrinsic limitations of the PBN constituents and provide a number of superior characteristics including 3D balance of strength and toughness, emergence of negative Poisson’s ratio, and elimination of strain softening along the armchair orientation. These features, combined with the ultrahigh surface area and lightweight structure, render PBN as a 3D multifunctional template for applications in graphene-based nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, gas storage, and functional composites with fascinating in-plane and out-of-plane tailorable properties. PMID:25289114

Direct growth of graphene on in situ epitaxial hexagonal boron nitride flakes by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Zhongguang; Zheng, Renjing; Khanaki, Alireza

2015-11-23

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) single-crystal domains were grown on cobalt (Co) substrates at a substrate temperature of 850–900 °C using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Three-point star shape h-BN domains were observed by scanning electron microscopy, and confirmed by Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The h-BN on Co template was used for in situ growth of multilayer graphene, leading to an h-BN/graphene heterostructure. Carbon atoms preferentially nucleate on Co substrate and edges of h-BN and then grow laterally to form continuous graphene. Further introduction of carbon atoms results in layer-by-layer growth of graphene on graphene and lateral growth of graphene on h-BNmore » until it may cover entire h-BN flakes.« less

Subdiffractional focusing and guiding of polaritonic rays in a natural hyperbolic material

PubMed Central

Dai, S.; Ma, Q.; Andersen, T.; Mcleod, A. S.; Fei, Z.; Liu, M. K.; Wagner, M.; Watanabe, K.; Taniguchi, T.; Thiemens, M.; Keilmann, F.; Jarillo-Herrero, P.; Fogler, M. M.; Basov, D. N.

2015-01-01

Uniaxial materials whose axial and tangential permittivities have opposite signs are referred to as indefinite or hyperbolic media. In such materials, light propagation is unusual leading to novel and often non-intuitive optical phenomena. Here we report infrared nano-imaging experiments demonstrating that crystals of hexagonal boron nitride, a natural mid-infrared hyperbolic material, can act as a ‘hyper-focusing lens' and as a multi-mode waveguide. The lensing is manifested by subdiffractional focusing of phonon–polaritons launched by metallic disks underneath the hexagonal boron nitride crystal. The waveguiding is revealed through the modal analysis of the periodic patterns observed around such launchers and near the sample edges. Our work opens new opportunities for anisotropic layered insulators in infrared nanophotonics complementing and potentially surpassing concurrent artificial hyperbolic materials with lower losses and higher optical localization. PMID:25902364

Synthesis and Thermal Conductivity of Exfoliated Hexagonal Boron Nitride/Alumina Ceramic Composite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hung, Ching-cheh; Hurst, Janet; Santiago, Diana; Lizcano, Maricela; Kelly, Marisabel

2017-01-01

Exfoliated hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)/alumina composite can be fabricated by following the process of (1) heating a mixture of hBN, AlCl3, and NaF in nitrogen for intercalation; (2) heating the intercalated product in air for exfoliation and at the same time converting the intercalate (AlCl3) into Al2O3, (3) rinsing the oxidized product, (4) coating individual exfoliated hBN platelets that contain Al2O3 with new layers of aluminum oxide, and finally, (5) hot pressing the product into the composite. The composite thus obtained has a composition of approximately 60 percent by weight hBN and 40 percent by weight alumina. Its in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivity were measured to be 86 and 18 watts per meter Kelvin, respectively, at room temperature.

Patterning monolayer graphene with zigzag edges on hexagonal boron nitride by anisotropic etching

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Guole; Wu, Shuang; Zhang, Tingting

2016-08-01

Graphene nanostructures are potential building blocks for nanoelectronic and spintronic devices. However, the production of monolayer graphene nanostructures with well-defined zigzag edges remains a challenge. In this paper, we report the patterning of monolayer graphene nanostructures with zigzag edges on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) substrates by an anisotropic etching technique. We found that hydrogen plasma etching of monolayer graphene on h-BN is highly anisotropic due to the inert and ultra-flat nature of the h-BN surface, resulting in zigzag edge formation. The as-fabricated zigzag-edged monolayer graphene nanoribbons (Z-GNRs) with widths below 30 nm show high carrier mobility and width-dependent energy gaps atmore » liquid helium temperature. These high quality Z-GNRs are thus ideal structures for exploring their valleytronic or spintronic properties.« less

Thermal transport and anharmonic phonons in strained monolayer hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shasha; Chen, Yue

2017-03-01

Thermal transport and phonon-phonon coupling in monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) under equibiaxial strains are investigated from first principles. Phonon spectra at elevated temperatures have been calculated from perturbation theory using the third-order anharmonic force constants. The stiffening of the out-of-plane transverse acoustic mode (ZA) near the Brillouin zone center and the increase of acoustic phonon lifetimes are found to contribute to the dramatic increase of thermal transport in strained h-BN. The transverse optical mode (TO) at the K point, which was predicted to lead to mechanical failure of h-BN, is found to shift to lower frequencies at elevated temperatures under equibiaxial strains. The longitudinal and transverse acoustic modes exhibit broad phonon spectra under large strains in sharp contrast to the ZA mode, indicating strong in-plane phonon-phonon coupling.

Optical absorption by indirect excitons in a transition metal dichalcogenide/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunetti, Matthew N.; Berman, Oleg L.; Kezerashvili, Roman Ya

2018-06-01

We study optical transitions in spatially indirect excitons in transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) heterostructures separated by an integer number of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayers. By solving the Schrödinger equation with the Keldysh potential for a spatially indirect exciton, we obtain eigenfunctions and eigenenergies for the ground and excited states and study their dependence on the interlayer separation, controlled by varying the number of h-BN monolayers. The oscillator strength, optical absorption coefficient, and optical absorption factor, the fraction of incoming photons absorbed in the TMDC/h-BN/TMDC heterostructure, are evaluated and studied as a function of the interlayer separation. Using input parameters from the existing literature which give the largest and the smallest spatially indirect exciton binding energy, we provide upper and lower bounds on all quantities presented.

Macroscopic self-reorientation of interacting two-dimensional crystals

PubMed Central

Woods, C. R.; Withers, F.; Zhu, M. J.; Cao, Y.; Yu, G.; Kozikov, A.; Ben Shalom, M.; Morozov, S. V.; van Wijk, M. M.; Fasolino, A.; Katsnelson, M. I.; Watanabe, K.; Taniguchi, T.; Geim, A. K.; Mishchenko, A.; Novoselov, K. S.

2016-01-01

Microelectromechanical systems, which can be moved or rotated with nanometre precision, already find applications in such fields as radio-frequency electronics, micro-attenuators, sensors and many others. Especially interesting are those which allow fine control over the motion on the atomic scale because of self-alignment mechanisms and forces acting on the atomic level. Such machines can produce well-controlled movements as a reaction to small changes of the external parameters. Here we demonstrate that, for the system of graphene on hexagonal boron nitride, the interplay between the van der Waals and elastic energies results in graphene mechanically self-rotating towards the hexagonal boron nitride crystallographic directions. Such rotation is macroscopic (for graphene flakes of tens of micrometres the tangential movement can be on hundreds of nanometres) and can be used for reproducible manufacturing of aligned van der Waals heterostructures. PMID:26960435

Test study of boron nitride as a new detector material for dosimetry in high-energy photon beams.

PubMed

Poppinga, D; Halbur, J; Lemmer, S; Delfs, B; Harder, D; Looe, H K; Poppe, B

2017-09-05

The aim of this test study is to check whether boron nitride (BN) might be applied as a detector material in high-energy photon-beam dosimetry. Boron nitride exists in various crystalline forms. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) possesses high mobility of the electrons and holes as well as a high volume resistivity, so that ionizing radiation in the clinical range of the dose rate can be expected to produce a measurable electrical current at low background current. Due to the low atomic numbers of its constituents, its density (2.0 g cm -3 ) similar to silicon and its commercial availability, h-BN appears as possibly suitable for the dosimetry of ionizing radiation. Five h-BN plates were contacted to triaxial cables, and the detector current was measured in a solid-state ionization chamber circuit at an applied voltage of 50 V. Basic dosimetric properties such as formation by pre-irradiation, sensitivity, reproducibility, linearity and temporal resolution were measured with 6 MV photon irradiation. Depth dose curves at quadratic field sizes of 10 cm and 40 cm were measured and compared to ionization chamber measurements. After a pre-irradiation with 6 Gy, the devices show a stable current signal at a given dose rate. The current-voltage characteristic up to 400 V shows an increase in the collection efficiency with the voltage. The time-resolved detector current behavior during beam interrupts is comparable to diamond material, and the background current is negligible. The measured percentage depth dose curves at 10 cm  ×  10 cm field size agreed with the results of ionization chamber measurements within  ±2%. This is a first study of boron nitride as a detector material for high-energy photon radiation. By current measurements on solid ionization chambers made from boron nitride chips we could demonstrate that boron nitride is in principle suitable as a detector material for high-energy photon-beam dosimetry.

Test study of boron nitride as a new detector material for dosimetry in high-energy photon beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poppinga, D.; Halbur, J.; Lemmer, S.; Delfs, B.; Harder, D.; Looe, H. K.; Poppe, B.

2017-09-01

The aim of this test study is to check whether boron nitride (BN) might be applied as a detector material in high-energy photon-beam dosimetry. Boron nitride exists in various crystalline forms. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) possesses high mobility of the electrons and holes as well as a high volume resistivity, so that ionizing radiation in the clinical range of the dose rate can be expected to produce a measurable electrical current at low background current. Due to the low atomic numbers of its constituents, its density (2.0 g cm-3) similar to silicon and its commercial availability, h-BN appears as possibly suitable for the dosimetry of ionizing radiation. Five h-BN plates were contacted to triaxial cables, and the detector current was measured in a solid-state ionization chamber circuit at an applied voltage of 50 V. Basic dosimetric properties such as formation by pre-irradiation, sensitivity, reproducibility, linearity and temporal resolution were measured with 6 MV photon irradiation. Depth dose curves at quadratic field sizes of 10 cm and 40 cm were measured and compared to ionization chamber measurements. After a pre-irradiation with 6 Gy, the devices show a stable current signal at a given dose rate. The current-voltage characteristic up to 400 V shows an increase in the collection efficiency with the voltage. The time-resolved detector current behavior during beam interrupts is comparable to diamond material, and the background current is negligible. The measured percentage depth dose curves at 10 cm  ×  10 cm field size agreed with the results of ionization chamber measurements within  ±2%. This is a first study of boron nitride as a detector material for high-energy photon radiation. By current measurements on solid ionization chambers made from boron nitride chips we could demonstrate that boron nitride is in principle suitable as a detector material for high-energy photon-beam dosimetry.

Plasma induced sp 2 to sp 3 transition in boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J.; Cui, Q.; Li, X.; He, Z.; Li, W.; Ma, Y.; Guan, Q.; Gao, W.; Zou, G.

2004-12-01

The transition from sp 2 to sp 3 hybridization in boron nitride has been induced in plasma. Nano-crystals of cubic boron nitride (cBN) have been synthesized by direct current arc discharge method using hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) as the starting material. The characterization of the as-grown powders is carried out by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. It has been shown that cBN and hBN grains with 20-60 nm in size co-exist in the powders. A reaction route of sublimation - re-hybridization - crystallization had been put forward to explain the mechanism of the hybridization transition and the growth of cBN by this method.

Discovery of Superconductivity in Hard Hexagonal ε-NbN.

PubMed

Zou, Yongtao; Qi, Xintong; Zhang, Cheng; Ma, Shuailing; Zhang, Wei; Li, Ying; Chen, Ting; Wang, Xuebing; Chen, Zhiqiang; Welch, David; Zhu, Pinwen; Liu, Bingbing; Li, Qiang; Cui, Tian; Li, Baosheng

2016-02-29

Since the discovery of superconductivity in boron-doped diamond with a critical temperature (TC) near 4 K, great interest has been attracted in hard superconductors such as transition-metal nitrides and carbides. Here we report the new discovery of superconductivity in polycrystalline hexagonal ε-NbN synthesized at high pressure and high temperature. Direct magnetization and electrical resistivity measurements demonstrate that the superconductivity in bulk polycrystalline hexagonal ε-NbN is below ∼11.6 K, which is significantly higher than that for boron-doped diamond. The nature of superconductivity in hexagonal ε-NbN and the physical mechanism for the relatively lower TC have been addressed by the weaker bonding in the Nb-N network, the co-planarity of Nb-N layer as well as its relatively weaker electron-phonon coupling, as compared with the cubic δ-NbN counterpart. Moreover, the newly discovered ε-NbN superconductor remains stable at pressures up to ∼20 GPa and is significantly harder than cubic δ-NbN; it is as hard as sapphire, ultra-incompressible and has a high shear rigidity of 201 GPa to rival hard/superhard material γ-B (∼227 GPa). This exploration opens a new class of highly desirable materials combining the outstanding mechanical/elastic properties with superconductivity, which may be particularly attractive for its technological and engineering applications in extreme environments.

Discovery of superconductivity in hard hexagonal ε-NbN

DOE PAGES

Zou, Yongtao; Li, Qiang; Qi, Xintong; ...

2016-02-29

Since the discovery of superconductivity in boron-doped diamond with a critical temperature (T C) near 4 K, great interest has been attracted in hard superconductors such as transition-metal nitrides and carbides. Here we report the new discovery of superconductivity in polycrystalline hexagonal ε-NbN synthesized at high pressure and high temperature. Direct magnetization and electrical resistivity measurements demonstrate that the superconductivity in bulk polycrystalline hexagonal ε-NbN is below ~11.6 K, which is significantly higher than that for boron-doped diamond. The nature of superconductivity in hexagonal ε-NbN and the physical mechanism for the relatively lower T C have been addressed by themore » weaker bonding in the Nb-N network, the co-planarity of Nb-N layer as well as its relatively weaker electron-phonon coupling, as compared with the cubic δ-NbN counterpart. Moreover, the newly discovered ε-NbN superconductor remains stable at pressures up to ~20 GPa and is significantly harder than cubic δ-NbN; it is as hard as sapphire, ultra-incompressible and has a high shear rigidity of 201 GPa to rival hard/superhard material γ-B (~227 GPa). Furthermore, this exploration opens a new class of highly desirable materials combining the outstanding mechanical/elastic properties with superconductivity, which may be particularly attractive for its technological and engineering applications in extreme environments.« less

Discovery of Superconductivity in Hard Hexagonal ε-NbN

PubMed Central

Zou, Yongtao; Qi, Xintong; Zhang, Cheng; Ma, Shuailing; Zhang, Wei; Li, Ying; Chen, Ting; Wang, Xuebing; Chen, Zhiqiang; Welch, David; Zhu, Pinwen; Liu, Bingbing; Li, Qiang; Cui, Tian; Li, Baosheng

2016-01-01

Since the discovery of superconductivity in boron-doped diamond with a critical temperature (TC) near 4 K, great interest has been attracted in hard superconductors such as transition-metal nitrides and carbides. Here we report the new discovery of superconductivity in polycrystalline hexagonal ε-NbN synthesized at high pressure and high temperature. Direct magnetization and electrical resistivity measurements demonstrate that the superconductivity in bulk polycrystalline hexagonal ε-NbN is below ∼11.6 K, which is significantly higher than that for boron-doped diamond. The nature of superconductivity in hexagonal ε-NbN and the physical mechanism for the relatively lower TC have been addressed by the weaker bonding in the Nb-N network, the co-planarity of Nb-N layer as well as its relatively weaker electron-phonon coupling, as compared with the cubic δ-NbN counterpart. Moreover, the newly discovered ε-NbN superconductor remains stable at pressures up to ∼20 GPa and is significantly harder than cubic δ-NbN; it is as hard as sapphire, ultra-incompressible and has a high shear rigidity of 201 GPa to rival hard/superhard material γ-B (∼227 GPa). This exploration opens a new class of highly desirable materials combining the outstanding mechanical/elastic properties with superconductivity, which may be particularly attractive for its technological and engineering applications in extreme environments. PMID:26923318

Gauge invariance of excitonic linear and nonlinear optical response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taghizadeh, Alireza; Pedersen, T. G.

2018-05-01

We study the equivalence of four different approaches to calculate the excitonic linear and nonlinear optical response of multiband semiconductors. These four methods derive from two choices of gauge, i.e., length and velocity gauges, and two ways of computing the current density, i.e., direct evaluation and evaluation via the time-derivative of the polarization density. The linear and quadratic response functions are obtained for all methods by employing a perturbative density-matrix approach within the mean-field approximation. The equivalence of all four methods is shown rigorously, when a correct interaction Hamiltonian is employed for the velocity gauge approaches. The correct interaction is written as a series of commutators containing the unperturbed Hamiltonian and position operators, which becomes equivalent to the conventional velocity gauge interaction in the limit of infinite Coulomb screening and infinitely many bands. As a case study, the theory is applied to hexagonal boron nitride monolayers, and the linear and nonlinear optical response found in different approaches are compared.

APCVD hexagonal boron nitride thin films for passive near-junction thermal management of electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

KC, Pratik; Rai, Amit; Ashton, Taylor S.; Moore, Arden L.

2017-12-01

The ability of graphene to serve as an ultrathin heat spreader has been previously demonstrated with impressive results. However, graphene is electrically conductive, making its use in contact with electronic devices problematic from a reliability and integration perspective. As an alternative, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a similarly structured material with large in-plane thermal conductivity but which possesses a wide band gap, thereby giving it potential to be utilized for directing contact, near-junction thermal management of electronics without shorting or the need for an insulating intermediate layer. In this work, the viability of using large area, continuous h-BN thin films as direct contact, near-junction heat spreaders for electronic devices is experimentally evaluated. Thin films of h-BN several square millimeters in size were synthesized via an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) method that is both simple and scalable. These were subsequently transferred onto a microfabricated test device that simulated a multigate transistor while also allowing for measurements of the device temperature at various locations via precision resistance thermometry. Results showed that these large-area h-BN films with thicknesses of 77-125 nm are indeed capable of significantly lowering microdevice temperatures, with the best sample showing the presence of the h-BN thin film reduced the effective thermal resistance by 15.9% ± 4.6% compared to a bare microdevice at the same power density. Finally, finite element simulations of these experiments were utilized to estimate the thermal conductivity of the h-BN thin films and identify means by which further heat spreading performance gains could be attained.

Origin of the monolayer Raman signature in hexagonal boron nitride: a first-principles analysis.

PubMed

Ontaneda, Jorge; Singh, Anjali; Waghmare, Umesh V; Grau-Crespo, Ricardo

2018-05-10

Monolayers of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) can in principle be identified by a Raman signature, consisting of an upshift in the frequency of the E 2g vibrational mode with respect to the bulk value, but the origin of this shift (intrinsic or support-induced) is still debated. Herein we use density functional theory calculations to investigate whether there is an intrinsic Raman shift in the h-BN monolayer in comparison with the bulk. There is universal agreement among all tested functionals in predicting the magnitude of the frequency shift upon a variation in the in-plane cell parameter. It is clear that a small in-plane contraction can explain the Raman peak upshift from bulk to monolayer. However, we show that the larger in-plane parameter in the bulk (compared to the monolayer) results from non-local correlation effects, which cannot be accounted for by local functionals or those with empirical dispersion corrections. Using a non-local-correlation functional, we then investigate the effect of finite temperatures on the Raman signature. We demonstrate that bulk h-BN thermally expands in the direction perpendicular to the layers, while the intralayer distances slightly contract, in agreement with observed experimental behavior. Interestingly, the difference in in-plane cell parameter between bulk and monolayer decreases with temperature, and becomes very small at room temperature. We conclude that the different thermal expansion of bulk and monolayer partially 'erases' the intrinsic Raman signature, accounting for its small magnitude in recent experiments on suspended samples.

Origin of the monolayer Raman signature in hexagonal boron nitride: a first-principles analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ontaneda, Jorge; Singh, Anjali; Waghmare, Umesh V.; Grau-Crespo, Ricardo

2018-05-01

Monolayers of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) can in principle be identified by a Raman signature, consisting of an upshift in the frequency of the E2g vibrational mode with respect to the bulk value, but the origin of this shift (intrinsic or support-induced) is still debated. Herein we use density functional theory calculations to investigate whether there is an intrinsic Raman shift in the h-BN monolayer in comparison with the bulk. There is universal agreement among all tested functionals in predicting the magnitude of the frequency shift upon a variation in the in-plane cell parameter. It is clear that a small in-plane contraction can explain the Raman peak upshift from bulk to monolayer. However, we show that the larger in-plane parameter in the bulk (compared to the monolayer) results from non-local correlation effects, which cannot be accounted for by local functionals or those with empirical dispersion corrections. Using a non-local-correlation functional, we then investigate the effect of finite temperatures on the Raman signature. We demonstrate that bulk h-BN thermally expands in the direction perpendicular to the layers, while the intralayer distances slightly contract, in agreement with observed experimental behavior. Interestingly, the difference in in-plane cell parameter between bulk and monolayer decreases with temperature, and becomes very small at room temperature. We conclude that the different thermal expansion of bulk and monolayer partially ‘erases’ the intrinsic Raman signature, accounting for its small magnitude in recent experiments on suspended samples.

Edge-Hydroxylated Boron Nitride Nanosheets as an Effective Additive to Improve the Thermal Response of Hydrogels.

PubMed

Xiao, Feng; Naficy, Sina; Casillas, Gilberto; Khan, Majharul H; Katkus, Tomas; Jiang, Lei; Liu, Huakun; Li, Huijun; Huang, Zhenguo

2015-11-25

Upon flowing hot steam over hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) bulk powder, efficient exfoliation and hydroxylation of BN occur simultaneously. Through effective hydrogen bonding with water and N-isopropylacrylamide, edge-hydroxylated BN nanosheets dramatically improve the dimensional change and dye release of this temperature-sensitive hydrogel and thereby enhance its efficacy in bionic, soft robotic, and drug-delivery applications. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Elemental Identification by Combining Atomic Force Microscopy and Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy.

PubMed

Schulz, Fabian; Ritala, Juha; Krejčí, Ondrej; Seitsonen, Ari Paavo; Foster, Adam S; Liljeroth, Peter

2018-06-01

There are currently no experimental techniques that combine atomic-resolution imaging with elemental sensitivity and chemical fingerprinting on single molecules. The advent of using molecular-modified tips in noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) has made it possible to image (planar) molecules with atomic resolution. However, the mechanisms responsible for elemental contrast with passivated tips are not fully understood. Here, we investigate elemental contrast by carrying out both nc-AFM and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) experiments on epitaxial monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) on Ir(111). The hBN overlayer is inert, and the in-plane bonds connecting nearest-neighbor boron and nitrogen atoms possess strong covalent character and a bond length of only ∼1.45 Å. Nevertheless, constant-height maps of both the frequency shift Δ f and the local contact potential difference exhibit striking sublattice asymmetry. We match the different atomic sites with the observed contrast by comparison with nc-AFM image simulations based on the density functional theory optimized hBN/Ir(111) geometry, which yields detailed information on the origin of the atomic-scale contrast.

Via Method for Lithography Free Contact and Preservation of 2D Materials.

PubMed

Telford, Evan J; Benyamini, Avishai; Rhodes, Daniel; Wang, Da; Jung, Younghun; Zangiabadi, Amirali; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Jia, Shuang; Barmak, Katayun; Pasupathy, Abhay N; Dean, Cory R; Hone, James

2018-02-14

Atomically thin 2D materials span the common components of electronic circuits as metals, semiconductors, and insulators, and can manifest correlated phases such as superconductivity, charge density waves, and magnetism. An ongoing challenge in the field is to incorporate these 2D materials into multilayer heterostructures with robust electrical contacts while preventing disorder and degradation. In particular, preserving and studying air-sensitive 2D materials has presented a significant challenge since they readily oxidize under atmospheric conditions. We report a new technique for contacting 2D materials, in which metal via contacts are integrated into flakes of insulating hexagonal boron nitride, and then placed onto the desired conducting 2D layer, avoiding direct lithographic patterning onto the 2D conductor. The metal contacts are planar with the bottom surface of the boron nitride and form robust contacts to multiple 2D materials. These structures protect air-sensitive 2D materials for months with no degradation in performance. This via contact technique will provide the capability to produce "atomic printed circuit boards" that can form the basis of more complex multilayer heterostructures.

Rich interfacial chemistry and properties of carbon-doped hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets revealed by electronic structure calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Wei; Tamura, Takahiro; Yanase, Takashi; Nagahama, Taro; Shimada, Toshihiro

2018-04-01

The effect of C doping to hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) to its electronic structure is examined by first principles calculations using the association from π-electron systems of organic molecules embedded in a two-dimensional insulator. In a monolayered carbon-doped structure, odd-number doping with carbon atoms confers metallic properties with different work functions. Various electronic interactions occur between two layers with odd-number carbon substitution. A direct sp3 covalent chemical bond is formed when C replaces adjacent B and N in different layers. A charge transfer complex between layers is found when C replaces B and N in the next-neighboring region, which results in narrower band gaps (e.g., 0.37 eV). Direct bonding between C and B atoms is found when two C atoms in different layers are at a certain distance.

Singlet and triplet trions in WS2 monolayer encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride.

PubMed

Vaclavkova, D; Wyzula, J; Nogajewski, K; Bartos, M; Slobodeniuk, A O; Faugeras, C; Potemski, M; Molas, M R

2018-08-10

Embedding a WS 2 monolayer in flakes of hexagonal boron nitride allowed us to resolve and study the photoluminescence response due to both singlet and triplet states of negatively charged excitons (trions) in this atomically thin semiconductor. The energy separation between the singlet and triplet states has been found to be relatively small reflecting rather weak effects of the electron-electron exchange interaction for the trion triplet in a WS 2 monolayer, which involves two electrons with the same spin but from different valleys. Polarization-resolved experiments demonstrate that the helicity of the excitation light is better preserved in the emission spectrum of the triplet trion than in that of the singlet trion. Finally, the singlet (intravalley) trions are found to be observable even at ambient conditions whereas the emission due to the triplet (intervalley) trions is only efficient at low temperatures.

Ultrasound exfoliation of inorganic analogues of graphene

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

High-intensity ultrasound exfoliation of a bulk-layered material is an attractive route for large-scale preparation of monolayers. The monolayer slices could potentially be prepared with a high yield (up to 100%) in a few minutes. Exfoliation of natural minerals (such as tungstenite and molybdenite) or bulk synthetic materials (including hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), hexagonal boron carbon nitride (h-BCN), and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)) in liquids leads to the breakdown of the 3D graphitic structure into a 2D structure; the efficiency of this process is highly dependent upon the physical effects of the ultrasound. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) were employed to verify the quality of the exfoliation. Herein, this new method of exfoliation with ultrasound assistance for application to mono- and bilayered materials in hydrophobic and hydrophilic environments is presented. PMID:24708572

Ultrasound exfoliation of inorganic analogues of graphene.

PubMed

Stengl, Václav; Henych, Jiří; Slušná, Michaela; Ecorchard, Petra

2014-04-05

High-intensity ultrasound exfoliation of a bulk-layered material is an attractive route for large-scale preparation of monolayers. The monolayer slices could potentially be prepared with a high yield (up to 100%) in a few minutes. Exfoliation of natural minerals (such as tungstenite and molybdenite) or bulk synthetic materials (including hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), hexagonal boron carbon nitride (h-BCN), and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)) in liquids leads to the breakdown of the 3D graphitic structure into a 2D structure; the efficiency of this process is highly dependent upon the physical effects of the ultrasound. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) were employed to verify the quality of the exfoliation. Herein, this new method of exfoliation with ultrasound assistance for application to mono- and bilayered materials in hydrophobic and hydrophilic environments is presented.

Raman study of annealed two-dimensional heterostructure of graphene on hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Souibgui, Mourad; Ajlani, Hosni; Cavanna, Antonnella; Oueslati, Meherzi; Meftah, Abdelaziz; Madouri, Ali

2017-12-01

In this paper, we investigate stacked 2D graphene layers on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). The graphene is obtained by high-quality chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and transferred to the h-BN substrate. We focus our attention on annealing effect at 1040 °C on single graphene layer (SGL) and bilayer graphene (BLG) on h-BN substrate using Raman spectroscopy. Our results show, before annealing, a twist angle θ = 0.63 ° between the SGL and the h-BN substrate and a twist angle 3 ° <θG1G2 < 8 ° between the two graphene layers of the BLG. After annealing, the analysis of the graphene G and 2D bands show a rotational reorientation of the graphene layer with respect to the h-BN substrate. Raman mapping also shows that the rotational reorientation is spatially dependent.

Growth and device processing of hexagonal boron nitride epilayers for thermal neutron and deep ultraviolet detectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doan, T. C.; Li, J.; Lin, J. Y.

2016-07-15

Solid-state neutron detectors with high performance are highly sought after for the detection of fissile materials. However, direct-conversion neutron detectors based on semiconductors with a measureable efficiency have not been realized. We report here the first successful demonstration of a direct-conversion semiconductor neutron detector with an overall detection efficiency for thermal neutrons of 4% and a charge collection efficiency as high as 83%. The detector is based on a 2.7 μm thick {sup 10}B-enriched hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) epitaxial layer. The results represent a significant step towards the realization of practical neutron detectors based on h-BN epilayers. Neutron detectors basedmore » on h-BN are expected to possess all the advantages of semiconductor devices including wafer-scale processing, compact size, light weight, and ability to integrate with other functional devices.« less

Critical coupling using the hexagonal boron nitride crystals in the mid-infrared range

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Jipeng; Wang, Hengliang; Wen, Shuangchun

2016-05-28

We theoretically demonstrate the perfect absorption phenomena in the hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) crystals in the mid-infrared wavelength ranges by means of critical coupling with a one-dimensional photonic crystal spaced by the air. Different from the polymer absorbing layer composed by a metal-dielectric composite film, the hyperbolic dispersion characteristics of hBN can meet the condition of critical coupling and achieve the total absorption in the mid-infrared wavelength ranges. However, the critical coupling phenomenon can only appear in the hBN crystals with the type II dispersion. Moreover, we discuss the influence of the thickness of hBN, the incident angle, and themore » thickness and permittivity of the space dielectric on the total absorption. Ultimately, the conditions for absorption enhancement and the optimization methods of perfect absorption are proposed, and the design rules for a totally absorbing system under the different conditions are achieved.« less

Localized emission from laser-irradiated defects in 2D hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Songyan; Danang Birowosuto, Muhammad; Umar, Saleem; Ange Anicet, Maurice; Yingjie Tay, Roland; Coquet, Philippe; Tay, Beng Kang; Wang, Hong; Teo, Edwin Hang Tong

2018-01-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has emerged as a promising two-dimensional (2D) material for photonics device due to its large bandgap and flexibility in nanophotonic circuits. Here, we report bright and localized luminescent centres can be engineered in hBN monolayers and flakes using laser irradiation. The transition from hBN to cBN emerges in laser irradiated hBN large monolayers while is absent in processed hBN flakes. Remarkably, the colour centres in hBN flakes exhibit room temperature cleaner single photon emissions with g 2(0) ranging from 0.20 to 0.42, a narrower line width of 1.4 nm and higher brightness compared with monolayers. Our results pave the way to engineering deterministic defects in hBN induced by laser pulse and show great prospect for application of defects in hBN used as nano-size light source in photonics.

Optical spectroscopy and photo modification of individual single-photon emitters in hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayakumar, Harishankar; Shotan, Zav; Considine, Christopher; Mazkoit, Mažena; Fedder, Helmut; Wrachtrup, Joerg; Alkauskas, Audrius; Doherty, Marcus; Menon, Vinod; Meriles, Carlos

Fluorescent defects recently observed under ambient conditions in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) promise to open novel opportunities for the implementation of on-chip photonic devices that rely on identical photons from single emitters. Here we report on the room temperature photo-luminescence dynamics of individual emitters in multilayer h-BN flakes exposed to blue laser light. Comparison of optical spectra recorded at successive times reveals considerable spectral diffusion, possibly the result of slowly fluctuating, trapped-carrier-induced stark shifts. Large spectral jumps - reaching up to 100 nm - followed by bleaching are observed in most cases upon prolonged exposure to blue light, an indication of one-directional, photo-chemical changes likely taking place on the flake surface. Remarkably, only a fraction of the observed emitters also fluoresces on green illumination suggesting a more complex optical excitation dynamics than previously anticipated and raising questions on the physical nature of the atomic defect at play.

A charge-density-wave oscillator based on an integrated tantalum disulfide-boron nitride-graphene device operating at room temperature.

PubMed

Liu, Guanxiong; Debnath, Bishwajit; Pope, Timothy R; Salguero, Tina T; Lake, Roger K; Balandin, Alexander A

2016-10-01

The charge-density-wave (CDW) phase is a macroscopic quantum state consisting of a periodic modulation of the electronic charge density accompanied by a periodic distortion of the atomic lattice in quasi-1D or layered 2D metallic crystals. Several layered transition metal dichalcogenides, including 1T-TaSe 2 , 1T-TaS 2 and 1T-TiSe 2 exhibit unusually high transition temperatures to different CDW symmetry-reducing phases. These transitions can be affected by the environmental conditions, film thickness and applied electric bias. However, device applications of these intriguing systems at room temperature or their integration with other 2D materials have not been explored. Here, we demonstrate room-temperature current switching driven by a voltage-controlled phase transition between CDW states in films of 1T-TaS 2 less than 10 nm thick. We exploit the transition between the nearly commensurate and the incommensurate CDW phases, which has a transition temperature of 350 K and gives an abrupt change in current accompanied by hysteresis. An integrated graphene transistor provides a voltage-tunable, matched, low-resistance load enabling precise voltage control of the circuit. The 1T-TaS 2 film is capped with hexagonal boron nitride to provide protection from oxidation. The integration of these three disparate 2D materials in a way that exploits the unique properties of each yields a simple, miniaturized, voltage-controlled oscillator suitable for a variety of practical applications.

Effects of deposition temperature and ammonia flow on metal-organic chemical vapor deposition of hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rice, Anthony; Allerman, Andrew; Crawford, Mary; Beechem, Thomas; Ohta, Taisuke; Spataru, Catalin; Figiel, Jeffrey; Smith, Michael

2018-03-01

The use of metal-organic chemical vapor deposition at high temperature is investigated as a means to produce epitaxial hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) at the wafer scale. Several categories of hBN films were found to exist based upon precursor flows and deposition temperature. Low, intermediate, and high NH3 flow regimes were found to lead to fundamentally different deposition behaviors. The low NH3 flow regimes yielded discolored films of boron sub-nitride. The intermediate NH3 flow regime yielded stoichiometric films that could be deposited as thick films. The high NH3 flow regime yielded self-limited deposition with thicknesses limited to a few mono-layers. A Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism is proposed to explain the onset of self-limited behavior for the high NH3 flow regime. Photoluminescence characterization determined that the intermediate and high NH3 flow regimes could be further divided into low and high temperature behaviors with a boundary at 1500 °C. Films deposited with both high NH3 flow and high temperature exhibited room temperature free exciton emission at 210 nm and 215.9 nm.

Order-disorder transition in a two-dimensional boron-carbon-nitride alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Jiong; Zhang, Kai; Feng Liu, Xin; Zhang, Han; Chien Sum, Tze; Castro Neto, Antonio H.; Loh, Kian Ping

2013-10-01

Two-dimensional boron-carbon-nitride materials exhibit a spectrum of electronic properties ranging from insulating to semimetallic, depending on their composition and geometry. Detailed experimental insights into the phase separation and ordering in such alloy are currently lacking. Here we report the mixing and demixing of boron-nitrogen and carbon phases on ruthenium (0001) and found that energetics for such processes are modified by the metal substrate. The brick-and-mortar patchwork observed of stoichiometrically percolated hexagonal boron-carbon-nitride domains surrounded by a network of segregated graphene nanoribbons can be described within the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model applied to a honeycomb lattice. The isostructural boron nitride and graphene assumes remarkable fluidity and can be exchanged entirely into one another by a catalytically assistant substitution. Visualizing the dynamics of phase separation at the atomic level provides the premise for enabling structural control in a two-dimensional network for broad nanotechnology applications.

Frictional Magneto-Coulomb Drag in Graphene Double-Layer Heterostructures.

PubMed

Liu, Xiaomeng; Wang, Lei; Fong, Kin Chung; Gao, Yuanda; Maher, Patrick; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Hone, James; Dean, Cory; Kim, Philip

2017-08-04

Coulomb interaction between two closely spaced parallel layers of conductors can generate the frictional drag effect by interlayer Coulomb scattering. Employing graphene double layers separated by few-layer hexagonal boron nitride, we investigate density tunable magneto- and Hall drag under strong magnetic fields. The observed large magnetodrag and Hall-drag signals can be related with Laudau level filling status of the drive and drag layers. We find that the sign and magnitude of the drag resistivity tensor can be quantitatively correlated to the variation of magnetoresistivity tensors in the drive and drag layers, confirming a theoretical formula for magnetodrag in the quantum Hall regime. The observed weak temperature dependence and ∼B^{2} dependence of the magnetodrag are qualitatively explained by Coulomb scattering phase-space argument.

Enhanced energy density and thermal conductivity in poly(fluorovinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene) nanocomposites incorporated with boron nitride nanosheets exfoliated under assistance of hyperbranched polyethylene.

PubMed

Ye, Huijian; Lu, Tiemei; Xu, Chunfeng; Zhong, Mingqiang; Xu, Lixin

2018-03-02

Polymer dielectric film with a large dielectric constant, high energy density and enhanced thermal conductivity are of significance for the development of impulse capacitors. However, the fabrication of polymer dielectrics combining high energy density and thermal conductivity is still a challenge at the moment. Here we demonstrate the facile exfoliation of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) in common organic solvents under sonication with the assistance of hyperbranched polyethylene (HBPE). The noncovalent CH-π interactions between the nanosheets and HBPE ensure the dispersion of BNNSs in organic solvents with high concentrations, because of the highly branched chain structure of HBPE. Subsequently, the resultant BNNSs with a few defects are distributed uniformly in the poly(fluorovinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) nanocomposite films prepared via simple solution casting. The BNNS/P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposite exhibits outstanding dielectric properties, high energy density and high thermal conductivity. The dielectric constant of the 0.5 wt% nanocomposite film is 35.5 at 100 Hz with an energy density of 5.6 J cm -3 at 325 MV m -1 and a high charge-discharge efficiency of 79% due to the depression of the charge injection and chemical species ionization in a high field. Moreover, a thermal conductivity of 1.0 wt% nanocomposite film reaches 0.91 W·m -1  · K -1 , which is 3.13 times higher than that of the fluoropolymer matrix. With dipole accumulation and orientation in the interfacial zone, lightweight, flexible BNNS/P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposite films with high charge-discharge performance and thermal conductivity, exhibit promising applications in relatively high-temperature electronics and energy storage devices.

Enhanced energy density and thermal conductivity in poly(fluorovinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene) nanocomposites incorporated with boron nitride nanosheets exfoliated under assistance of hyperbranched polyethylene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Huijian; Lu, Tiemei; Xu, Chunfeng; Zhong, Mingqiang; Xu, Lixin

2018-03-01

Polymer dielectric film with a large dielectric constant, high energy density and enhanced thermal conductivity are of significance for the development of impulse capacitors. However, the fabrication of polymer dielectrics combining high energy density and thermal conductivity is still a challenge at the moment. Here we demonstrate the facile exfoliation of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) in common organic solvents under sonication with the assistance of hyperbranched polyethylene (HBPE). The noncovalent CH-π interactions between the nanosheets and HBPE ensure the dispersion of BNNSs in organic solvents with high concentrations, because of the highly branched chain structure of HBPE. Subsequently, the resultant BNNSs with a few defects are distributed uniformly in the poly(fluorovinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) nanocomposite films prepared via simple solution casting. The BNNS/P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposite exhibits outstanding dielectric properties, high energy density and high thermal conductivity. The dielectric constant of the 0.5 wt% nanocomposite film is 35.5 at 100 Hz with an energy density of 5.6 J cm-3 at 325 MV m-1 and a high charge-discharge efficiency of 79% due to the depression of the charge injection and chemical species ionization in a high field. Moreover, a thermal conductivity of 1.0 wt% nanocomposite film reaches 0.91 W·m-1 · K-1, which is 3.13 times higher than that of the fluoropolymer matrix. With dipole accumulation and orientation in the interfacial zone, lightweight, flexible BNNS/P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposite films with high charge-discharge performance and thermal conductivity, exhibit promising applications in relatively high-temperature electronics and energy storage devices.

Dissolution and Characterization of Boron Nitride Nanotubes in Superacid.

PubMed

Kleinerman, Olga; Adnan, Mohammed; Marincel, Daniel M; Ma, Anson W K; Bengio, E Amram; Park, Cheol; Chu, Sang-Hyon; Pasquali, Matteo; Talmon, Yeshayahu

2017-12-19

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are of interest for their unique combination of high tensile strength, high electrical resistivity, high neutron cross section, and low reactivity. The fastest route to employing these properties in composites and macroscopic articles is through solution processing. However, dispersing BNNTs without functionalization or use of a surfactant is challenging. We show here by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy that BNNTs spontaneously dissolve in chlorosulfonic acid as disentangled individual molecules. Electron energy loss spectroscopy of BNNTs dried from the solution confirms preservation of the sp 2 hybridization for boron and nitrogen, eliminating the possibility of BNNT functionalization or damage. The length and diameter of the BNNTs was statistically calculated to be ∼4.5 μm and ∼4 nm, respectively. Interestingly, bent or otherwise damaged BNNTs are filled by chlorosulfonic acid. Additionally, nanometer-sized synthesis byproducts, including boron nitride clusters, isolated single and multilayer hexagonal boron nitride, and boron particles, were identified. Dissolution in superacid provides a route for solution processing BNNTs without altering their chemical structure.

New Convex and Spherical Structures of Bare Boron Clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boustani, Ihsan

1997-10-01

New stable structures of bare boron clusters can easily be obtained and constructed with the help of an "Aufbau Principle" suggested by a systematicab initioHF-SCF and direct CI study. It is concluded that boron cluster formation can be established by elemental units of pentagonal and hexagonal pyramids. New convex and small spherical clusters different from the classical known forms of boron crystal structures are obtained by a combination of both basic units. Convex structures simulate boron surfaces which can be considered as segments of open or closed spheres. Both convex clusters B16and B46have energies close to those of their conjugate quasi-planar clusters, which are relatively stable and can be considered to act as a calibration mark. The closed spherical clusters B12, B22, B32, and B42are less stable than the corresponding conjugated quasi-planar structures. As a consequence, highly stable spherical boron clusters can systematically be predicted when their conjugate quasi-planar clusters are determined and energies are compared.

Matrix Transformation in Boron Containing High-Temperature Co-Re-Cr Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strunz, Pavel; Mukherji, Debashis; Beran, Přemysl; Gilles, Ralph; Karge, Lukas; Hofmann, Michael; Hoelzel, Markus; Rösler, Joachim; Farkas, Gergely

2018-03-01

An addition of boron largely increases the ductility in polycrystalline high-temperature Co-Re alloys. Therefore, the effect of boron on the alloy structural characteristics is of high importance for the stability of the matrix at operational temperatures. Volume fractions of ɛ (hexagonal close-packed—hcp), γ (face-centered cubic—fcc) and σ (Cr2Re3 type) phases were measured at ambient and high temperatures (up to 1500 °C) for a boron-containing Co-17Re-23Cr alloy using neutron diffraction. The matrix phase undergoes an allotropic transformation from ɛ to γ structure at high temperatures, similar to pure cobalt and to the previously investigated, more complex Co-17Re-23Cr-1.2Ta-2.6C alloy. It was determined in this study that the transformation temperature depends on the boron content (0-1000 wt. ppm). Nevertheless, the transformation temperature did not change monotonically with the increase in the boron content but reached a minimum at approximately 200 ppm of boron. A probable reason is the interplay between the amount of boron in the matrix and the amount of σ phase, which binds hcp-stabilizing elements (Cr and Re). Moreover, borides were identified in alloys with high boron content.

Evolution of Moiré Profiles from van der Waals Superstructures of Boron Nitride Nanosheets

PubMed Central

Liao, Yunlong; Cao, Wei; Connell, John W.; Chen, Zhongfang; Lin, Yi

2016-01-01

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) superstructures, or vdW solids, are formed by the precise restacking of 2D nanosheet lattices, which can lead to unique physical and electronic properties that are not available in the parent nanosheets. Moiré patterns formed by the crystalline mismatch between adjacent nanosheets are the most direct features for vdW superstructures under microscopic imaging. In this article, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation of hexagonal Moiré patterns with unusually large micrometer-sized lateral areas (up to ~1 μm2) and periodicities (up to ~50 nm) from restacking of liquid exfoliated hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) is reported. This observation was attributed to the long range crystallinity and the contaminant-free surfaces of these chemically inert nanosheets. Parallel-line-like Moiré fringes with similarly large periodicities were also observed. The simulations and experiments unambiguously revealed that the hexagonal patterns and the parallel fringes originated from the same rotationally mismatched vdW stacking of BNNSs and can be inter-converted by simply tilting the TEM specimen following designated directions. This finding may pave the way for further structural decoding of other 2D vdW superstructure systems with more complex Moiré images. PMID:27188697

Oxygen interaction with hexagonal OsB 2 at high temperature

DOE PAGES

Xie, Zhilin; Blair, Richard G.; Orlovskaya, Nina; ...

2016-08-10

The stability of ReB 2-type hexagonal OsB 2 powder at high temperature with oxygen presence has been studied by thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, SEM, EDS, and high-temperature scanning transmission electron microscopy and XRD. Results of the study revealed that OsB 2 ceramics interact readily with oxygen present in reducing atmosphere, especially at high temperature and produces boric acid, which decomposes on the surface of the powder resulting in the formation of boron vacancies in the hexagonal OsB 2 lattice as well as changes in the stoichiometry of the compound. It was also found that under low oxygen partial pressure,more » sintering of OsB 2 powders occurred at a relatively low temperature (900°C). Finally, hexagonal OsB 2 ceramic is prone to oxidation and it is very sensitive to oxygen partial pressures, especially at high temperatures.« less

Oxygen interaction with hexagonal OsB 2 at high temperature

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Zhilin; Blair, Richard G.; Orlovskaya, Nina

The stability of ReB 2-type hexagonal OsB 2 powder at high temperature with oxygen presence has been studied by thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, SEM, EDS, and high-temperature scanning transmission electron microscopy and XRD. Results of the study revealed that OsB 2 ceramics interact readily with oxygen present in reducing atmosphere, especially at high temperature and produces boric acid, which decomposes on the surface of the powder resulting in the formation of boron vacancies in the hexagonal OsB 2 lattice as well as changes in the stoichiometry of the compound. It was also found that under low oxygen partial pressure,more » sintering of OsB 2 powders occurred at a relatively low temperature (900°C). Finally, hexagonal OsB 2 ceramic is prone to oxidation and it is very sensitive to oxygen partial pressures, especially at high temperatures.« less

Probing low-energy hyperbolic polaritons in van der Waals crystals with an electron microscope.

PubMed

Govyadinov, Alexander A; Konečná, Andrea; Chuvilin, Andrey; Vélez, Saül; Dolado, Irene; Nikitin, Alexey Y; Lopatin, Sergei; Casanova, Fèlix; Hueso, Luis E; Aizpurua, Javier; Hillenbrand, Rainer

2017-07-21

Van der Waals materials exhibit intriguing structural, electronic, and photonic properties. Electron energy loss spectroscopy within scanning transmission electron microscopy allows for nanoscale mapping of such properties. However, its detection is typically limited to energy losses in the eV range-too large for probing low-energy excitations such as phonons or mid-infrared plasmons. Here, we adapt a conventional instrument to probe energy loss down to 100 meV, and map phononic states in hexagonal boron nitride, a representative van der Waals material. The boron nitride spectra depend on the flake thickness and on the distance of the electron beam to the flake edges. To explain these observations, we developed a classical response theory that describes the interaction of fast electrons with (anisotropic) van der Waals slabs, revealing that the electron energy loss is dominated by excitation of hyperbolic phonon polaritons, and not of bulk phonons as often reported. Thus, our work is of fundamental importance for interpreting future low-energy loss spectra of van der Waals materials.Here the authors adapt a STEM-EELS system to probe energy loss down to 100 meV, and apply it to map phononic states in hexagonal boron nitride, revealing that the electron loss is dominated by hyperbolic phonon polaritons.

Anomalous response of supported few-layer hexagonal boron nitride to DC electric fields: a confined water effect?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Camilla; Matos, Matheus; Mazzoni, Mário; Chacham, Hélio; Neves, Bernardo

2013-03-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a two-dimensional compound from III-V family, with the atoms of boron and nitrogen arranged in a honeycomb lattice, similar to graphene. Unlike graphene though, h-BN is an insulator material, with a gap larger than 5 eV. Here, we use Electric Force Microscopy (EFM) to study the electrical response of mono and few-layers of h-BN to an electric field applied by the EFM tip. Our results show an anomalous behavior in the dielectric response for h-BN for different bias orientation: for a positive bias applied to the tip, h-BN layers respond with a larger dielectric constant than the dielectric constant of the silicon dioxide substrate; while for a negative bias, the h-BN dielectric constant is smaller than the dielectric constant of the substrate. Based on first-principles calculations, we showed that this anomalous response may be interpreted as a macroscopic consequence of confinement of a thin water layer between h-BN and substrate. These results were confirmed by sample annealing and also also by a comparative analysis with h-BN on a non-polar substrate. All the authors acknowledge financial support from CNPq, Fapemig, Rede Nacional de Pesquisa em Nanotubos de Carbono and INCT-Nano-Carbono.

Angle-resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy in hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fossard, Frédéric; Sponza, Lorenzo; Schué, Léonard; Attaccalite, Claudio; Ducastelle, François; Barjon, Julien; Loiseau, Annick

2017-09-01

Electron energy loss spectra were measured on hexagonal boron nitride single crystals employing an electron energy loss spectroscopic setup composed of an electron microscope equipped with a monochromator and an in-column filter. This setup provides high-quality energy-loss spectra and allows also for the imaging of energy-filtered diffraction patterns. These two acquisition modes provide complementary pieces of information, offering a global view of excitations in reciprocal space. As an example of the capabilities of the method we show how easily the core loss spectra at the K edges of boron and nitrogen can be measured and imaged. Low losses associated with interband and/or plasmon excitations are also measured. This energy range allows us to illustrate that our method provides results whose quality is comparable to that obtained from nonresonant x-ray inelastic scattering but with advantageous specificities such as an enhanced sensitivity at low q and a much greater simplicity and versatility that make it well adapted to the study of two-dimensional materials and related heterostructures. Finally, by comparing theoretical calculations to our measures, we are able to relate the range of applicability of ab initio calculations to the anisotropy of the sample and assess the level of approximation required for a proper simulation of our acquisition method.

Unconventional transport in ultraclean graphene constriction devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pita Vidal, Marta; Ma, Qiong; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo

Under mesoscopic conditions, strong electron-electron interactions and weak electron-phonon coupling in graphene lead to hydrodynamic behavior of electrons, resulting in unusual and unexpected transport phenomena. Specifically, this hydrodynamical collective cooperation of electrons is predicted to enhance the flow of electrical current, leading to a striking higher-than-ballistic conductance through a narrow geometrical constriction. To access the hydrodynamic regime, we fabricated high-quality, low-disorder graphene nano-constriction devices encapsulated by hexagonal boron nitride, where electron-electron scattering dominates impurity scattering. We will report on our systematic four-probe conductance measurements on devices with different constriction widths as a function of number density and temperature. The observation of quantum transport phenomena that are inconsistent with the non-interacting ballistic free-fermion model would suggest a macroscopic transport signature of electron viscosity.

Manipulation of enhanced absorption with tilted hexagonal boron nitride slabs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xiaohu; Fu, Ceji

2018-04-01

The wavevector of electromagnetic wave propagation in a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) slab can be controlled by tilting its optical axis. This property can be used to manipulate the absorption in a hBN slab. By carefully analyzing the dependence of the absorptivity of a thin hBN slab on the tilted angle of its optical axis, we propose a structure that can realize great absorptivity enhancement in a band by stacking hBN slabs of different tilted angles. Our numerical results show that the absorptivity of a structure made of 91 stacked hBN slabs can be achieved higher than 0.94 in the wavenumber range from 1367 to 1580 cm-1 when the tilted angles of the slabs are properly arranged. The strong absorption is attributed to the combination of impedance matching at the slab interfaces and enlarged wavevectors in the slabs. This work reveals a novel way to realize strong absorption with anisotropic materials for applications in areas such as thermal radiative energy harvesting and conversion.

In-plane heterostructures of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride with controlled domain sizes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zheng; Ma, Lulu; Shi, Gang; Zhou, Wu; Gong, Yongji; Lei, Sidong; Yang, Xuebei; Zhang, Jiangnan; Yu, Jingjiang; Hackenberg, Ken P.; Babakhani, Aydin; Idrobo, Juan-Carlos; Vajtai, Robert; Lou, Jun; Ajayan, Pulickel M.

2013-02-01

Graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) have similar crystal structures with a lattice constant difference of only 2%. However, graphene is a zero-bandgap semiconductor with remarkably high carrier mobility at room temperature, whereas an atomically thin layer of h-BN is a dielectric with a wide bandgap of ~5.9 eV. Accordingly, if precise two-dimensional domains of graphene and h-BN can be seamlessly stitched together, hybrid atomic layers with interesting electronic applications could be created. Here, we show that planar graphene/h-BN heterostructures can be formed by growing graphene in lithographically patterned h-BN atomic layers. Our approach can create periodic arrangements of domains with size ranging from tens of nanometres to millimetres. The resulting graphene/h-BN atomic layers can be peeled off the growth substrate and transferred to various platforms including flexible substrates. We also show that the technique can be used to fabricate two-dimensional devices, such as a split closed-loop resonator that works as a bandpass filter.

Preparation of high-content hexagonal boron nitride composite film and characterization of atomic oxygen erosion resistance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yu; Li, Min; Gu, Yizhuo; Wang, Shaokai; Zhang, Zuoguang

2017-04-01

Space aircrafts circling in low earth orbit are suffered from highly reactive atomic oxygen (AO). To shield AO, a flexible thin film with 80 wt.% hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and h-BN/epoxy film were fabricated through vacuum filtration and adding nanofibrillated cellulose fibers. H-BN nanosheets were hydroxylated for enhancing interaction in the films. Mass loss and erosion yield at accumulated AO fluence about 3.04 × 1020 atoms/cm2 were adopted to evaluate the AO resistance properties of the films. A carpet-like rough surface, chemical oxidations and change in crystal structure of h-BN were found after AO treatment, and the degrading mechanism was proposed. The mass loss and erosion yield under AO attack were compared between h-BN film and h-BN/epoxy film, and the comparison was also done for various types of shielding AO materials. Excellent AO resistance property of h-BN film is shown, and the reasons are analyzed.

Temperature Dependence of Wavelength Selectable Zero-Phonon Emission from Single Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

PubMed

Jungwirth, Nicholas R; Calderon, Brian; Ji, Yanxin; Spencer, Michael G; Flatté, Michael E; Fuchs, Gregory D

2016-10-12

We investigate the distribution and temperature-dependent optical properties of sharp, zero-phonon emission from defect-based single photon sources in multilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) flakes. We observe sharp emission lines from optically active defects distributed across an energy range that exceeds 500 meV. Spectrally resolved photon-correlation measurements verify single photon emission, even when multiple emission lines are simultaneously excited within the same h-BN flake. We also present a detailed study of the temperature-dependent line width, spectral energy shift, and intensity for two different zero-phonon lines centered at 575 and 682 nm, which reveals a nearly identical temperature dependence despite a large difference in transition energy. Our temperature-dependent results are well described by a lattice vibration model that considers piezoelectric coupling to in-plane phonons. Finally, polarization spectroscopy measurements suggest that whereas the 575 nm emission line is directly excited by 532 nm excitation, the 682 nm line is excited indirectly.

Room temperature single photon source using fiber-integrated hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogl, Tobias; Lu, Yuerui; Lam, Ping Koy

2017-07-01

Single photons are a key resource for quantum optics and optical quantum information processing. The integration of scalable room temperature quantum emitters into photonic circuits remains to be a technical challenge. Here we utilize a defect center in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) attached by Van der Waals force onto a multimode fiber as a single photon source. We perform an optical characterization of the source in terms of spectrum, state lifetime, power saturation and photostability. A special feature of our source is that it allows for easy switching between fiber-coupled and free space single photon generation modes. In order to prove the quantum nature of the emission we measure the second-order correlation function {{g}(2)}≤ft(τ \\right) . For both fiber-coupled and free space emission, the {{g}(2)}≤ft(τ \\right) dips below 0.5 indicating operation in the single photon regime. The results so far demonstrate the feasibility of 2D material single photon sources for scalable photonic quantum information processing.

Antenna-coupled photon emission from hexagonal boron nitride tunnel junctions.

PubMed

Parzefall, M; Bharadwaj, P; Jain, A; Taniguchi, T; Watanabe, K; Novotny, L

2015-12-01

The ultrafast conversion of electrical signals to optical signals at the nanoscale is of fundamental interest for data processing, telecommunication and optical interconnects. However, the modulation bandwidths of semiconductor light-emitting diodes are limited by the spontaneous recombination rate of electron-hole pairs, and the footprint of electrically driven ultrafast lasers is too large for practical on-chip integration. A metal-insulator-metal tunnel junction approaches the ultimate size limit of electronic devices and its operating speed is fundamentally limited only by the tunnelling time. Here, we study the conversion of electrons (localized in vertical gold-hexagonal boron nitride-gold tunnel junctions) to free-space photons, mediated by resonant slot antennas. Optical antennas efficiently bridge the size mismatch between nanoscale volumes and far-field radiation and strongly enhance the electron-photon conversion efficiency. We achieve polarized, directional and resonantly enhanced light emission from inelastic electron tunnelling and establish a novel platform for studying the interaction of electrons with strongly localized electromagnetic fields.

Defect-selective dry etching for quick and easy probing of hexagonal boron nitride domains.

PubMed

Wu, Qinke; Lee, Joohyun; Park, Sangwoo; Woo, Hwi Je; Lee, Sungjoo; Song, Young Jae

2018-03-23

In this study, we demonstrate a new method to selectively etch the point defects or the boundaries of as-grown hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) films and flakes in situ on copper substrates using hydrogen and argon gases. The initial quality of the chemical vapor deposition-grown hBN films and flakes was confirmed by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Different gas flow ratios of Ar/H 2 were then employed to etch the same quality of samples and it was found that etching with hydrogen starts from the point defects and grows epitaxially, which helps in confirming crystalline orientations. However, etching with argon is sensitive to line defects (boundaries) and helps in visualizing the domain size. Finally, based on this defect-selective dry etching technique, it could be visualized that the domains of a polycrystalline hBN monolayer merged together with many parts, even with those that grew from a single nucleation seed.

Defect-selective dry etching for quick and easy probing of hexagonal boron nitride domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qinke; Lee, Joohyun; Park, Sangwoo; Woo, Hwi Je; Lee, Sungjoo; Song, Young Jae

2018-03-01

In this study, we demonstrate a new method to selectively etch the point defects or the boundaries of as-grown hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) films and flakes in situ on copper substrates using hydrogen and argon gases. The initial quality of the chemical vapor deposition-grown hBN films and flakes was confirmed by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Different gas flow ratios of Ar/H2 were then employed to etch the same quality of samples and it was found that etching with hydrogen starts from the point defects and grows epitaxially, which helps in confirming crystalline orientations. However, etching with argon is sensitive to line defects (boundaries) and helps in visualizing the domain size. Finally, based on this defect-selective dry etching technique, it could be visualized that the domains of a polycrystalline hBN monolayer merged together with many parts, even with those that grew from a single nucleation seed.

Enhanced Tunnel Spin Injection into Graphene using Chemical Vapor Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride

PubMed Central

Kamalakar, M. Venkata; Dankert, André; Bergsten, Johan; Ive, Tommy; Dash, Saroj P.

2014-01-01

The van der Waals heterostructures of two-dimensional (2D) atomic crystals constitute a new paradigm in nanoscience. Hybrid devices of graphene with insulating 2D hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) have emerged as promising nanoelectronic architectures through demonstrations of ultrahigh electron mobilities and charge-based tunnel transistors. Here, we expand the functional horizon of such 2D materials demonstrating the quantum tunneling of spin polarized electrons through atomic planes of CVD grown h-BN. We report excellent tunneling behavior of h-BN layers together with tunnel spin injection and transport in graphene using ferromagnet/h-BN contacts. Employing h-BN tunnel contacts, we observe enhancements in both spin signal amplitude and lifetime by an order of magnitude. We demonstrate spin transport and precession over micrometer-scale distances with spin lifetime up to 0.46 nanosecond. Our results and complementary magnetoresistance calculations illustrate that CVD h-BN tunnel barrier provides a reliable, reproducible and alternative approach to address the conductivity mismatch problem for spin injection into graphene. PMID:25156685

Observation of phonon-polaritons in thin flakes of hexagonal boron nitride on gold

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciano, C.; Giliberti, V.; Ortolani, M.; Baldassarre, L.

2018-04-01

Hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN) is a layered van der Waals material able to sustain hyperbolic phonon-polaritons within its mid-infrared reststrahlen bands. We study the effect of a metallic substrate adjacent to hBN flakes on the polariton dispersion and on the standing wave patterns in nanostructures by means of mid-infrared nanospectroscopy and nanoimaging. We exploit the gold-coated tip apex for atomic force microscopy to launch polaritons in thin hBN flakes. The photo-thermal induced mechanical resonance is used to detect the amplitude profile of polariton standing waves with a lateral resolution of 30 nm. We observe the polariton excitation spectra on hBN flakes as thin as 4 nm, thanks to the infrared field enhancement in the nanogap between the gold-coated tip apex and an ultraflat gold substrate. The data indicate no major effect of remote screening of the free electrons in gold on the phonon-polariton excitation that appears robust also against geometrical imperfections.

Suppressing bacterial interaction with copper surfaces through graphene and hexagonal-boron nitride coatings.

PubMed

Parra, Carolina; Montero-Silva, Francisco; Henríquez, Ricardo; Flores, Marcos; Garín, Carolina; Ramírez, Cristian; Moreno, Macarena; Correa, Jonathan; Seeger, Michael; Häberle, Patricio

2015-04-01

Understanding biological interaction with graphene and hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) membranes has become essential for the incorporation of these unique materials in contact with living organisms. Previous reports show contradictions regarding the bacterial interaction with graphene sheets on metals. Here, we present a comprehensive study of the interaction of bacteria with copper substrates coated with single-layer graphene and h-BN. Our results demonstrate that such graphitic coatings substantially suppress interaction between bacteria and underlying Cu substrates, acting as an effective barrier to prevent physical contact. Bacteria do not "feel" the strong antibacterial effect of Cu, and the substrate does not suffer biocorrosion due to bacteria contact. Effectiveness of these systems as barriers can be understood in terms of graphene and h-BN impermeability to transfer Cu(2+) ions, even when graphene and h-BN domain boundary defects are present. Our results seem to indicate that as-grown graphene and h-BN films could successfully protect metals, preventing their corrosion in biological and medical applications.

Sintering time optimization on red photoluminescence properties of manganese-doped boron carbon oxynitride (BCNO:Mn) phosphor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahid Nuryadin, Bebeh; Suryani, Yayu; Yuliani, Yuli; Setiadji, Soni; Yeti Nuryantini, Ade; Iskandar, Ferry

2018-04-01

The effect of sintering time to the transient nature and optimization of red photoluminescence manganese-doped boron carbon oxynitride (BCNO:Mn) phosphor was investigated. The BCNO:Mn samples were synthesized using a facile urea-assisted combustion route involving boric acid, citric acid, manganese salt and urea. The optimized intensity of the dual peak emission at 420 nm (blue emission) and 630 nm (red emission) in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum could be achieved by controlling the sintering time of the BCNO:Mn. The BCNO:Mn samples in high-crystalline form was found to be in a cubic and hexagonal structure. Based on the PL analysis, it is suggested that the BCNO:Mn symmetric band at 630 nm can be attributed to the 4T1(4G)—6A1(6S) transition absorption of Mn2+ ions into the hexagonal structure. Microstructure analysis showed an irregular and agglomerated shape of the BCNO:Mn sample.

Strain-Engineered Graphene Grown on Hexagonal Boron Nitride by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

PubMed Central

Summerfield, Alex; Davies, Andrew; Cheng, Tin S.; Korolkov, Vladimir V.; Cho, YongJin; Mellor, Christopher J.; Foxon, C. Thomas; Khlobystov, Andrei N.; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Eaves, Laurence; Novikov, Sergei V.; Beton, Peter H.

2016-01-01

Graphene grown by high temperature molecular beam epitaxy on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) forms continuous domains with dimensions of order 20 μm, and exhibits moiré patterns with large periodicities, up to ~30 nm, indicating that the layers are highly strained. Topological defects in the moiré patterns are observed and attributed to the relaxation of graphene islands which nucleate at different sites and subsequently coalesce. In addition, cracks are formed leading to strain relaxation, highly anisotropic strain fields, and abrupt boundaries between regions with different moiré periods. These cracks can also be formed by modification of the layers with a local probe resulting in the contraction and physical displacement of graphene layers. The Raman spectra of regions with a large moiré period reveal split and shifted G and 2D peaks confirming the presence of strain. Our work demonstrates a new approach to the growth of epitaxial graphene and a means of generating and modifying strain in graphene. PMID:26928710

Tunable thermal rectification in graphene/hexagonal boron nitride hybrid structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xue-Kun; Hu, Ji-Wen; Wu, Xi-Jun; Jia, Peng; Peng, Zhi-Hua; Chen, Ke-Qiu

2018-02-01

Using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate thermal rectification (TR) in graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) hybrid structures. Two different structural models, partially substituting graphene into h-BN (CBN) and partially substituting h-BN into graphene (BNC), are considered. It is found that CBN has a significant TR effect while that of BNC is very weak. The observed TR phenomenon can be attributed to the resonance effect between out-of-plane phonons of graphene and h-BN domains in the low-frequency region under negative temperature bias. In addition, the influences of ambient temperature, system size, defect number and substrate interaction are also studied to obtain the optimum conditions for TR. More importantly, the TR ratio could be effectively tuned through chemical and structural diversity. A moderate C/BN ratio and parallel arrangement are found to enhance the TR ratio. Detailed phonon spectra analyses are conducted to understand the thermal transport behavior. This work extends hybrid engineering to 2D materials for achieving TR.

Tunable and high-purity room temperature single-photon emission from atomic defects in hexagonal boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grosso, Gabriele; Moon, Hyowon; Lienhard, Benjamin

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials have emerged as promising platforms for solid-state quantum information processing devices with unusual potential for heterogeneous assembly. Recently, bright and photostable single photon emitters were reported from atomic defects in layered hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), but controlling inhomogeneous spectral distribution and reducing multi-photon emission presented open challenges. Here, we demonstrate that strain control allows spectral tunability of hBN single photon emitters over 6 meV, and material processing sharply improves the single photon purity. We observe high single photon count rates exceeding 7 × 10 6 counts per second at saturation, after correcting for uncorrelated photonmore » background. Furthermore, these emitters are stable to material transfer to other substrates. High-purity and photostable single photon emission at room temperature, together with spectral tunability and transferability, opens the door to scalable integration of high-quality quantum emitters in photonic quantum technologies.« less

Hexagonal boron nitride cover on Pt(111): a new route to tune molecule-metal interaction and metal-catalyzed reactions.

PubMed

Zhang, Yanhong; Weng, Xuefei; Li, Huan; Li, Haobo; Wei, Mingming; Xiao, Jianping; Liu, Zhi; Chen, Mingshu; Fu, Qiang; Bao, Xinhe

2015-05-13

In heterogeneous catalysis molecule-metal interaction is often modulated through structural modifications at the surface or under the surface of the metal catalyst. Here, we suggest an alternative way toward this modulation by placing a two-dimensional (2D) cover on the metal surface. As an illustration, CO adsorption on Pt(111) surface has been studied under 2D hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) overlayer. Dynamic imaging data from surface electron microscopy and in situ surface spectroscopic results under near ambient pressure conditions confirm that CO molecules readily intercalate monolayer h-BN sheets on Pt(111) in CO atmosphere but desorb from the h-BN/Pt(111) interface even around room temperature in ultrahigh vacuum. The interaction of CO with Pt has been strongly weakened due to the confinement effect of the h-BN cover, and consequently, CO oxidation at the h-BN/Pt(111) interface was enhanced thanks to the alleviated CO poisoning effect.

Tunable and high-purity room temperature single-photon emission from atomic defects in hexagonal boron nitride

DOE PAGES

Grosso, Gabriele; Moon, Hyowon; Lienhard, Benjamin; ...

2017-09-26

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials have emerged as promising platforms for solid-state quantum information processing devices with unusual potential for heterogeneous assembly. Recently, bright and photostable single photon emitters were reported from atomic defects in layered hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), but controlling inhomogeneous spectral distribution and reducing multi-photon emission presented open challenges. Here, we demonstrate that strain control allows spectral tunability of hBN single photon emitters over 6 meV, and material processing sharply improves the single photon purity. We observe high single photon count rates exceeding 7 × 10 6 counts per second at saturation, after correcting for uncorrelated photonmore » background. Furthermore, these emitters are stable to material transfer to other substrates. High-purity and photostable single photon emission at room temperature, together with spectral tunability and transferability, opens the door to scalable integration of high-quality quantum emitters in photonic quantum technologies.« less

The Effect of Adjacent Materials on the Propagation of Phonon Polaritons in Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

PubMed

Kim, Kris S; Trajanoski, Daniel; Ho, Kevin; Gilburd, Leonid; Maiti, Aniket; van der Velden, Luuk; de Beer, Sissi; Walker, Gilbert C

2017-07-06

In order to apply the ability of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) to confine energy in the form of hyperbolic phonon polariton (HPhP) modes in photonic-electronic devices, approaches to finely control and leverage the sensitivity of these propagating waves must be investigated. Here, we show that by surrounding hBN with materials of lower/higher dielectric responses, such as air and silicon, lower/higher surface momenta of HPhPs can be achieved. Furthermore, an alternative method for preparing thin hBN crystals with minimum contamination is presented, which provides opportunities to study the sensitivity of the damping mechanism of HPhPs on adsorbed materials. Infrared scanning near-field optical microscopy (IR-SNOM) results suggest that the reflections at the upper and lower hBN interfaces are primary causes of the damping of HPhPs, and that the damping coefficients of propagating waves are highly sensitive to adjacent layers, suggesting opportunities for sensor applications.

Synthesis of boron nitride nanostructures from catalyst of iron compounds via thermal chemical vapor deposition technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

da Silva, Wellington M.; Ribeiro, Hélio; Ferreira, Tiago H.; Ladeira, Luiz O.; Sousa, Edésia M. B.

2017-05-01

For the first time, patterned growth of boron nitride nanostructures (BNNs) is achieved by thermal chemical vapor deposition (TCVD) technique at 1150 °C using a mixture of FeS/Fe2O3 catalyst supported in alumina nanostructured, boron amorphous and ammonia (NH3) as reagent gas. This innovative catalyst was synthesized in our laboratory and systematically characterized. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The X-ray diffraction profile of the synthesized catalyst indicates the coexistence of three different crystal structures showing the presence of a cubic structure of iron oxide and iron sulfide besides the gamma alumina (γ) phase. The results show that boron nitride bamboo-like nanotubes (BNNTs) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets were successfully synthesized. Furthermore, the important contribution of this work is the manufacture of BNNs from FeS/Fe2O3 mixture.

Interface formation in monolayer graphene-boron nitride heterostructures.

PubMed

Sutter, P; Cortes, R; Lahiri, J; Sutter, E

2012-09-12

The ability to control the formation of interfaces between different materials has become one of the foundations of modern materials science. With the advent of two-dimensional (2D) crystals, low-dimensional equivalents of conventional interfaces can be envisioned: line boundaries separating different materials integrated in a single 2D sheet. Graphene and hexagonal boron nitride offer an attractive system from which to build such 2D heterostructures. They are isostructural, nearly lattice-matched, and isoelectronic, yet their different band structures promise interesting functional properties arising from their integration. Here, we use a combination of in situ microscopy techniques to study the growth and interface formation of monolayer graphene-boron nitride heterostructures on ruthenium. In a sequential chemical vapor deposition process, boron nitride grows preferentially at the edges of existing monolayer graphene domains, which can be exploited for synthesizing continuous 2D membranes of graphene embedded in boron nitride. High-temperature growth leads to intermixing near the interface, similar to interfacial alloying in conventional heterostructures. Using real-time microscopy, we identify processes that eliminate this intermixing and thus pave the way to graphene-boron nitride heterostructures with atomically sharp interfaces.

Density functional studies of the defect-induced electronic structure modifications in bilayer boronitrene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ukpong, A. M.; Chetty, N.

2012-05-01

The van der Waals interaction-corrected density functional theory is used in this study to investigate the formation, energetic stability, and inter-layer cohesion in bilayer hexagonal boronitrene. The effect of inter-layer separation on the electronic structure is systematically investigated. The formation and energetic stability of intrinsic defects are also investigated at the equilibrium inter-layer separation. It is found that nonstoichiometric defects, and their complexes, that induce excess nitrogen or excess boron, in each case, are relatively more stable in the atmosphere that corresponds to the excess atomic species. The modifications of the electronic structure due to formation of complexes are also investigated. It is shown that van der Waals density functional theory gives an improved description of the cohesive properties but not the electronic structure in bilayer boronitrene compared to other functionals. We identify energetically favourable topological defects that retain the energy gap in the electronic structure, and discuss their implications for band gap engineering in low-n layer boronitrene insulators. The relative strengths and weaknesses of the functionals in predicting the properties of bilayer boronitrene are also discussed.

2D Raman band splitting in graphene: Charge screening and lifting of the K-point Kohn anomaly.

PubMed

Wang, Xuanye; Christopher, Jason W; Swan, Anna K

2017-10-19

Pristine graphene encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride has transport properties rivalling suspended graphene, while being protected from contamination and mechanical damage. For high quality devices, it is important to avoid and monitor accidental doping and charge fluctuations. The 2D Raman double peak in intrinsic graphene can be used to optically determine charge density, with decreasing peak split corresponding to increasing charge density. We find strong correlations between the 2D 1 and 2D 2 split vs 2D line widths, intensities, and peak positions. Charge density fluctuations can be measured with orders of magnitude higher precision than previously accomplished using the G-band shift with charge. The two 2D intrinsic peaks can be associated with the "inner" and "outer" Raman scattering processes, with the counterintuitive assignment of the phonon closer to the K point in the KM direction (outer process) as the higher energy peak. Even low charge screening lifts the phonon Kohn anomaly near the K point for graphene encapsulated in hBN, and shifts the dominant intensity from the lower to the higher energy peak.

Boron nitride encapsulated graphene infrared emitters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnard, H. R.; Zossimova, E.; Mahlmeister, N. H.; Lawton, L. M.; Luxmoore, I. J.; Nash, G. R.

2016-03-01

The spatial and spectral characteristics of mid-infrared thermal emission from devices containing a large area multilayer graphene layer, encapsulated using hexagonal boron nitride, have been investigated. The devices were run continuously in air for over 1000 h, with the emission spectrum covering the absorption bands of many important gases. An approximate solution to the heat equation was used to simulate the measured emission profile across the devices yielding an estimated value of the characteristic length, which defines the exponential rise/fall of the temperature profile across the device, of 40 μm. This is much larger than values obtained in smaller exfoliated graphene devices and reflects the device geometry, and the increase in lateral heat conduction within the devices due to the multilayer graphene and boron nitride layers.

Structural impact on the eigenenergy renormalization for carbon and silicon allotropes and boron nitride polymorphs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tutchton, Roxanne; Marchbanks, Christopher; Wu, Zhigang

2018-05-01

The phonon-induced renormalization of electronic band structures is investigated through first-principles calculations based on the density functional perturbation theory for nine materials with various crystal symmetries. Our results demonstrate that the magnitude of the zero-point renormalization (ZPR) of the electronic band structure is dependent on both crystal structure and material composition. We have performed analysis of the electron-phonon-coupling-induced renormalization for two silicon (Si) allotropes, three carbon (C) allotropes, and four boron nitride (BN) polymorphs. Phonon dispersions of each material were computed, and our analysis indicates that materials with optical phonons at higher maximum frequencies, such as graphite and hexagonal BN, have larger absolute ZPRs, with the exception of graphene, which has a considerably smaller ZPR despite having phonon frequencies in the same range as graphite. Depending on the structure and material, renormalizations can be comparable to the GW many-body corrections to Kohn-Sham eigenenergies and, thus, need to be considered in electronic structure calculations. The temperature dependence of the renormalizations is also considered, and in all materials, the eigenenergy renormalization at the band gap and around the Fermi level increases with increasing temperature.

Single-Photon Emitters in Boron Nitride Nanococoons.

PubMed

Ziegler, Joshua; Blaikie, Andrew; Fathalizadeh, Aidin; Miller, David; Yasin, Fehmi S; Williams, Kerisha; Mohrhardt, Jordan; McMorran, Benjamin J; Zettl, Alex; Alemán, Benjamín

2018-04-11

Quantum emitters in two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are attractive for a variety of quantum and photonic technologies because they combine ultra-bright, room-temperature single-photon emission with an atomically thin crystal. However, the emitter's prominence is hindered by large, strain-induced wavelength shifts. We report the discovery of a visible-wavelength, single-photon emitter (SPE) in a zero-dimensional boron nitride allotrope (the boron nitride nanococoon, BNNC) that retains the excellent optical characteristics of few-layer hBN while possessing an emission line variation that is lower by a factor of 5 than the hBN emitter. We determined the emission source to be the nanometer-size BNNC through the cross-correlation of optical confocal microscopy with high-resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Altogether, this discovery enlivens color centers in BN materials and, because of the BN nanococoon's size, opens new and exciting opportunities in nanophotonics, quantum information, biological imaging, and nanoscale sensing.

Observation of an all-boron fullerene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhai, Hua-Jin; Zhao, Ya-Fan; Li, Wei-Li; Chen, Qiang; Bai, Hui; Hu, Han-Shi; Piazza, Zachary A.; Tian, Wen-Juan; Lu, Hai-Gang; Wu, Yan-Bo; Mu, Yue-Wen; Wei, Guang-Feng; Liu, Zhi-Pan; Li, Jun; Li, Si-Dian; Wang, Lai-Sheng

2014-08-01

After the discovery of fullerene-C60, it took almost two decades for the possibility of boron-based fullerene structures to be considered. So far, there has been no experimental evidence for these nanostructures, in spite of the progress made in theoretical investigations of their structure and bonding. Here we report the observation, by photoelectron spectroscopy, of an all-boron fullerene-like cage cluster at B40- with an extremely low electron-binding energy. Theoretical calculations show that this arises from a cage structure with a large energy gap, but that a quasi-planar isomer of B40- with two adjacent hexagonal holes is slightly more stable than the fullerene structure. In contrast, for neutral B40 the fullerene-like cage is calculated to be the most stable structure. The surface of the all-boron fullerene, bonded uniformly via delocalized σ and π bonds, is not perfectly smooth and exhibits unusual heptagonal faces, in contrast to C60 fullerene.

Observation of an all-boron fullerene.

PubMed

Zhai, Hua-Jin; Zhao, Ya-Fan; Li, Wei-Li; Chen, Qiang; Bai, Hui; Hu, Han-Shi; Piazza, Zachary A; Tian, Wen-Juan; Lu, Hai-Gang; Wu, Yan-Bo; Mu, Yue-Wen; Wei, Guang-Feng; Liu, Zhi-Pan; Li, Jun; Li, Si-Dian; Wang, Lai-Sheng

2014-08-01

After the discovery of fullerene-C60, it took almost two decades for the possibility of boron-based fullerene structures to be considered. So far, there has been no experimental evidence for these nanostructures, in spite of the progress made in theoretical investigations of their structure and bonding. Here we report the observation, by photoelectron spectroscopy, of an all-boron fullerene-like cage cluster at B40(-) with an extremely low electron-binding energy. Theoretical calculations show that this arises from a cage structure with a large energy gap, but that a quasi-planar isomer of B40(-) with two adjacent hexagonal holes is slightly more stable than the fullerene structure. In contrast, for neutral B40 the fullerene-like cage is calculated to be the most stable structure. The surface of the all-boron fullerene, bonded uniformly via delocalized σ and π bonds, is not perfectly smooth and exhibits unusual heptagonal faces, in contrast to C60 fullerene.

Development of scanning graphene Hall probes for magnetic microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaefer, Brian T.; Wang, Lei; McEuen, Paul L.; Nowack, Katja C.

We discuss our progress on developing scanning Hall probes fabricated from hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)-encapsulated graphene, with the goal to image magnetic fields with submicron resolution. In contrast to scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) microscopy, this technique is compatible with a large applied magnetic field and not limited to cryogenic temperatures. The field sensitivity of a Hall probe depends inversely on carrier density, while the primary source of noise in the measurement is Johnson noise originating from the device resistance. hBN-encapsulated graphene demonstrates high carrier mobility at low carrier densities, therefore making it an ideal material for sensitive Hall probes. Furthermore, engineering the dielectric environment of graphene by encapsulating in hBN reduces low-frequency charge noise and disorder from the substrate. We outline our plans for adapting these devices for scanning, including characterization of the point spread function with a scanned current loop and fabrication of a deep-etched structure that enables positioning the sensitive area within 100 nanometers of the sample surface.

Fabrication of boron sputter targets

DOEpatents

Makowiecki, Daniel M.; McKernan, Mark A.

1995-01-01

A process for fabricating high density boron sputtering targets with sufficient mechanical strength to function reliably at typical magnetron sputtering power densities and at normal process parameters. The process involves the fabrication of a high density boron monolithe by hot isostatically compacting high purity (99.9%) boron powder, machining the boron monolithe into the final dimensions, and brazing the finished boron piece to a matching boron carbide (B.sub.4 C) piece, by placing aluminum foil there between and applying pressure and heat in a vacuum. An alternative is the application of aluminum metallization to the back of the boron monolithe by vacuum deposition. Also, a titanium based vacuum braze alloy can be used in place of the aluminum foil.

Defect-Based Modulation of Optoelectronic Properties for Biofunctionalized Hexagonal Boron Nitride Nanosheets.

PubMed

Shakourian-Fard, Mehdi; Heydari, Hadiseh; Kamath, Ganesh

2017-09-06

Defect engineering potentially allows for dramatic tuning of the optoelectronic properties of two-dimensional materials. With the help of DFT calculations, a systematic study of DNA nucleobases adsorbed on hexagonal boron-nitride nanoflakes (h-BNNFs) with boron (V B ) and nitrogen (V N ) monovacancies is presented. The presence of V N and V B defects increases the binding strength of nucleobases by 9 and 34 kcal mol -1 , respectively (h-BNNF-V B >h-BNNF-V N >h-BNNF). A more negative electrostatic potential at the V B site makes the h-BNNF-V B surface more reactive than that of h-BNNF-V N , enabling H-bonding interactions with nucleobases. This binding energy difference affects the recovery time-a significant factor for developing DNA biosensors-of the surfaces in the order h-BNNF-V B >h-BNNF-V N >h-BNNF. The presence of V B and V N defect sites increases the electrical conductivity of the h-BNNF surface, V N defects being more favorable than V B sites. The blueshift of absorption peaks of the h-BNNF-V B -nucleobase complexes, in contrast to the redshift observed for h-BNNF-V N -nucleobase complexes, is attributed to their observed differences in binding energies, the HOMO-LUMO energy gap and other optoelectronic properties. Time-dependent DFT calculations reveal that the monovacant boron-nitride-sheet-nucleobase composites absorb visible light in the range 300-800 nm, thus making them suitable for light-emitting devices and sensing nucleobases in the visible region. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Noise in Graphene Superlattices Grown on Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

PubMed

Li, Xuefei; Lu, Xiaobo; Li, Tiaoyang; Yang, Wei; Fang, Jianming; Zhang, Guangyu; Wu, Yanqing

2015-11-24

Existing in almost all electronic systems, the current noise spectral density, originated from the fluctuation of current, is by nature far more sensitive than the mean value of current, the most common characteristic parameter in electronic devices. Existing models on its origin of either carrier number or mobility are adopted in practically all electronic devices. For the past few decades, there has been no experimental evidence for direct association between 1/f noise and any other kinetic phenomena in solid state devices. Here, in the study of a van der Waals heterostructure of graphene on hexagonal BN superlattice, satellite Dirac points have been characterized through 1/f noise spectral density with pronounced local minima and asymmetric magnitude associated with its unique energy dispersion spectrum, which can only be revealed by scanning tunneling microscopy and low temperature magneto-transport measurement. More importantly, these features even emerge in the noise spectra of devices showing no minima in electric current, and are robust at all temperatures down to 4.3 K. In addition, graphene on h-BN exhibits a record low noise level of 1.6 × 10(-9) μm(2) Hz(-1) at 10 Hz, more than 1 order of magnitude lower than previous results for graphene on SiO2. Such an epitaxial van der Waals material system not only enables an unprecedented characterization of fundamentals in solids by 1/f noise, but its superior interface also provides a key and feasible solution for further improvement of the noise level for graphene devices.

Fabrication of boron sputter targets

DOEpatents

Makowiecki, D.M.; McKernan, M.A.

1995-02-28

A process is disclosed for fabricating high density boron sputtering targets with sufficient mechanical strength to function reliably at typical magnetron sputtering power densities and at normal process parameters. The process involves the fabrication of a high density boron monolithe by hot isostatically compacting high purity (99.9%) boron powder, machining the boron monolithe into the final dimensions, and brazing the finished boron piece to a matching boron carbide (B{sub 4}C) piece, by placing aluminum foil there between and applying pressure and heat in a vacuum. An alternative is the application of aluminum metallization to the back of the boron monolithe by vacuum deposition. Also, a titanium based vacuum braze alloy can be used in place of the aluminum foil. 7 figs.

Microwave sintering of boron carbide

DOEpatents

Blake, R.D.; Katz, J.D.; Petrovic, J.J.; Sheinberg, H.

1988-06-10

A method for forming boron carbide into a particular shape and densifying the green boron carbide shape. Boron carbide in powder form is pressed into a green shape and then sintered, using a microwave oven, to obtain a dense boron carbide body. Densities of greater than 95% of theoretical density have been obtained. 1 tab.

An empirical model for parameters affecting energy consumption in boron removal from boron-containing wastewaters by electrocoagulation.

PubMed

Yilmaz, A Erdem; Boncukcuoğlu, Recep; Kocakerim, M Muhtar

2007-06-01

In this study, it was investigated parameters affecting energy consumption in boron removal from boron containing wastewaters prepared synthetically, via electrocoagulation method. The solution pH, initial boron concentration, dose of supporting electrolyte, current density and temperature of solution were selected as experimental parameters affecting energy consumption. The obtained experimental results showed that boron removal efficiency reached up to 99% under optimum conditions, in which solution pH was 8.0, current density 6.0 mA/cm(2), initial boron concentration 100mg/L and solution temperature 293 K. The current density was an important parameter affecting energy consumption too. High current density applied to electrocoagulation cell increased energy consumption. Increasing solution temperature caused to decrease energy consumption that high temperature decreased potential applied under constant current density. That increasing initial boron concentration and dose of supporting electrolyte caused to increase specific conductivity of solution decreased energy consumption. As a result, it was seen that energy consumption for boron removal via electrocoagulation method could be minimized at optimum conditions. An empirical model was predicted by statistically. Experimentally obtained values were fitted with values predicted from empirical model being as following; [formula in text]. Unfortunately, the conditions obtained for optimum boron removal were not the conditions obtained for minimum energy consumption. It was determined that support electrolyte must be used for increase boron removal and decrease electrical energy consumption.

The mechanical design of hybrid graphene/boron nitride nanotransistors: Geometry and interface effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Einalipour Eshkalak, Kasra; Sadeghzadeh, Sadegh; Jalaly, Maisam

2018-02-01

From electronic point of view, graphene resembles a metal or semi-metal and boron nitride is a dielectric material (band gap = 5.9 eV). Hybridization of these two materials opens band gap of the graphene which has expansive applications in field-effect graphene transistors. In this paper, the effect of the interface structure on the mechanical properties of a hybrid graphene/boron nitride was studied. Young's modulus, fracture strain and tensile strength of the models were simulated. Three likely types (hexagonal, octagonal and decagonal) were found for the interface of hybrid sheet after relaxation. Although Csbnd B bonds at the interface were indicated to result in more promising electrical properties, nitrogen atoms are better choice for bonding to carbon for mechanical applications.

Boron nitride encapsulated graphene infrared emitters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barnard, H. R.; Zossimova, E.; Mahlmeister, N. H.

2016-03-28

The spatial and spectral characteristics of mid-infrared thermal emission from devices containing a large area multilayer graphene layer, encapsulated using hexagonal boron nitride, have been investigated. The devices were run continuously in air for over 1000 h, with the emission spectrum covering the absorption bands of many important gases. An approximate solution to the heat equation was used to simulate the measured emission profile across the devices yielding an estimated value of the characteristic length, which defines the exponential rise/fall of the temperature profile across the device, of 40 μm. This is much larger than values obtained in smaller exfoliated graphene devicesmore » and reflects the device geometry, and the increase in lateral heat conduction within the devices due to the multilayer graphene and boron nitride layers.« less

Mapping the layer count of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride at high lateral spatial resolutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohsin, Ali; Cross, Nicholas G.; Liu, Lei; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Duscher, Gerd; Gu, Gong

2018-01-01

Layer count control and uniformity of two dimensional (2D) layered materials are critical to the investigation of their properties and to their electronic device applications, but methods to map 2D material layer count at nanometer-level lateral spatial resolutions have been lacking. Here, we demonstrate a method based on two complementary techniques widely available in transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) to map the layer count of multilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films. The mass-thickness contrast in high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) imaging in the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) mode allows for thickness determination in atomically clean regions with high spatial resolution (sub-nanometer), but is limited by surface contamination. To complement, another technique based on the boron K ionization edge in the electron energy loss spectroscopy spectrum (EELS) of h-BN is developed to quantify the layer count so that surface contamination does not cause an overestimate, albeit at a lower spatial resolution (nanometers). The two techniques agree remarkably well in atomically clean regions with discrepancies within  ±1 layer. For the first time, the layer count uniformity on the scale of nanometers is quantified for a 2D material. The methodology is applicable to layer count mapping of other 2D layered materials, paving the way toward the synthesis of multilayer 2D materials with homogeneous layer count.

First-principles study of plutonium adsorption on perfect and defective graphene and hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shujing; Zhou, Mei; Li, Menglei; Wang, Xiaohui; Zheng, Fawei; Zhang, Ping

2018-05-01

The adsorption of the Pu atom on perfect and defective graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) sheet has been systematically investigated by using first-principles calculations. Pu atom is most likely to trap at the hollow site in pure graphene, and the energy barrier is as high as 78.3 meV. For ideal h-BN, the top site of the boron atom is the most stable adsorption site for adatom Pu, and the maximal energy barrier is only 12 meV. Comparing Pu on pure graphene and h-BN sheet, Pu atom is easy to migrate on the surface of ideal h-BN at room temperature, while it is bound to perfect graphene. Besides, Pu atom adsorbed on defective graphene and h-BN sheet, with large adsorption energies in the range of 2.66 ∼ 14.95 eV, is more stable than that on pure graphene and h-BN sheet. We have also found that all the adsorption systems are spin-polarized with the largest magnetic moments of Pu to be 7.67 μ B on graphene and 6.71 μ B on h-BN with a single vacancy of N atom. These findings suggest that graphene and h-BN two-dimensional materials can be effectively applied in the growth of high-quality plutonium single crystal thin films, as well as in nuclear waste recovery.

Identifying suitable substrates for high-quality graphene-based heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banszerus, L.; Janssen, H.; Otto, M.; Epping, A.; Taniguchi, T.; Watanabe, K.; Beschoten, B.; Neumaier, D.; Stampfer, C.

2017-06-01

We report on a scanning confocal Raman spectroscopy study investigating the strain-uniformity and the overall strain and doping of high-quality chemical vapour deposited (CVD) graphene-based heterostuctures on a large number of different substrate materials, including hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), transition metal dichalcogenides, silicon, different oxides and nitrides, as well as polymers. By applying a hBN-assisted, contamination free, dry transfer process for CVD graphene, high-quality heterostructures with low doping densities and low strain variations are assembled. The Raman spectra of these pristine heterostructures are sensitive to substrate-induced doping and strain variations and are thus used to probe the suitability of the substrate material for potential high-quality graphene devices. We find that the flatness of the substrate material is a key figure for gaining, or preserving high-quality graphene.

Hexagonal OsB 2: Sintering, microstructure and mechanical properties

DOE PAGES

Xie, Zhilin; Lugovy, Mykola; Orlovskaya, Nina; ...

2015-02-07

In this study, the metastable high pressure ReB 2-type hexagonal OsB 2 bulk ceramics was produced by spark plasma sintering. The phase composition, microstructure, and mechanical behavior of the sintered OsB 2 were studied by X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, TEM, SEM, EDS, and nanoindentation. The produced ceramics was rather porous and contained a mixture of hexagonal (~80 wt.%) and orthorhombic (~20 wt.%) phases as identified by X-ray diffraction and EBSD analysis. Two boron-rich phases, which do not contain Os, were also identified by TEM and SEM/EDS analysis. Nanoindentation measurements yielded a hardness of 31 ± 9 GPa and Young’s modulusmore » of 574 ± 112 GPa, indicating that the material is rather hard and very stiff; but, it is very prone to crack formation and propagation, which is indicative of a very brittle nature of this material. Improvements in the sintering regime are required in order to produce dense, homogeneous and single phase hexagonal OsB 2 bulk ceramics.« less

Effective mass in bilayer graphene at low carrier densities: The role of potential disorder and electron-electron interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, J.; Tan, L. Z.; Zou, K.; Stabile, A. A.; Seiwell, D. J.; Watanabe, K.; Taniguchi, T.; Louie, Steven G.; Zhu, J.

2016-10-01

In a two-dimensional electron gas, the electron-electron interaction generally becomes stronger at lower carrier densities and renormalizes the Fermi-liquid parameters, such as the effective mass of carriers. We combine experiment and theory to study the effective masses of electrons and holes me* and mh* in bilayer graphene in the low carrier density regime on the order of 1 ×1011c m-2 . Measurements use temperature-dependent low-field Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations observed in high-mobility hexagonal boron nitride supported samples. We find that while me* follows a tight-binding description in the whole density range, mh* starts to drop rapidly below the tight-binding description at a carrier density of n =6 ×1011c m-2 and exhibits a strong suppression of 30% when n reaches 2 ×1011c m-2 . Contributions from the electron-electron interaction alone, evaluated using several different approximations, cannot explain the experimental trend. Instead, the effect of the potential fluctuation and the resulting electron-hole puddles play a crucial role. Calculations including both the electron-electron interaction and disorder effects explain the experimental data qualitatively and quantitatively. This Rapid Communication reveals an unusual disorder effect unique to two-dimensional semimetallic systems.

Alginic Acid-Aided Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes, Graphene, and Boron Nitride Nanomaterials for Microbial Toxicity Testing

PubMed Central

Chang, Chong Hyun

2018-01-01

Robust evaluation of potential environmental and health risks of carbonaceous and boron nitride nanomaterials (NMs) is imperative. However, significant agglomeration of pristine carbonaceous and boron nitride NMs due to strong van der Waals forces renders them not suitable for direct toxicity testing in aqueous media. Here, the natural polysaccharide alginic acid (AA) was used as a nontoxic, environmentally relevant dispersant with defined composition to disperse seven types of carbonaceous and boron nitride NMs, including multiwall carbon nanotubes, graphene, boron nitride nanotubes, and hexagonal boron nitride flakes, with various physicochemical characteristics. AA’s biocompatibility was confirmed by examining AA effects on viability and growth of two model microorganisms (the protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila and the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Using 400 mg·L−1 AA, comparably stable NM (200 mg·L−1) stock dispersions were obtained by 30-min probe ultrasonication. AA non-covalently interacted with NM surfaces and improved the dispersibility of NMs in water. The dispersion stability varied with NM morphology and size rather than chemistry. The optimized dispersion protocol established here can facilitate preparing homogeneous NM dispersions for reliable exposures during microbial toxicity testing, contributing to improved reproducibility of toxicity results. PMID:29385723

Alginic Acid-Aided Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes, Graphene, and Boron Nitride Nanomaterials for Microbial Toxicity Testing.

PubMed

Wang, Ying; Mortimer, Monika; Chang, Chong Hyun; Holden, Patricia A

2018-01-30

Robust evaluation of potential environmental and health risks of carbonaceous and boron nitride nanomaterials (NMs) is imperative. However, significant agglomeration of pristine carbonaceous and boron nitride NMs due to strong van der Waals forces renders them not suitable for direct toxicity testing in aqueous media. Here, the natural polysaccharide alginic acid (AA) was used as a nontoxic, environmentally relevant dispersant with defined composition to disperse seven types of carbonaceous and boron nitride NMs, including multiwall carbon nanotubes, graphene, boron nitride nanotubes, and hexagonal boron nitride flakes, with various physicochemical characteristics. AA's biocompatibility was confirmed by examining AA effects on viability and growth of two model microorganisms (the protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila and the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa ). Using 400 mg·L -1 AA, comparably stable NM (200 mg·L -1 ) stock dispersions were obtained by 30-min probe ultrasonication. AA non-covalently interacted with NM surfaces and improved the dispersibility of NMs in water. The dispersion stability varied with NM morphology and size rather than chemistry. The optimized dispersion protocol established here can facilitate preparing homogeneous NM dispersions for reliable exposures during microbial toxicity testing, contributing to improved reproducibility of toxicity results.

Molecular dynamics investigation of hexagonal boron nitride sputtering and sputtered particle characteristics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, Brandon D., E-mail: bradenis@umich.edu; Boyd, Iain D.

The sputtering of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) by impacts of energetic xenon ions is investigated using a molecular dynamics (MD) model. The model is implemented within an open-source MD framework that utilizes graphics processing units to accelerate its calculations, allowing the sputtering process to be studied in much greater detail than has been feasible in the past. Integrated sputter yields are computed over a range of ion energies from 20 eV to 300 eV, and incidence angles from 0° to 75°. Sputtering of boron is shown to occur at energies as low as 40 eV at normal incidence, and sputtering of nitrogen atmore » as low as 30 eV at normal incidence, suggesting a threshold energy between 20 eV and 40 eV. The sputter yields at 0° incidence are compared to existing experimental data and are shown to agree well over the range of ion energies investigated. The semi-empirical Bohdansky curve and an empirical exponential function are fit to the data at normal incidence, and the threshold energy for sputtering is calculated from the Bohdansky curve fit as 35 ± 2 eV. These results are shown to compare well with experimental observations that the threshold energy lies between 20 eV and 40 eV. It is demonstrated that h-BN sputters predominantly as atomic boron and diatomic nitrogen, and the velocity distribution function (VDF) of sputtered boron atoms is investigated. The calculated VDFs are found to reproduce the Sigmund-Thompson distribution predicted by Sigmund's linear cascade theory of sputtering. The average surface binding energy computed from Sigmund-Thompson curve fits is found to be 4.5 eV for ion energies of 100 eV and greater. This compares well to the value of 4.8 eV determined from independent experiments.« less

Control of excitons in multi-layer van der Waals heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Calman, E. V., E-mail: ecalman@gmail.com; Dorow, C. J.; Fogler, M. M.

2016-03-07

We report an experimental study of excitons in a double quantum well van der Waals heterostructure made of atomically thin layers of MoS{sub 2} and hexagonal boron nitride. The emission of neutral and charged excitons is controlled by gate voltage, temperature, and both the helicity and the power of optical excitation.

Synthesis of Large and Few Atomic Layers of Hexagonal Boron Nitride on Melted Copper

PubMed Central

Khan, Majharul Haque; Huang, Zhenguo; Xiao, Feng; Casillas, Gilberto; Chen, Zhixin; Molino, Paul J.; Liu, Hua Kun

2015-01-01

Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNS) have been proposed as an ideal substrate for graphene-based electronic devices, but the synthesis of large and homogeneous h-BNNS is still challenging. In this contribution, we report a facile synthesis of few-layer h-BNNS on melted copper via an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition process. Comparative studies confirm the advantage of using melted copper over solid copper as a catalyst substrate. The former leads to the formation of single crystalline h-BNNS that is several microns in size and mostly in mono- and bi-layer forms, in contrast to the polycrystalline and mixed multiple layers (1–10) yielded by the latter. This difference is likely to be due to the significantly reduced and uniformly distributed nucleation sites on the smooth melted surface, in contrast to the large amounts of unevenly distributed nucleation sites that are associated with grain boundaries and other defects on the solid surface. This synthesis is expected to contribute to the development of large-scale manufacturing of h-BNNS/graphene-based electronics. PMID:25582557

The effect of water absorption on the dielectric properties of polyethylene hexagonal boron nitride nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayoob, Raed; Alhabill, Fuad N.; Andritsch, Thomas; Vaughan, Alun S.

2018-02-01

The effect of water absorption on the dielectric response of polyethylene/hexagonal boron nitride nanocomposites has been studied by dielectric spectroscopy. The nanocomposites have been prepared with hBN concentrations ranging from 2 wt% to 30 wt%. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis revealed a very small amount of hydroxyl groups on the surface of hBN. Mass loss measurements showed that the nanocomposites did not absorb any water under ambient and dry conditions while there was some water absorption under wet conditions. The dielectric spectroscopy results showed a broad relaxation peak, indicative of different states of water with water shells of different thickness, which moved to higher frequencies with increasing water content. However, the dielectric losses were significantly lower than the losses reported in the literature of nanocomposites under wet conditions. In addition, all the absorbed water was successfully removed under vacuum conditions which demonstrated that the interactions between the water and the nanocomposites were very weak, due to the hydrophobic nature of the hBN surface. This is a highly useful property, when considering these materials for applications in electrical insulation.

Synthesis of large-area multilayer hexagonal boron nitride for high material performance.

PubMed

Kim, Soo Min; Hsu, Allen; Park, Min Ho; Chae, Sang Hoon; Yun, Seok Joon; Lee, Joo Song; Cho, Dae-Hyun; Fang, Wenjing; Lee, Changgu; Palacios, Tomás; Dresselhaus, Mildred; Kim, Ki Kang; Lee, Young Hee; Kong, Jing

2015-10-28

Although hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a good candidate for gate-insulating materials by minimizing interaction from substrate, further applications to electronic devices with available two-dimensional semiconductors continue to be limited by flake size. While monolayer h-BN has been synthesized on Pt and Cu foil using chemical vapour deposition (CVD), multilayer h-BN is still absent. Here we use Fe foil and synthesize large-area multilayer h-BN film by CVD with a borazine precursor. These films reveal strong cathodoluminescence and high mechanical strength (Young's modulus: 1.16 ± 0.1 TPa), reminiscent of formation of high-quality h-BN. The CVD-grown graphene on multilayer h-BN film yields a high carrier mobility of ∼ 24,000 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) at room temperature, higher than that (∼ 13,000 (2) V(-1) s(-1)) with exfoliated h-BN. By placing additional h-BN on a SiO2/Si substrate for a MoS2 (WSe2) field-effect transistor, the doping effect from gate oxide is minimized and furthermore the mobility is improved by four (150) times.

Interface designed MoS2/GaAs heterostructure solar cell with sandwich stacked hexagonal boron nitride

PubMed Central

Lin, Shisheng; Li, Xiaoqiang; Wang, Peng; Xu, Zhijuan; Zhang, Shengjiao; Zhong, Huikai; Wu, Zhiqian; Xu, Wenli; Chen, Hongsheng

2015-01-01

MoS2 is a layered two-dimensional semiconductor with a direct band gap of 1.8 eV. The MoS2/bulk semiconductor system offers a new platform for solar cell device design. Different from the conventional bulk p-n junctions, in the MoS2/bulk semiconductor heterostructure, static charge transfer shifts the Fermi level of MoS2 toward that of bulk semiconductor, lowering the barrier height of the formed junction. Herein, we introduce hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) into MoS2/GaAs heterostructure to suppress the static charge transfer, and the obtained MoS2/h-BN/GaAs solar cell exhibits an improved power conversion efficiency of 5.42%. More importantly, the sandwiched h-BN makes the Fermi level tuning of MoS2 more effective. By employing chemical doping and electrical gating into the solar cell device, PCE of 9.03% is achieved, which is the highest among all the reported monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide based solar cells. PMID:26458358

Planar Tunneling Spectroscopy of Graphene Nanodevices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Joel I.-Jan; Bretheau, Landry; Pisoni, Riccardo; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo

2-D Van-der-Waals mesoscopic physics have seen a rapid development in the last 10 years, with new materials each year added to the toolbox. Stacking them like Lego enables the combination of their individual electronic properties. In particular, hexagonal boron nitride, which is an insulator, gives the possibility to perform planar (2-D to 2-D) tunneling spectroscopy within this type of heterostructures. Unlike standard transport measurements, tunneling spectroscopy enables to probe the electronic properties in the energy domain. Moreover, since planar tunneling probes a large area of the system, global quantum features such as quantum Hall effect, superconducting proximity effect or quantum confinement can be investigated. In this talk, we will present implementation of heterostructures consisting of graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, and graphite, fabricated for planar tunneling spectroscopy. In order to reveal the intrinsic properties of materials, the fabrication scheme aims at preserving the pristine nature of the 2-DEGS as well as minimizing the doping introduced by external probes. As a demonstration, measurements of these devices in normal states, high magnetic field environment, and induced superconducting state will be presented.

Nature of exciton transitions in hexagonal boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, J.; Cao, X. K.; Lin, J. Y.

2016-03-21

In contrast to other III-nitride semiconductors GaN and AlN, the intrinsic (or free) exciton transition in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) consists of rather complex fine spectral features (resolved into six sharp emission peaks) and the origin of which is still unclear. Here, the free exciton transition (FX) in h-BN bulk crystals synthesized by a solution method at atmospheric pressure has been probed by deep UV time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Based on the separations between the energy peak positions of the FX emission lines, the identical PL decay kinetics among different FX emission lines, and the known phonon modes in h-BN,more » we suggest that there is only one principal emission line corresponding to the direct intrinsic FX transition in h-BN, whereas all other fine features are a result of phonon-assisted transitions. The identified phonon modes are all associated with the center of the Brillouin zone. Our results offer a simple picture for the understanding of the fundamental exciton transitions in h-BN.« less

Comparative study of the interfaces of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride with silver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garnica, Manuela; Schwarz, Martin; Ducke, Jacob; He, Yuanqin; Bischoff, Felix; Barth, Johannes V.; Auwärter, Willi; Stradi, Daniele

2016-10-01

Silver opens up interesting perspectives in the fabrication of complex systems based on heteroepitaxial layers after the growth of a silicene layer on its (111) face has been proposed. In this work we explore different synthesis methods of hexagonal boron nitride (h -BN) and graphene sheets on silver. The resulting layers have been examined by high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy. A comparison of the interfacial electronic band structure upon growth of the distinct two-dimensional (2D) layers has been performed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy and complementary first-principle calculations. We demonstrate that the adsorption of the 2D layers has an effect on the binding energy of the Shockley state and the surface potential by lowering the local work function. These effects are larger in the case of graphene where the surface state of Ag(111) is depopulated due to charge transfer to the graphene. Furthermore, we show that the electronic properties of the h -BN/silver system can be tuned by employing different thicknesses of silver ranging from a few monolayers on Cu(111) to the single crystal Ag substrate.

Characterization of two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride using scanning electron and scanning helium ion microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Hongxuan; Gao, Jianhua; Ishida, Nobuyuki; Xu, Mingsheng; Fujita, Daisuke

2014-01-01

Characterization of the structural and physical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as layer number and inelastic mean free path measurements, is very important to optimize their synthesis and application. In this study, we characterize the layer number and morphology of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets on a metallic substrate using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and scanning helium ion microscopy (HIM). Using scanning beams of various energies, we could analyze the dependence of the intensities of secondary electrons on the thickness of the h-BN nanosheets. Based on the interaction between the scanning particles (electrons and helium ions) and h-BN nanosheets, we deduced an exponential relationship between the intensities of secondary electrons and number of layers of h-BN. With the attenuation factor of the exponential formula, we calculate the inelastic mean free path of electrons and helium ions in the h-BN nanosheets. Our results show that HIM is more sensitive and consistent than FE-SEM for characterizing the number of layers and morphology of 2D materials.

Hexagonal boron nitride catalyst in a fixed-bed reactor for exothermic propane oxidation dehydrogenation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tian, Jinshu; Lin, Jinhan; Xu, Mingliang

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with high thermal conductivity is potentially an effective catalyst for highly exothermic propane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) reaction. Here, we report our experimental and theoretic studies of such a catalyst for propane ODH in a fixed-bed reactor. Based on the computational fluid dynamics calculation (CFD) results, the catalyst bed temperature increases by less than 1°C in the h-BN catalyst bed which is much smaller than that (8°C) in the VO x/γ-Al 2O 3 catalyst bed at a similar propane conversion (25%) using a micro-tubular reactor with a diameter of 6 mm. Even in an industrially relevant reactormore » with an inner diameter of 60 mm, a uniform temperature profile can still be maintained using the h-BN catalyst bed due to its excellent thermal conductivity as opposed to a temperature gradient of 47°C in the VO x/γ-Al 2O 3 catalyst bed. The results reported here provide useful information for potential application of h-BN catalyst in propane ODH.« less

Template growth of Au, Ni and Ni–Au nanoclusters on hexagonal boron nitride/Rh(111): a combined STM, TPD and AES study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Fanglue; Huang, Dali; Yue, Yuan

In this study, the template growth of Au, Ni, and Ni–Au bimetallic nanoclusters on hexagonal boron nitride/Rh(111), i.e. h-BN/Rh(111), was investigated via scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), temperature programmed-desorption (TPD), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). STM study shows that template growth of Au clusters on h-BN/Rh(111) forms mainly well-dispersed monolayer clusters. In contrast, Ni forms large multilayer clusters showing a relatively high diffusivity on h-BN/Rh(111) substrate. Ni–Au bimetallic clusters are effectively formed first by Au deposition followed by Ni deposition, with the Au clusters functioning as nucleation sites for the subsequently deposited Ni. Further structural analysis was carried out via TPDmore » and AES. The resulting TPD and AES data show the surface composition and charge transfer between Au and Ni of the bimetallic clusters. These results suggest that the h-BN/Rh(111) substrate represents a unique candidate for supporting Ni–Au bimetallic clusters in further catalytic reactions.« less

Template growth of Au, Ni and Ni–Au nanoclusters on hexagonal boron nitride/Rh(111): a combined STM, TPD and AES study

DOE PAGES

Wu, Fanglue; Huang, Dali; Yue, Yuan; ...

2017-09-12

In this study, the template growth of Au, Ni, and Ni–Au bimetallic nanoclusters on hexagonal boron nitride/Rh(111), i.e. h-BN/Rh(111), was investigated via scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), temperature programmed-desorption (TPD), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). STM study shows that template growth of Au clusters on h-BN/Rh(111) forms mainly well-dispersed monolayer clusters. In contrast, Ni forms large multilayer clusters showing a relatively high diffusivity on h-BN/Rh(111) substrate. Ni–Au bimetallic clusters are effectively formed first by Au deposition followed by Ni deposition, with the Au clusters functioning as nucleation sites for the subsequently deposited Ni. Further structural analysis was carried out via TPDmore » and AES. The resulting TPD and AES data show the surface composition and charge transfer between Au and Ni of the bimetallic clusters. These results suggest that the h-BN/Rh(111) substrate represents a unique candidate for supporting Ni–Au bimetallic clusters in further catalytic reactions.« less

Synthesis of large and few atomic layers of hexagonal boron nitride on melted copper.

PubMed

Khan, Majharul Haque; Huang, Zhenguo; Xiao, Feng; Casillas, Gilberto; Chen, Zhixin; Molino, Paul J; Liu, Hua Kun

2015-01-13

Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNS) have been proposed as an ideal substrate for graphene-based electronic devices, but the synthesis of large and homogeneous h-BNNS is still challenging. In this contribution, we report a facile synthesis of few-layer h-BNNS on melted copper via an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition process. Comparative studies confirm the advantage of using melted copper over solid copper as a catalyst substrate. The former leads to the formation of single crystalline h-BNNS that is several microns in size and mostly in mono- and bi-layer forms, in contrast to the polycrystalline and mixed multiple layers (1-10) yielded by the latter. This difference is likely to be due to the significantly reduced and uniformly distributed nucleation sites on the smooth melted surface, in contrast to the large amounts of unevenly distributed nucleation sites that are associated with grain boundaries and other defects on the solid surface. This synthesis is expected to contribute to the development of large-scale manufacturing of h-BNNS/graphene-based electronics.

Fabrication of Subnanometer-Precision Nanopores in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gilbert, S. Matt; Dunn, Gabriel; Azizi, Amin

Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of individual nanopores in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with atomically precise control of the pore shape and size. Previous methods of pore production in other 2D materials typically create pores with irregular geometry and imprecise diameters. In contrast, other studies have shown that with careful control of electron irradiation, defects in h-BN grow with pristine zig-zag edges at quantized triangular sizes, but they have failed to demonstrate production and control of isolated defects. In this work, we combine these techniques to yield a method in which we can create individual size-quantized triangular nanopores through anmore » h-BN sheet. The pores are created using the electron beam of a conventional transmission electron microscope; which can strip away multiple layers of h-BN exposing single-layer regions, introduce single vacancies, and preferentially grow vacancies only in the single-layer region. We further demonstrate how the geometry of these pores can be altered beyond triangular by changing beam conditions. Precisely size- and geometry-tuned nanopores could find application in molecular sensing, DNA sequencing, water desalination, and molecular separation.« less

Electrically insulating thermal nano-oils using 2D fillers.

PubMed

Taha-Tijerina, Jaime; Narayanan, Tharangattu N; Gao, Guanhui; Rohde, Matthew; Tsentalovich, Dmitri A; Pasquali, Matteo; Ajayan, Pulickel M

2012-02-28

Different nanoscale fillers have been used to create composite fluids for applications such as thermal management. The ever increasing thermal loads in applications now require advanced operational fluids, for example, high thermal conductivity dielectric oils in transformers. These oils require excellent filler dispersion, high thermal conduction, but also electrical insulation. Such thermal oils that conform to this thermal/electrical requirement, and yet remain in highly suspended stable state, have not yet been synthesized. We report here the synthesis and characterization of stable high thermal conductivity Newtonian nanofluids using exfoliated layers of hexagonal boron nitride in oil without compromising its electrically insulating property. Two-dimensional nanosheets of hexagonal boron nitride are liquid exfoliated in isopropyl alcohol and redispersed in mineral oil, used as standard transformer oil, forming stable nanosuspensions with high shelf life. A high electrical resistivity, even higher than that of the base oil, is maintained for the nano-oil containing small weight fraction of the filler (0.01 wt %), whereas the thermal conductivity was enhanced. The low dissipation factor and high pour point for this nano-oil suggests several applications in thermal management.

Hexagonal boron nitride catalyst in a fixed-bed reactor for exothermic propane oxidation dehydrogenation

DOE PAGES

Tian, Jinshu; Lin, Jinhan; Xu, Mingliang; ...

2018-04-17

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with high thermal conductivity is potentially an effective catalyst for highly exothermic propane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) reaction. Here, we report our experimental and theoretic studies of such a catalyst for propane ODH in a fixed-bed reactor. Based on the computational fluid dynamics calculation (CFD) results, the catalyst bed temperature increases by less than 1°C in the h-BN catalyst bed which is much smaller than that (8°C) in the VO x/γ-Al 2O 3 catalyst bed at a similar propane conversion (25%) using a micro-tubular reactor with a diameter of 6 mm. Even in an industrially relevant reactormore » with an inner diameter of 60 mm, a uniform temperature profile can still be maintained using the h-BN catalyst bed due to its excellent thermal conductivity as opposed to a temperature gradient of 47°C in the VO x/γ-Al 2O 3 catalyst bed. The results reported here provide useful information for potential application of h-BN catalyst in propane ODH.« less

Fabrication of Subnanometer-Precision Nanopores in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

DOE PAGES

Gilbert, S. Matt; Dunn, Gabriel; Azizi, Amin; ...

2017-11-08

Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of individual nanopores in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with atomically precise control of the pore shape and size. Previous methods of pore production in other 2D materials typically create pores with irregular geometry and imprecise diameters. In contrast, other studies have shown that with careful control of electron irradiation, defects in h-BN grow with pristine zig-zag edges at quantized triangular sizes, but they have failed to demonstrate production and control of isolated defects. In this work, we combine these techniques to yield a method in which we can create individual size-quantized triangular nanopores through anmore » h-BN sheet. The pores are created using the electron beam of a conventional transmission electron microscope; which can strip away multiple layers of h-BN exposing single-layer regions, introduce single vacancies, and preferentially grow vacancies only in the single-layer region. We further demonstrate how the geometry of these pores can be altered beyond triangular by changing beam conditions. Precisely size- and geometry-tuned nanopores could find application in molecular sensing, DNA sequencing, water desalination, and molecular separation.« less

Scaling of graphene field-effect transistors supported on hexagonal boron nitride: radio-frequency stability as a limiting factor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feijoo, Pedro C.; Pasadas, Francisco; Iglesias, José M.; Martín, María J.; Rengel, Raúl; Li, Changfeng; Kim, Wonjae; Riikonen, Juha; Lipsanen, Harri; Jiménez, David

2017-12-01

The quality of graphene in nanodevices has increased hugely thanks to the use of hexagonal boron nitride as a supporting layer. This paper studies to which extent hBN together with channel length scaling can be exploited in graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) to get a competitive radio-frequency (RF) performance. Carrier mobility and saturation velocity were obtained from an ensemble Monte Carlo simulator that accounted for the relevant scattering mechanisms (intrinsic phonons, scattering with impurities and defects, etc). This information is fed into a self-consistent simulator, which solves the drift-diffusion equation coupled with the two-dimensional Poisson’s equation to take full account of short channel effects. Simulated GFET characteristics were benchmarked against experimental data from our fabricated devices. Our simulations show that scalability is supposed to bring to RF performance an improvement that is, however, highly limited by instability. Despite the possibility of a lower performance, a careful choice of the bias point can avoid instability. Nevertheless, maximum oscillation frequencies are still achievable in the THz region for channel lengths of a few hundreds of nanometers.

Enhanced mechanical properties of epoxy nanocomposites by mixing noncovalently functionalized boron nitride nanoflakes.

PubMed

Lee, Dongju; Song, Sung Ho; Hwang, Jaewon; Jin, Sung Hwan; Park, Kwang Hyun; Kim, Bo Hyun; Hong, Soon Hyung; Jeon, Seokwoo

2013-08-12

The influence of surface modifications on the mechanical properties of epoxy-hexagonal boron nitride nanoflake (BNNF) nanocomposites is investigated. Homogeneous distributions of boron nitride nanoflakes in a polymer matrix, preserving intrinsic material properties of boron nitride nanoflakes, is the key to successful composite applications. Here, a method is suggested to obtain noncovalently functionalized BNNFs with 1-pyrenebutyric acid (PBA) molecules and to synthesize epoxy-BNNF nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical properties. The incorporation of noncovalently functionalized BNNFs into epoxy resin yields an elastic modulus of 3.34 GPa, and 71.9 MPa ultimate tensile strength at 0.3 wt%. The toughening enhancement is as high as 107% compared to the value of neat epoxy. The creep strain and the creep compliance of the noncovalently functionalized BNNF nanocomposite is significantly less than the neat epoxy and the nonfunctionalized BNNF nanocomposite. Noncovalent functionalization of BNNFs is effective to increase mechanical properties by strong affinity between the fillers and the matrix. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Theoretical predictions for hexagonal BN based nanomaterials as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction.

PubMed

Lyalin, Andrey; Nakayama, Akira; Uosaki, Kohei; Taketsugu, Tetsuya

2013-02-28

The catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of both the pristine and defect-possessing hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayer and H-terminated nanoribbon have been studied theoretically using density functional theory. It is demonstrated that an inert h-BN monolayer can be functionalized and become catalytically active by nitrogen doping. It is shown that the energetics of adsorption of O(2), O, OH, OOH, and H(2)O on N atom impurities in the h-BN monolayer (N(B)@h-BN) is quite similar to that known for a Pt(111) surface. The specific mechanism of destructive and cooperative adsorption of ORR intermediates on the surface point defects is discussed. It is demonstrated that accounting for entropy and zero-point energy (ZPE) corrections results in destabilization of the ORR intermediates adsorbed on N(B)@h-BN, while solvent effects lead to their stabilization. Therefore, entropy, ZPE and solvent effects partly cancel each other and have to be taken into account simultaneously. Analysis of the free energy changes along the ORR pathway allows us to suggest that a N-doped h-BN monolayer can demonstrate catalytic properties for the ORR under the condition that electron transport to the catalytically active center is provided.

Gap discrete breathers in strained boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barani, Elham; Korznikova, Elena A.; Chetverikov, Alexander P.; Zhou, Kun; Dmitriev, Sergey V.

2017-11-01

Linear and nonlinear dynamics of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) lattice is studied by means of molecular dynamics simulations with the use of the Tersoff interatomic potentials. It is found that sufficiently large homogeneous elastic strain along zigzag direction opens a wide gap in the phonon spectrum. Extended vibrational mode with boron and nitrogen sublattices vibrating in-plane as a whole in strained h-BN has frequency within the phonon gap. This fact suggests that a nonlinear spatially localized vibrational mode with frequencies in the phonon gap, called discrete breather (also often termed as intrinsic localized mode), can be excited. Properties of the gap discrete breathers in strained h-BN are contrasted with that for analogous vibrational mode found earlier in strained graphene. It is found that h-BN modeled with the Tersoff potentials does not support transverse discrete breathers.

Extraction of Boron Nitride Nanotubes and Fabrication of Macroscopic Articles Using Chlorosulfonic Acid.

PubMed

Adnan, Mohammed; Marincel, Daniel M; Kleinerman, Olga; Chu, Sang-Hyon; Park, Cheol; Hocker, Samuel J A; Fay, Catharine; Arepalli, Sivaram; Talmon, Yeshayahu; Pasquali, Matteo

2018-03-14

Due to recent advances in high-throughput synthesis, research on boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) is moving toward applications. One future goal is the assembly of macroscopic articles of high-aspect-ratio, pristine BNNTs. However, these articles are presently unattainable because of insufficient purification and fabrication methods. We introduce a solution process for extracting BNNTs from synthesis impurities without sonication or the use of surfactants and proceed to convert the extracted BNNTs into thin films. The solution process can also be used to convert as-synthesized material-which contains significant amounts of hexagonal boron nitride ( h-BN)-into mats and aerogels with controllable structure and dimension. The solution extraction method, combined with further advances in synthesis and purification, contributes to the development of all-BNNT macroscopic articles, such as fibers and 3-D structures.

High temperature thermal management with boron nitride nanosheets.

PubMed

Wang, Yilin; Xu, Lisha; Yang, Zhi; Xie, Hua; Jiang, Puqing; Dai, Jiaqi; Luo, Wei; Yao, Yonggang; Hitz, Emily; Yang, Ronggui; Yang, Bao; Hu, Liangbing

2017-12-21

The rapid development of high power density devices requires more efficient heat dissipation. Recently, two-dimensional layered materials have attracted significant interest due to their superior thermal conductivity, ease of production and chemical stability. Among them, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is electrically insulating, making it a promising thermal management material for next-generation electronics. In this work, we demonstrated that an h-BN thin film composed of layer-by-layer laminated h-BN nanosheets can effectively enhance the lateral heat dissipation on the substrate. We found that by using the BN-coated glass instead of bare glass as the substrate, the highest operating temperature of a reduced graphene oxide (RGO) based device could increase from 700 °C to 1000 °C, and at the same input power, the operating temperature of the RGO device is effectively decreased. The remarkable performance improvement using the BN coating originates from its anisotropic thermal conductivity: a high in-plane thermal conductivity of 14 W m -1 K -1 for spreading and a low cross-plane thermal conductivity of 0.4 W m -1 K -1 to avoid a hot spot right underneath the device. Our results provide an effective approach to improve the heat dissipation in integrated circuits and high power devices.

Friction Effects of Lead-Based and Lead-Free Primers in 5.56mm NATO

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-30

Temperatures – A Review,” Tribology International 15(5), pp. 303-315. Martin, J.M., Le Mogne, T., Chassagnette, C., and Gardos, M.N., 1992. “Friction of...Hexagonal Boron Nitride in Various Environments,” Tribology Transactions 35(3), pp. 462-472. White, L. and Siewert, J., 2007. “Final Report of the

Ultrathin, wafer-scale hexagonal boron nitride on dielectric surfaces by diffusion and segregation mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sonde, Sushant; Dolocan, Andrei; Lu, Ning; Corbet, Chris; Kim, Moon J.; Tutuc, Emanuel; Banerjee, Sanjay K.; Colombo, Luigi

2017-06-01

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is at the center of numerous studies for its applications in novel electronic devices. However, a clear understanding of the growth mechanism is lacking for its wider industrial adoption on technologically relevant substrates such as SiO2. Here, we demonstrate a controllable growth method of thin, wafer scale h-BN films on arbitrary substrates. We also clarify the growth mechanism to be diffusion and surface segregation (D-SS) of boron (B) and nitrogen (N) in Ni and Co thin films on SiO2/Si substrates after exposure to diborane and ammonia precursors at high temperature. The segregation was found to be independent of the cooling rates employed in this report, and to our knowledge has not been found nor reported for 2D h-BN growth so far, and thus provides an important direction for controlled growth of h-BN. This unique segregation behavior is a result of a combined effect of high diffusivity, small film thickness and the inability to achieve extremely high cooling rates in CVD systems. The resulting D-SS h-BN films exhibit excellent electrical insulating behavior with an optical bandgap of about 5.8 eV. Moreover, graphene-on-h-BN field effect transistors using the as-grown D-SS h-BN films show a mobility of about 6000 cm2 V-1 s-1 at room temperature.

Electronic properties of moire superlattice bands in layered two dimensional materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Jeil

2014-03-01

When atomically thin two-dimensional materials are layered they often form incommensurate non-crystalline structures that exhibit long period moiré patterns when examined by scanning probes. In this talk, I will present a theoretical method which can be used to derive an effective Hamiltonian for these twisted van der Waals heterostructures using input from ab initio calculations performed on short-period crystalline structures. I will argue that the effective Hamiltonian can quantitatively describe the electronic properties of these layered systems for arbitrary twist angle and lattice constants. Applying this method to the important cases of graphene on graphene and graphene on hexagonal-boron nitride, I will present a series of experimentally observable quantities that can be extracted from their electronic structure, including their density of states and local density of states as a function of twist angle, and compare with available experiments. Work done in collaboration with Allan MacDonald, Shaffique Adam, Arnaud Raoux, Zhenhua Qiao, and Ashley DaSilva; and supported by the Singapore National Research Foundation Fellowship NRF-NRFF2012-01.

Development of a multi-space constrained density functional theory approach and its application to graphene-based vertical transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Han Seul; Kim, Yong-Hoon

We have been developing a multi-space-constrained density functional theory approach for the first-principles calculations of nano-scale junctions subjected to non-equilibrium conditions and charge transport through them. In this presentation, we apply the method to vertically-stacked graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)/graphene Van der Waals heterostructures in the context of tunneling transistor applications. Bias-dependent changes in energy level alignment, wavefunction hybridization, and current are extracted. In particular, we compare quantum transport properties of single-layer (graphene) and infinite (graphite) electrode limits on the same ground, which is not possible within the traditional non-equilibrium Green function formalism. The effects of point defects within hBN on the current-voltage characteristics will be also discussed. Global Frontier Program (2013M3A6B1078881), Nano-Material Technology Development Programs (2016M3A7B4024133, 2016M3A7B4909944, and 2012M3A7B4049888), and Pioneer Program (2016M3C1A3906149) of the National Research Foundation.

Electrically-driven GHz range ultrafast graphene light emitter (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Youngduck; Gao, Yuanda; Shiue, Ren-Jye; Wang, Lei; Aslan, Ozgur Burak; Kim, Hyungsik; Nemilentsau, Andrei M.; Low, Tony; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Bae, Myung-Ho; Heinz, Tony F.; Englund, Dirk R.; Hone, James

2017-02-01

Ultrafast electrically driven light emitter is a critical component in the development of the high bandwidth free-space and on-chip optical communications. Traditional semiconductor based light sources for integration to photonic platform have therefore been heavily studied over the past decades. However, there are still challenges such as absence of monolithic on-chip light sources with high bandwidth density, large-scale integration, low-cost, small foot print, and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology compatibility. Here, we demonstrate the first electrically driven ultrafast graphene light emitter that operate up to 10 GHz bandwidth and broadband range (400 1600 nm), which are possible due to the strong coupling of charge carriers in graphene and surface optical phonons in hBN allow the ultrafast energy and heat transfer. In addition, incorporation of atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) encapsulation layers enable the stable and practical high performance even under the ambient condition. Therefore, electrically driven ultrafast graphene light emitters paves the way towards the realization of ultrahigh bandwidth density photonic integrated circuits and efficient optical communications networks.

Effect of charged impurities and morphology on oxidation reactivity of graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Mahito; Cullen, William; Einstein, Theodore; Fuhrer, Michael

2012-02-01

Chemical reactivity of single layer graphene supported on a substrate is observed to be enhanced over thicker graphene. Possible mechanisms for the enhancement are Fermi level fluctuations due to ionized impurities on the substrate, and structural deformation of graphene induced by coupling to the substrate geometry. Here, we study the substrate-dependent oxidation reactivity of graphene, employing various substrates such as SiO2, mica, SiO2 nanoparticle thin film, and hexagonal boron nitride, which exhibit different charged impurity concentrations and surface roughness. Graphene is prepared on each substrate via mechanical exfoliation and oxidized in Ar/O2 mixture at temperatures from 400-600 ^oC. After oxidation, the Raman spectrum of graphene is measured, and the Raman D to G peak ratio is used to quantify the density of point defects introduced by oxidation. We will discuss the correlations among the defect density in oxidized graphene, substrate charge inhomogeneity, substrate corrugations, and graphene layer thickness. This work has been supported by the University of Maryland NSF-MRSEC under Grant No. DMR 05-20471 with supplemental funding from NRI, and NSF-DMR 08-04976.

A graphene Zener-Klein transistor cooled by a hyperbolic substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Wei; Berthou, Simon; Lu, Xiaobo; Wilmart, Quentin; Denis, Anne; Rosticher, Michael; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Fève, Gwendal; Berroir, Jean-Marc; Zhang, Guangyu; Voisin, Christophe; Baudin, Emmanuel; Plaçais, Bernard

2018-01-01

The engineering of cooling mechanisms is a bottleneck in nanoelectronics. Thermal exchanges in diffusive graphene are mostly driven by defect-assisted acoustic phonon scattering, but the case of high-mobility graphene on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is radically different, with a prominent contribution of remote phonons from the substrate. Bilayer graphene on a hBN transistor with a local gate is driven in a regime where almost perfect current saturation is achieved by compensation of the decrease in the carrier density and Zener-Klein tunnelling (ZKT) at high bias. Using noise thermometry, we show that the ZKT triggers a new cooling pathway due to the emission of hyperbolic phonon polaritons in hBN by out-of-equilibrium electron-hole pairs beyond the super-Planckian regime. The combination of ZKT transport and hyperbolic phonon polariton cooling renders graphene on BN transistors a valuable nanotechnology for power devices and RF electronics.

Graded bandgap perovskite solar cells.

PubMed

Ergen, Onur; Gilbert, S Matt; Pham, Thang; Turner, Sally J; Tan, Mark Tian Zhi; Worsley, Marcus A; Zettl, Alex

2017-05-01

Organic-inorganic halide perovskite materials have emerged as attractive alternatives to conventional solar cell building blocks. Their high light absorption coefficients and long diffusion lengths suggest high power conversion efficiencies, and indeed perovskite-based single bandgap and tandem solar cell designs have yielded impressive performances. One approach to further enhance solar spectrum utilization is the graded bandgap, but this has not been previously achieved for perovskites. In this study, we demonstrate graded bandgap perovskite solar cells with steady-state conversion efficiencies averaging 18.4%, with a best of 21.7%, all without reflective coatings. An analysis of the experimental data yields high fill factors of ∼75% and high short-circuit current densities up to 42.1 mA cm -2 . The cells are based on an architecture of two perovskite layers (CH 3 NH 3 SnI 3 and CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3-x Br x ), incorporating GaN, monolayer hexagonal boron nitride, and graphene aerogel.

van der Waals Heterostructures with High Accuracy Rotational Alignment.

PubMed

Kim, Kyounghwan; Yankowitz, Matthew; Fallahazad, Babak; Kang, Sangwoo; Movva, Hema C P; Huang, Shengqiang; Larentis, Stefano; Corbet, Chris M; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Banerjee, Sanjay K; LeRoy, Brian J; Tutuc, Emanuel

2016-03-09

We describe the realization of van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures with accurate rotational alignment of individual layer crystal axes. We illustrate the approach by demonstrating a Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene formed using successive transfers of monolayer graphene flakes. The Raman spectra of this artificial bilayer graphene possess a wide 2D band, which is best fit by four Lorentzians, consistent with Bernal stacking. Scanning tunneling microscopy reveals no moiré pattern on the artificial bilayer graphene, and tunneling spectroscopy as a function of gate voltage reveals a constant density of states, also in agreement with Bernal stacking. In addition, electron transport probed in dual-gated samples reveals a band gap opening as a function of transverse electric field. To illustrate the applicability of this technique to realize vdW heterostructuctures in which the functionality is critically dependent on rotational alignment, we demonstrate resonant tunneling double bilayer graphene heterostructures separated by hexagonal boron-nitride dielectric.

First-principles calculations and model analysis of plasmon excitations in graphene and graphene/hBN heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Pengfei; Ren, Xinguo; He, Lixin

2017-10-01

Plasmon excitations in free-standing graphene and graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) heterostructure are studied using linear-response time-dependent density functional theory within the random phase approximation. Within a single theoretical framework, we examine both the plasmon dispersion behavior and lifetime (linewidth) of Dirac and π plasmons on an equal footing. Particular attention is paid to the influence of the hBN substrate and the anisotropic effect. Furthermore, a model-based analysis indicates that the correct dispersion behavior of π plasmons should be ωπ(q ) =√{Eg2+β ql} for small q 's, where Eg is the band gap at the M point in the Brillouin zone, and β is a fitting parameter. This model is radically different from previous proposals, but in good agreement with our calculated results from first principles.

Catalytic activity of Cu4-cluster to adsorb H2S gas: h-BN nanosheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kansara, Shivam; Gupta, Sanjeev K.; Sonvane, Yogesh

2018-05-01

We have investigated the electronic properties, adsorptions strength and charge transfer using first principles calculations using density functional theory (DFT). The hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) substrate shows metallic behavior, which helps to enhance the absorption process. The adsorption of three different orientations (S, D and T) of the H2S gas molecules to analyze the maximum adsorption strength from them onto a copper cluster (Cu4) based on h-BN nanosheet. The maximum adsorption energy of the H2S gas molecule is -1.50 eV for the S orientation and for D and U, it is -0.71 eV and -0.78 eV, respectively. The results show that Cu4 cluster helps to capture H2S gas from the environment and results are useful for the cleaning environment from the toxic gases.

Achieving Ultrahigh Carrier Mobility in Two-Dimensional Hole Gas of Black Phosphorus.

PubMed

Long, Gen; Maryenko, Denis; Shen, Junying; Xu, Shuigang; Hou, Jianqiang; Wu, Zefei; Wong, Wing Ki; Han, Tianyi; Lin, Jiangxiazi; Cai, Yuan; Lortz, Rolf; Wang, Ning

2016-12-14

We demonstrate that a field-effect transistor (FET) made of few-layer black phosphorus (BP) encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) in vacuum exhibits a room-temperature hole mobility of 5200 cm 2 /(Vs), being limited just by the phonon scattering. At cryogenic temperatures, the FET mobility increases up to 45 000 cm 2 /(Vs), which is five times higher compared to the mobility obtained in earlier reports. The unprecedentedly clean h-BN-BP-h-BN heterostructure exhibits Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations and a quantum Hall effect with Landau level (LL) filling factors down to v = 2 in conventional laboratory magnetic fields. Moreover, carrier density independent effective mass of m * = 0.26 m 0 is measured, and a Landé g-factor of g = 2.47 is reported. Furthermore, an indication for a distinct hole transport behavior with up- and down-spin orientations is found.

76 FR 70331 - List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: MAGNASTOR ® System, Revision 2

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-14

... various boron-10 areal densities for use with Pressurized Water Reactor and Boiling Water Reactor baskets... add various boron-10 areal densities for use with Pressurized Water Reactor and Boiling Water Reactor....1.1 to add various boron-10 areal densities for use with Pressurized Water Reactor and Boiling Water...

Mechanical behavior enhancement of defective graphene sheet employing boron nitride coating via atomistic study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setoodeh, A. R.; Badjian, H.

2017-12-01

The most stable form of boron nitride polymorph naming hexagonal boron nitride sheet has recently been widely concerned like graphite due to its interesting features such as electrical insulation and high thermal conductivity. In this study, the molecular dynamic simulations are implemented to investigate the mechanical properties of single-layer graphene sheets under tensile and compressive loadings in the absence and presence of boron-nitride coating layers. In this introduced hybrid nanostructure, the benefit of combining both individual interesting features of graphene and boron-nitride sheets such as exceptional mechanical and electrical properties can be simultaneously achieved for future potential application in nano devices. The influences of chiral indices, boundary conditions and presence of mono-atomic vacancy defects as well as coating dimension on the mechanical behavior of the resulted hybrid structure are reported. The interatomic forces between the atoms are modeled by employing the AIREBO and Tersoff-Brenner potentials for carbon-carbon and boron-nitrogen atoms in each layer, respectively. Furthermore, the van der Waal interlayer forces of carbon-boron and carbon-nitrogen are estimated by the Lennard-Jones potential field. Besides the potential improvement in electrical and physical properties of the nanostructure, it is demonstrated that the buckling load capacity of the fully coated graphene sheet with 3% concentration of mono-atomic vacancy defects noticeably enhances by amounts of 24.1%.

Boron Nitride Nanoribbons from Exfoliation of Boron Nitride Nanotubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hung, Ching-Cheh; Hurst, Janet; Santiago, Diana

2017-01-01

Two types of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) were exfoliated into boron nitride nanoribbons (BNNR), which were identified using transmission electron microscopy: (1) commercial BNNTs with thin tube walls and small diameters. Tube unzipping was indicated by a large decrease of the sample's surface area and volume for pores less than 2 nm in diameter. (2) BNNTs with large diameters and thick walls synthesized at NASA Glenn Research Center. Here, tube unraveling was indicated by a large increase in external surface area and pore volume. For both, the exfoliation process was similar to the previous reported method to exfoliate commercial hexagonal boron nitride (hBN): Mixtures of BNNT, FeCl3, and NaF (or KF) were sequentially treated in 250 to 350 C nitrogen for intercalation, 500 to 750 C air for exfoliation, and finally HCl for purification. Property changes of the nanosized boron nitride throughout this process were also similar to the previously observed changes of commercial hBN during the exfoliation process: Both crystal structure (x-ray diffraction data) and chemical properties (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy data) of the original reactant changed after intercalation and exfoliation, but most (not all) of these changes revert back to those of the reactant once the final, purified products are obtained.

Nanostructured Boron Nitride With High Water Dispersibility For Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

PubMed Central

Singh, Bikramjeet; Kaur, Gurpreet; Singh, Paviter; Singh, Kulwinder; Kumar, Baban; Vij, Ankush; Kumar, Manjeet; Bala, Rajni; Meena, Ramovatar; Singh, Ajay; Thakur, Anup; Kumar, Akshay

2016-01-01

Highly water dispersible boron based compounds are innovative and advanced materials which can be used in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy for cancer treatment (BNCT). Present study deals with the synthesis of highly water dispersible nanostructured Boron Nitride (BN). Unique and relatively low temperature synthesis route is the soul of present study. The morphological examinations (Scanning/transmission electron microscopy) of synthesized nanostructures showed that they are in transient phase from two dimensional hexagonal sheets to nanotubes. It is also supported by dual energy band gap of these materials calculated from UV- visible spectrum of the material. The theoretically calculated band gap also supports the same (calculated by virtual nano lab Software). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that the synthesized material has deformed structure which is further supported by Raman spectroscopy. The structural aspect of high water disperse ability of BN is also studied. The ultra-high disperse ability which is a result of structural deformation make these nanostructures very useful in BNCT. Cytotoxicity studies on various cell lines (Hela(cervical cancer), human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) and human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7)) show that the synthesized nanostructures can be used for BNCT. PMID:27759052

Nanostructured Boron Nitride With High Water Dispersibility For Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Bikramjeet; Kaur, Gurpreet; Singh, Paviter; Singh, Kulwinder; Kumar, Baban; Vij, Ankush; Kumar, Manjeet; Bala, Rajni; Meena, Ramovatar; Singh, Ajay; Thakur, Anup; Kumar, Akshay

2016-10-01

Highly water dispersible boron based compounds are innovative and advanced materials which can be used in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy for cancer treatment (BNCT). Present study deals with the synthesis of highly water dispersible nanostructured Boron Nitride (BN). Unique and relatively low temperature synthesis route is the soul of present study. The morphological examinations (Scanning/transmission electron microscopy) of synthesized nanostructures showed that they are in transient phase from two dimensional hexagonal sheets to nanotubes. It is also supported by dual energy band gap of these materials calculated from UV- visible spectrum of the material. The theoretically calculated band gap also supports the same (calculated by virtual nano lab Software). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that the synthesized material has deformed structure which is further supported by Raman spectroscopy. The structural aspect of high water disperse ability of BN is also studied. The ultra-high disperse ability which is a result of structural deformation make these nanostructures very useful in BNCT. Cytotoxicity studies on various cell lines (Hela(cervical cancer), human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) and human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7)) show that the synthesized nanostructures can be used for BNCT.

Quantifying electronic band interactions in van der Waals materials using angle-resolved reflected-electron spectroscopy.

PubMed

Jobst, Johannes; van der Torren, Alexander J H; Krasovskii, Eugene E; Balgley, Jesse; Dean, Cory R; Tromp, Rudolf M; van der Molen, Sense Jan

2016-11-29

High electron mobility is one of graphene's key properties, exploited for applications and fundamental research alike. Highest mobility values are found in heterostructures of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride, which consequently are widely used. However, surprisingly little is known about the interaction between the electronic states of these layered systems. Rather pragmatically, it is assumed that these do not couple significantly. Here we study the unoccupied band structure of graphite, boron nitride and their heterostructures using angle-resolved reflected-electron spectroscopy. We demonstrate that graphene and boron nitride bands do not interact over a wide energy range, despite their very similar dispersions. The method we use can be generally applied to study interactions in van der Waals systems, that is, artificial stacks of layered materials. With this we can quantitatively understand the 'chemistry of layers' by which novel materials are created via electronic coupling between the layers they are composed of.

Lattice-Matched Epitaxial Graphene Grown on Boron Nitride.

PubMed

Davies, Andrew; Albar, Juan D; Summerfield, Alex; Thomas, James C; Cheng, Tin S; Korolkov, Vladimir V; Stapleton, Emily; Wrigley, James; Goodey, Nathan L; Mellor, Christopher J; Khlobystov, Andrei N; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Foxon, C Thomas; Eaves, Laurence; Novikov, Sergei V; Beton, Peter H

2018-01-10

Lattice-matched graphene on hexagonal boron nitride is expected to lead to the formation of a band gap but requires the formation of highly strained material and has not hitherto been realized. We demonstrate that aligned, lattice-matched graphene can be grown by molecular beam epitaxy using substrate temperatures in the range 1600-1710 °C and coexists with a topologically modified moiré pattern with regions of strained graphene which have giant moiré periods up to ∼80 nm. Raman spectra reveal narrow red-shifted peaks due to isotropic strain, while the giant moiré patterns result in complex splitting of Raman peaks due to strain variations across the moiré unit cell. The lattice-matched graphene has a lower conductance than both the Frenkel-Kontorova-type domain walls and also the topological defects where they terminate. We relate these results to theoretical models of band gap formation in graphene/boron nitride heterostructures.

The origins of near band-edge transitions in hexagonal boron nitride epilayers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Du, X. Z.; Li, J.; Lin, J. Y.

2016-02-01

Photoluminescence spectroscopy has been employed to probe the near band-edge transitions in hexagonal BN (h-BN) epilayers synthesized under varying ammonia flow rates. The results suggest that the quasi-donor-acceptor pair emission line at 5.3 eV is due to the transition between the nitrogen vacancy and a deep acceptor, whereas the 5.5 eV emission line is due to the recombination of an exciton bound to a deep acceptor formed by carbon impurity occupying the nitrogen site. By growing h-BN under high ammonia flow rates, nitrogen vacancy related peaks can be eliminated and epilayers exhibiting pure free exciton emission have been obtained.

Functionalized hexagonal boron nitride nano-coatings for protection of transparent plastics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Tran, Thu; Usta, Aybala; Asmatulu, Ramazan

2016-04-01

Nanocoating is the result of a coating application of nanomaterials to build a consistent network of molecules in a paint to protect the surfaces of various materials and devices. Hexagonal Boron Nitride (h-BN) is in two dimensional form with excellent thermal, mechanical and chemical properties. These BN nanocoatings are also a thermally insulating material for heat management. After adding functionalized h-BNs into paints or other coatings, they will absorb the harmful UV part of sunlight and prevent coating against the environmental degradations. The impacts of the environmental factors on the coatings can be substantially eliminated. In the present study, h-BNs were modified with [2-(2-Aminoethylamino) propyl] trimethoxysilane and uniformly dispersed into the polyurethane coatings with different amounts, such as 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8wt% to increase hardness and water resistance, and decrease the UV degradation level of coatings and transparent plastics. The prepared samples were characterized by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Vis Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Water Contact Angle, and Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). The test results showed that the nanocoatings with functionalized h-BN provided excellent physical and chemical behaviors against the UV and other physical degradations on the substrates.

Large-scale synthesis of high-quality hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets for large-area graphene electronics.

PubMed

Lee, Kang Hyuck; Shin, Hyeon-Jin; Lee, Jinyeong; Lee, In-yeal; Kim, Gil-Ho; Choi, Jae-Young; Kim, Sang-Woo

2012-02-08

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has received a great deal of attention as a substrate material for high-performance graphene electronics because it has an atomically smooth surface, lattice constant similar to that of graphene, large optical phonon modes, and a large electrical band gap. Herein, we report the large-scale synthesis of high-quality h-BN nanosheets in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process by controlling the surface morphologies of the copper (Cu) catalysts. It was found that morphology control of the Cu foil is much critical for the formation of the pure h-BN nanosheets as well as the improvement of their crystallinity. For the first time, we demonstrate the performance enhancement of CVD-based graphene devices with large-scale h-BN nanosheets. The mobility of the graphene device on the h-BN nanosheets was increased 3 times compared to that without the h-BN nanosheets. The on-off ratio of the drain current is 2 times higher than that of the graphene device without h-BN. This work suggests that high-quality h-BN nanosheets based on CVD are very promising for high-performance large-area graphene electronics. © 2012 American Chemical Society

Measuring the dielectric and optical response of millimeter-scale amorphous and hexagonal boron nitride films grown on epitaxial graphene.

PubMed

Rigosi, Albert F; Hill, Heather M; Glavin, Nicholas R; Pookpanratana, Sujitra J; Yang, Yanfei; Boosalis, Alexander G; Hu, Jiuning; Rice, Anthony; Allerman, Andrew A; Nguyen, Nhan V; Hacker, Christina A; Elmquist, Randolph E; Hight Walker, Angela R; Newell, David B

2018-01-01

Monolayer epitaxial graphene (EG), grown on the Si face of SiC, is an advantageous material for a variety of electronic and optical applications. EG forms as a single crystal over millimeter-scale areas and consequently, the large scale single crystal can be utilized as a template for growth of other materials. In this work, we present the use of EG as a template to form millimeter-scale amorphous and hexagonal boron nitride ( a -BN and h -BN) films. The a -BN is formed with pulsed laser deposition and the h -BN is grown with triethylboron (TEB) and NH 3 precursors, making it the first metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process of this growth type performed on epitaxial graphene. A variety of optical and non-optical characterization methods are used to determine the optical absorption and dielectric functions of the EG, a -BN, and h -BN within the energy range of 1 eV to 8.5 eV. Furthermore, we report the first ellipsometric observation of high-energy resonant excitons in EG from the 4H polytype of SiC and an analysis on the interactions within the EG and h -BN heterostructure.

Synthesis of large-area multilayer hexagonal boron nitride for high material performance

PubMed Central

Kim, Soo Min; Hsu, Allen; Park, Min Ho; Chae, Sang Hoon; Yun, Seok Joon; Lee, Joo Song; Cho, Dae-Hyun; Fang, Wenjing; Lee, Changgu; Palacios, Tomás; Dresselhaus, Mildred; Kim, Ki Kang; Lee, Young Hee; Kong, Jing

2015-01-01

Although hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a good candidate for gate-insulating materials by minimizing interaction from substrate, further applications to electronic devices with available two-dimensional semiconductors continue to be limited by flake size. While monolayer h-BN has been synthesized on Pt and Cu foil using chemical vapour deposition (CVD), multilayer h-BN is still absent. Here we use Fe foil and synthesize large-area multilayer h-BN film by CVD with a borazine precursor. These films reveal strong cathodoluminescence and high mechanical strength (Young's modulus: 1.16±0.1 TPa), reminiscent of formation of high-quality h-BN. The CVD-grown graphene on multilayer h-BN film yields a high carrier mobility of ∼24,000 cm2 V−1 s−1 at room temperature, higher than that (∼13,000 2 V−1 s−1) with exfoliated h-BN. By placing additional h-BN on a SiO2/Si substrate for a MoS2 (WSe2) field-effect transistor, the doping effect from gate oxide is minimized and furthermore the mobility is improved by four (150) times. PMID:26507400

Tribological evaluation of hexagonal boron nitride in modified jatropha oil as sustainable metalworking fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talib, Norfazillah; Rahim, Erween Abd.; Nasir, Ramdziah Md.

2017-11-01

The used of metalworking fluids (MWFs) from petroleum-based oil during machining process contributed negative impact to the humans and environment. Therefore, bio-based oil from vegetable oil was recently explored as an alternative solution to petroleum-based oil to implement sustainable manufacturing process. In this study, modified jatropha oil (MJO5) with and without hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) particles were evaluated through friction and wear test and orthogonal cutting performance in comparison with synthetic ester (SE). MJO5 were mixed with hBN particles at various concentrations (i.e. 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5wt.%). Experimental results showed that the addition of 0.05wt.% of hBN particles in MJO5 (MJO5a) provided lowest coefficient of friction (COF) and smallest wear scar diameter (WSD). MJO5a has the best anti-friction ability by reducing the cutting force and cutting temperature which related to the formation of thinner chips and small tool-chip contact length. MJO5a is the best substitute to SE as sustainable MWFs in the machining operation in regards to the environmental and health concern.

2D layered insulator hexagonal boron nitride enabled surface passivation in dye sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Shanmugam, Mariyappan; Jacobs-Gedrim, Robin; Durcan, Chris; Yu, Bin

2013-11-21

A two-dimensional layered insulator, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), is demonstrated as a new class of surface passivation materials in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) to reduce interfacial carrier recombination. We observe ~57% enhancement in the photo-conversion efficiency of the DSSC utilizing h-BN coated semiconductor TiO2 as compared with the device without surface passivation. The h-BN coated TiO2 is characterized by Raman spectroscopy to confirm the presence of highly crystalline, mixed monolayer/few-layer h-BN nanoflakes on the surface of TiO2. The passivation helps to minimize electron-hole recombination at the TiO2/dye/electrolyte interfaces. The DSSC with h-BN passivation exhibits significantly lower dark saturation current in the low forward bias region and higher saturation in the high forward bias region, respectively, suggesting that the interface quality is largely improved without impeding carrier transport at the material interface. The experimental results reveal that the emerging 2D layered insulator could be used for effective surface passivation in solar cell applications attributed to desirable material features such as high crystallinity and self-terminated/dangling-bond-free atomic planes as compared with high-k thin-film dielectrics.

A new superhard material: Osmium diboride OsB 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hebbache, M.; Stuparević, L.; Živković, D.

2006-08-01

Superhard materials have many industrial applications, wherever resistance to abrasion and wear are important. The synthesis of new superhard materials is one of the great challenges to scientists. We re-examined the phase diagram of the binary osmium-boron system and confirmed the existence of two hexagonal phases, OsB 1.1, Os 2B 3, and an orthorhombic phase, OsB 2. Almost nothing is known about the physical properties of osmium borides. Microhardness measurements show that OsB 2 is extremely hard. Ab initio calculations show that this is due to formation of covalent bonds between boron atoms. OsB 2 is also a low compressibility material. It can be used as hard coating.

Control over self-assembly of diblock copolymers on hexagonal and square templates for high area density circuit boards.

PubMed

Feng, Jie; Cavicchi, Kevin A; Heinz, Hendrik

2011-12-27

Self-assembled diblock copolymer melts on patterned substrates can induce a smaller characteristic domain spacing compared to predefined lithographic patterns and enable the manufacture of circuit boards with a high area density of computing and storage units. Monte Carlo simulation using coarse-grain models of polystyrene-b-polydimethylsiloxane shows that the generation of high-density hexagonal and square patterns is controlled by the ratio N(D) of the surface area per post and the surface area per spherical domain of neat block copolymer. N(D) represents the preferred number of block copolymer domains per post. Selected integer numbers support the formation of ordered structures on hexagonal (1, 3, 4, 7, 9) and square (1, 2, 5, 7) templates. On square templates, only smaller numbers of block copolymer domains per post support the formation of ordered arrays with significant stabilization energies relative to hexagonal morphology. Deviation from suitable integer numbers N(D) increases the likelihood of transitional morphologies between square and hexagonal. Upon increasing the spacing of posts on the substrate, square arrays, nested square arrays, and disordered hexagonal morphologies with multiple coordination numbers were identified, accompanied by a decrease in stabilization energy. Control over the main design parameter N(D) may allow an up to 7-fold increase in density of spherical block copolymer domains per surface area in comparison to the density of square posts and provide access to a wide range of high-density nanostructures to pattern electronic devices.

Single photon emitters in boron nitride: More than a supplementary material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koperski, M.; Nogajewski, K.; Potemski, M.

2018-03-01

We present comprehensive optical studies of recently discovered single photon sources in boron nitride, which appear in form of narrow lines emitting centres. Here, we aim to compactly characterise their basic optical properties, including the demonstration of several novel findings, in order to inspire discussion about their origin and utility. Initial inspection reveals the presence of narrow emission lines in boron nitride powder and exfoliated flakes of hexagonal boron nitride deposited on Si/SiO2 substrates. Generally rather stable, the boron nitride emitters constitute a good quality visible light source. However, as briefly discussed, certain specimens reveal a peculiar type of blinking effects, which are likely related to existence of meta-stable electronic states. More advanced characterisation of representative stable emitting centres uncovers a strong dependence of the emission intensity on the energy and polarisation of excitation. On this basis, we speculate that rather strict excitation selectivity is an important factor determining the character of the emission spectra, which allows the observation of single and well-isolated emitters. Finally, we investigate the properties of the emitting centres in varying external conditions. Quite surprisingly, it is found that the application of a magnetic field introduces no change in the emission spectra of boron nitride emitters. Further analysis of the impact of temperature on the emission spectra and the features seen in second-order correlation functions is used to provide an assessment of the potential functionality of boron nitride emitters as single photon sources capable of room temperature operation.

Electronic structure and optical property of boron doped semiconducting graphene nanoribbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Aqing; Shao, Qingyi; Wang, Li; Deng, Feng

2011-08-01

We present a system study on the electronic structure and optical property of boron doped semiconducting graphene nanoribbons using the density functional theory. Energy band structure, density of states, deformation density, Mulliken popular and optical spectra are considered to show the special electronic structure of boron doped semiconducting graphene nanoribbons. The C-B bond form is discussed in detail. From our analysis it is concluded that the Fermi energy of boron doped semiconducting graphene nanoribbons gets lower than that of intrinsic semiconducting graphene nanoribbons. Our results also show that the boron doped semiconducting graphene nanoribbons behave as p-type semiconducting and that the absorption coefficient of boron doped armchair graphene nanoribbons is generally enhanced between 2.0 eV and 3.3 eV. Therefore, our results have a great significance in developing nano-material for fabricating the nano-photovoltaic devices.

Superconducting and normal-state properties of the layered boride OsB2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Yogesh; Niazi, A.; Vannette, M. D.; Prozorov, R.; Johnston, D. C.

2007-12-01

OsB2 crystallizes in an orthorhombic structure (Pmmn) which contains alternate boron and osmium layers stacked along the c axis. The boron layers consist of puckered hexagons as opposed to the flat graphite-like boron layers in MgB2 . OsB2 is reported to become superconducting below 2.1K . We report results of the dynamic and static magnetic susceptibilities, electrical resistivity, Hall effect, heat capacity, and penetration depth measurements on arc-melted polycrystalline samples of OsB2 to characterize its superconducting and normal-state properties. These measurements confirmed that OsB2 becomes a bulk superconductor below Tc=2.1K . Our results indicate that OsB2 is a moderate-coupling type-II superconductor with an electron-phonon coupling constant λep≈0.4-0.5 , a small Ginzburg-Landau parameter κ˜1-2 , and an upper critical magnetic field Hc2(0.5K)˜420Oe for an unannealed sample and Hc2(1K)˜330Oe for an annealed sample. The temperature dependence of the superfluid density ns(T) for the unannealed sample is consistent with an s -wave superconductor with a slightly enhanced zero temperature gap Δ(0)=1.9kBTc and a zero temperature London penetration depth λ(0)=0.38(2)μm . The ns(T) data for the annealed sample show deviations from the predictions of the single-band s -wave BCS model. The magnetic, transport, and thermal properties in the normal state of isostructural and isoelectronic RuB2 , which is reported to become superconducting below 1.6K , are also reported.

Computational studies at the density functional theory (DFT) level about the surface functionalization of hexagonal monolayers by chitosan monomer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebrahimi, Javad; Ahangari, Morteza Ghorbanzadeh; Jahanshahi, Mohsen

2018-05-01

Theoretical investigations based on density functional theory have been carried out to understand the underlying interactions between the chitosan monomer and several types of hexagonal monolayers consisting of pristine and defected graphene and boron-nitride nanosheets. Based on the obtained results, it was found that the type of the interaction for all the systems is of non-covalent nature and the chitosan monomer physically interacts with the surface of mentioned nanostructures. The interaction strength was evaluated by calculating the adsorption energies for the considered systems and it was found that the adsorption of chitosan monomer accompanies by the release of about -0.67 and -0.66 eV energy for pristine graphene and h-BN monolayer, respectively. The role of structural defect has also been considered by embedding a Stone-Wales defect within the structure of mentioned monolayers and it was found that the introduced defect enhances the interactions between the chitosan monomer and nanostructures. The role of dispersion interactions has also been taken into account and it was found that these long-range interactions play the dominating role in the attachment of chitosan monomer onto the graphene sheet, while having strong contribution together with the electrostatic interactions for the stabilization of chitosan onto the surface of h-BN monolayer. For all the cases, the adsorption of chitosan monomer did not change the inherent electronic properties of the nanostructures based on the results of charge transfer analysis and energy gap calculations. The findings of the present work would be very useful in future investigations to explore the potential applications of these hybrid materials in materials science and bio-related fields.

Theory-Guided Innovation of Noncarbon Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-24

unique structures and exceptional properties, such as Be5C2 monolayers with quasi -planaer pentacoordinate carbon, FeB6 monolayers hypercoordinate...properties, such as Be5C2 monolayers with quasi -planaer pentacoordinate carbon, FeB6 monolayers hypercoordinate transition metal, semiconducting Group 15...theoretical and experimental studies, we have developed a convenient chemical approach to etch hexagonal boron nitride monolayers to achieve holes

Significantly Elevated Dielectric and Energy Storage Traits in Boron Nitride Filled Polymer Nano-composites with Topological Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Yefeng; Zhang, Jianxiong; Hu, Jianbing; Li, Shichun; Peng, Cheng

2018-03-01

Interface induced polarization has a prominent influence on dielectric properties of 0-3 type polymer based composites containing Si-based semi-conductors. The disadvantages of composites were higher dielectric loss, lower breakdown strength and energy storage density, although higher permittivity was achieved. In this work, dielectric, conductive, breakdown and energy storage properties of four nano-composites have been researched. Based on the cooperation of fluoropolymer/alpha-SiC layer and fluoropolymer/hexagonal-BN layer, it was confirmed constructing the heterogeneous layer-by-layer composite structure rather than homogeneous mono-layer structure could significantly reduce dielectric loss, promote breakdown strength and increase energy storage density. The former worked for a larger dielectric response and the latter layer acted as a robust barrier of charge carrier transfer. The best nano-composite could possess a permittivity of 43@100 Hz ( 3.3 times of polymer), loss of 0.07@100 Hz ( 37% of polymer), discharged energy density of 2.23 J/cm3@249 kV/cm ( 10 times of polymer) and discharged energy efficiency of 54%@249 kV/cm ( 5 times of polymer). This work might enlighten a facile route to achieve the promising high energy storage composite dielectrics by constructing the layer-by-layer topological structure.

Hexagonal OsB 2 reduction upon heating in H 2 containing environment

DOE PAGES

Xie, Zhilin; Blair, Richard G.; Orlovskaya, Nina; ...

2014-10-23

The stability of hexagonal ReB 2 type OsB 2 powder upon heating under reforming gas was investigated. Pure Os metal particles were detected by powder X-ray diffraction starting at 375⁰ C and complete transformation of OsB 2 to metallic Os was observed at 725⁰ C. The mechanisms of precipitation of metallic Os is proposed and changes in the lattice parameters of OsB 2 upon heating are analysed in terms of the presence of oxygen or water vapour in the heating chamber. Previous studies suggested that Os atoms possess (0) valence, while B atoms possess both (+3) and ( 3) valencesmore » in the alternating boron/osmium sheet structure of hexagonal (P63/mmc, No. 194) OsB 2; if controllable method for Os removal from the lattice could be found, the opportunity would arise to form two-dimensional (2D) layers consisting of pure B atoms.« less

Numerical studies on alpha production from high energy proton beam interaction with Boron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moustaizis, S. D.; Lalousis, P.; Hora, H.; Korn, G.

2017-05-01

Numerical investigations on high energy proton beam interaction with high density Boron plasma allows to simulate conditions concerning the alpha production from recent experimental measurements . The experiments measure the alpha production due to p11B nuclear fusion reactions when a laser-driven high energy proton beam interacts with Boron plasma produced by laser beam interaction with solid Boron. The alpha production and consequently the efficiency of the process depends on the initial proton beam energy, proton beam density, the Boron plasma density and temperature, and their temporal evolution. The main advantage for the p11B nuclear fusion reaction is the production of three alphas with total energy of 8.9 MeV, which could enhance the alpha heating effect and improve the alpha production. This particular effect is termed in the international literature as the alpha avalanche effect. Numerical results using a multi-fluid, global particle and energy balance, code shows the alpha production efficiency as a function of the initial energy of the proton beam, the Boron plasma density, the initial Boron plasma temperature and the temporal evolution of the plasma parameters. The simulations enable us to determine the interaction conditions (proton beam - B plasma) for which the alpha heating effect becomes important.

Gas-exfoliated porous monolayer boron nitride for enhanced aerobic oxidative desulfurization performance.

PubMed

Wu, Yingcheng; Wu, Peiwen; Chao, Yanhong; He, Jing; Li, Hongping; Lu, Linjie; Jiang, Wei; Zhang, Beibei; Li, Huaming; Zhu, Wenshuai

2018-01-12

Hexagonal boron nitride has been regarded to be an efficient catalyst in aerobic oxidation fields, but limited by the less-exposed active sites. In this contribution, we proposed a simple green liquid nitrogen gas exfoliation strategy for preparation of porous monolayer nanosheets (BN-1). Owing to the reduced layer numbers, decreased lateral sizes and artificially-constructed pores, increased exposure of active sites was expected, further contributed to an enhanced aerobic oxidative desulfurization (ODS) performance up to ∼98% of sulfur removal, achieving ultra-deep desulfurization. This work not only introduced an excellent catalyst for aerobic ODS, but also provided a strategy for construction of some other highly-efficient monolayer two-dimensional materials for enhanced catalytic performance.

Real-time oxide evolution of copper protected by graphene and boron nitride barriers.

PubMed

Galbiati, M; Stoot, A C; Mackenzie, D M A; Bøggild, P; Camilli, L

2017-01-09

Applying protective or barrier layers to isolate a target item from the environment is a common approach to prevent or delay its degradation. The impermeability of two-dimensional materials such as graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has generated a great deal of interest in corrosion and material science. Owing to their different electronic properties (graphene is a semimetal, whereas hBN is a wide-bandgap insulator), their protection behaviour is distinctly different. Here we investigate the performance of graphene and hBN as barrier coatings applied on copper substrates through a real-time study in two different oxidative conditions. Our findings show that the evolution of the copper oxidation is remarkably different for the two coating materials.

Gas-exfoliated porous monolayer boron nitride for enhanced aerobic oxidative desulfurization performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yingcheng; Wu, Peiwen; Chao, Yanhong; He, Jing; Li, Hongping; Lu, Linjie; Jiang, Wei; Zhang, Beibei; Li, Huaming; Zhu, Wenshuai

2018-01-01

Hexagonal boron nitride has been regarded to be an efficient catalyst in aerobic oxidation fields, but limited by the less-exposed active sites. In this contribution, we proposed a simple green liquid nitrogen gas exfoliation strategy for preparation of porous monolayer nanosheets (BN-1). Owing to the reduced layer numbers, decreased lateral sizes and artificially-constructed pores, increased exposure of active sites was expected, further contributed to an enhanced aerobic oxidative desulfurization (ODS) performance up to ˜98% of sulfur removal, achieving ultra-deep desulfurization. This work not only introduced an excellent catalyst for aerobic ODS, but also provided a strategy for construction of some other highly-efficient monolayer two-dimensional materials for enhanced catalytic performance.

Supercurrent and multiple Andreev reflections in micrometer-long ballistic graphene Josephson junctions.

PubMed

Zhu, Mengjian; Ben Shalom, Moshe; Mishchsenko, Artem; Fal'ko, Vladimir; Novoselov, Kostya; Geim, Andre

2018-02-08

Ballistic Josephson junctions are predicted to support a number of exotic physics processess, providing an ideal system to inject the supercurrent in the quantum Hall regime. Herein, we demonstrate electrical transport measurements on ballistic superconductor-graphene-superconductor junctions by contacting graphene to niobium with a junction length up to 1.5 μm. Hexagonal boron nitride encapsulation and one-dimensional edge contacts guarantee high-quality graphene Josephson junctions with a mean free path of several micrometers and record-low contact resistance. Transports in normal states including the observation of Fabry-Pérot oscillations and Sharvin resistance conclusively witness the ballistic propagation in the junctions. The critical current density J C is over one order of magnitude larger than that of the previously reported junctions. Away from the charge neutrality point, the I C R N product (I C is the critical current and R N the normal state resistance of junction) is nearly a constant, independent of carrier density n, which agrees well with the theory for ballistic Josephson junctions. Multiple Andreev reflections up to the third order are observed for the first time by measuring the differential resistance in the micrometer-long ballistic graphene Josephson junctions.

Quantifying electronic band interactions in van der Waals materials using angle-resolved reflected-electron spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Jobst, Johannes; van der Torren, Alexander J. H.; Krasovskii, Eugene E.; Balgley, Jesse; Dean, Cory R.; Tromp, Rudolf M.; van der Molen, Sense Jan

2016-01-01

High electron mobility is one of graphene's key properties, exploited for applications and fundamental research alike. Highest mobility values are found in heterostructures of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride, which consequently are widely used. However, surprisingly little is known about the interaction between the electronic states of these layered systems. Rather pragmatically, it is assumed that these do not couple significantly. Here we study the unoccupied band structure of graphite, boron nitride and their heterostructures using angle-resolved reflected-electron spectroscopy. We demonstrate that graphene and boron nitride bands do not interact over a wide energy range, despite their very similar dispersions. The method we use can be generally applied to study interactions in van der Waals systems, that is, artificial stacks of layered materials. With this we can quantitatively understand the ‘chemistry of layers' by which novel materials are created via electronic coupling between the layers they are composed of. PMID:27897180

Hole polarons and p -type doping in boron nitride polymorphs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weston, L.; Wickramaratne, D.; Van de Walle, C. G.

2017-09-01

Boron nitride polymorphs hold great promise for integration into electronic and optoelectronic devices requiring ultrawide band gaps. We use first-principles calculations to examine the prospects for p -type doping of hexagonal (h -BN ), wurtzite (w z -BN ), and cubic (c -BN ) boron nitride. Group-IV elements (C, Si) substituting on the N site result in a deep acceptor, as the atomic levels of the impurity species lie above the BN valence-band maximum. On the other hand, group-II elements (Be, Mg) substituting on the B site do not give impurity states in the band gap; however, these dopants lead to the formation of small hole polarons. The tendency for polaron formation is far more pronounced in h -BN compared to w z -BN or c -BN . Despite forming small hole polarons, Be acceptors enable p -type doping, with ionization energies of 0.31 eV for w z -BN and 0.24 eV for c -BN ; these values are comparable to the Mg ionization energy in GaN.

Efficient Gate-tunable light-emitting device made of defective boron nitride nanotubes: from ultraviolet to the visible

PubMed Central

Attaccalite, Claudio; Wirtz, Ludger; Marini, Andrea; Rubio, Angel

2013-01-01

Boron nitride is a promising material for nanotechnology applications due to its two-dimensional graphene-like, insulating, and highly-resistant structure. Recently it has received a lot of attention as a substrate to grow and isolate graphene as well as for its intrinsic UV lasing response. Similar to carbon, one-dimensional boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have been theoretically predicted and later synthesised. Here we use first principles simulations to unambiguously demonstrate that i) BN nanotubes inherit the highly efficient UV luminescence of hexagonal BN; ii) the application of an external perpendicular field closes the electronic gap keeping the UV lasing with lower yield; iii) defects in BNNTS are responsible for tunable light emission from the UV to the visible controlled by a transverse electric field (TEF). Our present findings pave the road towards optoelectronic applications of BN-nanotube-based devices that are simple to implement because they do not require any special doping or complex growth. PMID:24060843

Defect states of complexes involving a vacancy on the boron site in boronitrene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngwenya, T. B.; Ukpong, A. M.; Chetty, N.

2011-12-01

First principles calculations have been performed to investigate the ground state properties of freestanding monolayer hexagonal boronitrene (h-BN). We have considered monolayers that contain native point defects and their complexes, which form when the point defects bind with the boron vacancy on the nearest-neighbor position. The changes in the electronic structure are analyzed to show the extent of localization of the defect-induced midgap states. The variations in formation energies suggest that defective h-BN monolayers that contain carbon substitutional impurities are the most stable structures, irrespective of the changes in growth conditions. The high energies of formation of the boron vacancy complexes suggest that they are less stable, and their creation by ion bombardment would require high-energy ions compared to point defects. Using the relative positions of the derived midgap levels for the double vacancy complex, it is shown that the quasi-donor-acceptor pair interpretation of optical transitions is consistent with stimulated transitions between electron and hole states in boronitrene.

Review—hexagonal boron nitride epilayers: Growth, optical properties and device applications

DOE PAGES

Jiang, H. X.; Lin, Jing Yu

2016-09-07

This paper provides a brief overview on recent advances made in authors’ laboratory in epitaxial growth and optical studies of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) epilayers and heterostructures. Photoluminescence spectroscopy has been employed to probe the optical properties of h-BN. It was observed that the near band edge emission of h-BN is unusually high and is more than two orders of magnitude higher than that of high quality AlN epilayers. It was shown that the unique quasi-2D nature induced by the layered structure of h-BN results in high optical absorption and emission. The impurity related and near band-edge transitions in h-BNmore » epilayers were probed for materials synthesized under varying ammonia flow rates. Our results have identified that the most dominant impurities and deep level defects in h-BN epilayers are related to nitrogen vacancies. By growing h-BN under high ammonia flow rates, nitrogen vacancy related defects can be eliminated and epilayers exhibiting pure free exciton emission have been obtained. Deep UV and thermal neutron detectors based on h-BN epilayers were shown to possess unique features. Lastly, it is our belief that h-BN will lead to many potential applications from deep UV emitters and detectors, radiation detectors, to novel 2D photonic and electronic devices.« less

Effect of ripples on the finite temperature elastic properties of hexagonal boron nitride using strain-fluctuation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Siby; Ajith, K. M.; Valsakumar, M. C.

2017-11-01

This work intents to put forth the results of a classical molecular dynamics study to investigate the temperature dependent elastic constants of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) between 100 and 1000 K for the first time using strain fluctuation method. The temperature dependence of out-of-plane fluctuations (ripples) is quantified and is explained using continuum theory of membranes. At low temperatures, negative in-plane thermal expansion is observed and at high temperatures, a transition to positive thermal expansion has been observed due to the presence of thermally excited ripples. The decrease of Young's modulus, bulk modulus, shear modulus and Poisson's ratio with increase in temperature has been analyzed. The thermal rippling in h-BN leads to strong anharmonic behaviour that causes large deviation from the isotropic elasticity. A detailed study shows that the strong thermal rippling in large systems is also responsible for the softening of elastic constants in h-BN. From the determined values of elastic constants and elastic moduli, it has been elucidated that 2D h-BN sheets meet the Born's mechanical stability criterion in the investigated temperature range. The variation of longitudinal and shear velocities with temperature is also calculated from the computed values of elastic constants and elastic moduli.

Long-range propagation of plasmon and phonon polaritons in hyperbolic-metamaterial waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babicheva, Viktoriia E.

2017-12-01

We study photonic multilayer waveguides that include layers of materials and metamaterials with a hyperbolic dispersion (HMM). We consider the long-range propagation of plasmon and phonon polaritons at the dielectric-HMM interface in different waveguide geometries (single boundary or different layers of symmetric cladding). In contrast to the traditional analysis of geometrical parameters, we make an emphasis on the optical properties of constituent materials: solving dispersion equations, we analyze how dielectric and HMM permittivities affect propagation length and mode size of waveguide eigenmodes. We derive figures of merit that should be used for each waveguide in a broad range of permittivity values as well as compare them with plasmonic waveguides. We show that the conventional plasmonic quality factor, which is the ratio of real to imaginary parts of permittivity, is not applicable to the case of waveguides with complex structure. Both telecommunication wavelengths and mid-infrared spectral ranges are of interest considering recent advances in van der Waals materials, such as hexagonal boron nitride. We evaluate the performance of the waveguides with hexagonal boron nitride in the range where it possesses hyperbolic dispersion (wavelength 6.3-7.3 μm), and we show that these waveguides with natural hyperbolic properties have higher propagation lengths than metal-based HMM waveguides.

Review—hexagonal boron nitride epilayers: Growth, optical properties and device applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, H. X.; Lin, Jing Yu

This paper provides a brief overview on recent advances made in authors’ laboratory in epitaxial growth and optical studies of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) epilayers and heterostructures. Photoluminescence spectroscopy has been employed to probe the optical properties of h-BN. It was observed that the near band edge emission of h-BN is unusually high and is more than two orders of magnitude higher than that of high quality AlN epilayers. It was shown that the unique quasi-2D nature induced by the layered structure of h-BN results in high optical absorption and emission. The impurity related and near band-edge transitions in h-BNmore » epilayers were probed for materials synthesized under varying ammonia flow rates. Our results have identified that the most dominant impurities and deep level defects in h-BN epilayers are related to nitrogen vacancies. By growing h-BN under high ammonia flow rates, nitrogen vacancy related defects can be eliminated and epilayers exhibiting pure free exciton emission have been obtained. Deep UV and thermal neutron detectors based on h-BN epilayers were shown to possess unique features. Lastly, it is our belief that h-BN will lead to many potential applications from deep UV emitters and detectors, radiation detectors, to novel 2D photonic and electronic devices.« less

Electrophoretic deposition of hydroxyapatite-hexagonal boron nitride composite coatings on Ti substrate.

PubMed

Göncü, Yapıncak; Geçgin, Merve; Bakan, Feray; Ay, Nuran

2017-10-01

In this study, commercial pure titanium samples were coated with nano hydroxyapatite-nano hexagonal boron nitride (nano HA-nano hBN) composite by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The effect of process parameters (applied voltage, deposition time and solid concentration) on the coating morphology, thickness and the adhesion behavior were studied systematically and crack free nano hBN-nano HA composite coating production was achieved for developing bioactive coatings on titanium substrates for orthopedic applications. For the examination of structural and morphological characteristics of the coating surfaces, various complementary analysis methods were performed. For the structural characterization, XRD and Raman Spectroscopy were used while, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques were carried out for revealing the morphological characterization. The results showed that nano HA-nano hBN were successfully deposited on Ti surface with uniform, crack-free coating by EPD. The amounts of hBN in suspension are considered to have no effect on coating thickness. By adding hBN into HA, the morphology of HA did not change and hBN has no significant effect on porous structure. These nanostructured surfaces are expected to be suitable for proliferation of cells and have high potential for bioactive materials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Atomic-scale etching of hexagonal boron nitride for device integration based on two-dimensional materials.

PubMed

Park, Hamin; Shin, Gwang Hyuk; Lee, Khang June; Choi, Sung-Yool

2018-05-29

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is considered an ideal template for electronics based on two-dimensional (2D) materials, owing to its unique properties as a dielectric film. Most studies involving h-BN and its application to electronics have focused on its synthesis using techniques such as chemical vapor deposition, the electrical analysis of its surface state, and the evaluation of its performance. Meanwhile, processing techniques including etching methods have not been widely studied despite their necessity for device fabrication processes. In this study, we propose the atomic-scale etching of h-BN for integration into devices based on 2D materials, using Ar plasma at room temperature. A controllable etching rate, less than 1 nm min-1, was achieved and the low reactivity of the Ar plasma enabled the atomic-scale etching of h-BN down to a monolayer in this top-down approach. Based on the h-BN etching technique for achieving electrical contact with the underlying molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) layer of an h-BN/MoS2 heterostructure, a top-gate MoS2 field-effect transistor (FET) with h-BN gate dielectric was fabricated and characterized by high electrical performance based on the on/off current ratio and carrier mobility.

Charge transport and electron-hole asymmetry in low-mobility graphene/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiayu; Lin, Li; Huang, Guang-Yao; Kang, N.; Zhang, Jincan; Peng, Hailin; Liu, Zhongfan; Xu, H. Q.

2018-02-01

Graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (G/h-BN) heterostructures offer an excellent platform for developing nanoelectronic devices and for exploring correlated states in graphene under modulation by a periodic superlattice potential. Here, we report on transport measurements of nearly 0 ° -twisted G/h-BN heterostructures. The heterostructures investigated are prepared by dry transfer and thermally annealing processes and are in the low mobility regime (approximately 3000 cm2 V-1 s-1 at 1.9 K). The replica Dirac spectra and Hofstadter butterfly spectra are observed on the hole transport side, but not on the electron transport side, of the heterostructures. We associate the observed electron-hole asymmetry with the presence of a large difference between the opened gaps in the conduction and valence bands and a strong enhancement in the interband contribution to the conductivity on the electron transport side in the low-mobility G/h-BN heterostructures. We also show that the gaps opened at the central Dirac point and the hole-branch secondary Dirac point are large, suggesting the presence of strong graphene-substrate interaction and electron-electron interaction in our G/h-BN heterostructures. Our results provide additional helpful insight into the transport mechanism in G/h-BN heterostructures.

Direct growth of hexagonal boron nitride/graphene heterostructures on cobalt foil substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Zhongguang; Khanaki, Alireza; Tian, Hao

2016-07-25

Graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (G/h-BN) heterostructures have attracted a great deal of attention because of their exceptional properties and wide variety of potential applications in nanoelectronics. However, direct growth of large-area, high-quality, and stacked structures in a controllable and scalable way remains challenging. In this work, we demonstrate the synthesis of h-BN/graphene (h-BN/G) heterostructures on cobalt (Co) foil by sequential deposition of graphene and h-BN layers using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that the coverage of h-BN layers can be readily controlled on the epitaxial graphene by growth time. Large-area, uniform-quality, and multi-layer h-BN films on thin graphite layersmore » were achieved. Based on an h-BN (5–6 nm)/G (26–27 nm) heterostructure, capacitor devices with Co(foil)/G/h-BN/Co(contact) configuration were fabricated to evaluate the dielectric properties of h-BN. The measured breakdown electric field showed a high value of ∼2.5–3.2 MV/cm. Both I-V and C-V characteristics indicate that the epitaxial h-BN film has good insulating characteristics.« less

Hexagonal boron nitride nanoparticles decorated halloysite clay nanotubes as a potential hydrogen storage medium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Muthu, R. Naresh, E-mail: rnaresh7708@gmail.com; Rajashabala, S.; Kannan, R.

2016-05-23

The light weight and compact hydrogen storage materials is still prerequisite for the carbon free hydrogen fuel cell technology. In this work, the hydrogen storage performance of acid treated halloysite clay nanotubes (A-HNTs) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanoparticles decorated acid treated halloysite nanoclay composite (A-HNT-h-BN) are demonstrated, where facile ultrasonic technique is adopted for the synthesis of A-HNT-h-BN nanoclay composite. Hydrogen storage studies were carried out using Sieverts-like hydrogenation setup. The A-HNTs and A-HNT-h-BN nanoclay composite were analyzed by XRD, FTIR, HRTEM, EDX, CHNS-elemental analysis and TGA. The A-HNT-h-BN nanoclay composite shows superior storage capacity of 2.19 wt% atmore » 50 °C compared to the A-HNTs (0.58 wt%). A 100% desorption of stored hydrogen is noted in the temperature range of 138–175 °C. The average binding energy of hydrogen was found to be 0.34 eV for the prepared A-HNT-h-BN nanoclay composite. The excellent storage capability of A-HNT-h-BN nanoclay composite towards hydrogen at ambient temperature may find bright perspective in hydrogen fuel cell technology in near future.« less

Origin and roles of oxygen impurities in hexagonal boron nitride epilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grenadier, S. J.; Maity, A.; Li, J.; Lin, J. Y.; Jiang, H. X.

2018-04-01

Photoluminescence emission spectroscopy and electrical transport measurements have been employed to study the origin and roles of oxygen impurities in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) epilayers grown on sapphire substrates. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity revealed the presence of a previously unnoticed impurity level of about 0.6 eV in h-BN epilayers grown at high temperatures. The results suggested that in addition to the common nitrogen vacancy (VN) shallow donors in h-BN, oxygen impurities diffused from sapphire substrates during high temperature growth also act as substitutional donors (ON). The presence of ON gives rise to an additional emission peak in the photoluminescence spectrum, corresponding to a donor-acceptor pair recombination involving the ON donor and the CN (carbon occupying nitrogen site) deep level acceptor. Moreover, due to the presence of ON donors, the majority charge carrier type changed to electrons in epilayers grown at high temperatures, in contrast to typical h-BN epilayers which naturally exhibit "p-type" character. The results provided a more coherent picture for common impurities/defects in h-BN as well as a better understanding of the growth mediated impurities in h-BN epilayers, which will be helpful for finding possible ways to further improve the quality and purity of this emerging material.

Effects of hexagonal boron nitride on dry compression mixture of Avicel DG and Starch 1500.

PubMed

Uğurlu, Timuçin; Halaçoğlu, Mekin Doğa

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the lubrication properties of hexagonal boron nitride (HBN) on a (1:1) binary mixture of Avicel DG and Starch 1500 after using the dry granulation-slugging method and compare it with conventional lubricants, such as magnesium stearate (MGST), glyceryl behenate (COMP) and stearic acid (STAC). MGST is one of the most commonly used lubricants in the pharmaceutical industry. However, it has several adverse effects on tablet properties. In our current study, we employed various methods to eradicate the work hardening phenomenon in dry granulation, and used HBN as a new lubricant to overcome the adverse effects of other lubricants on tablet properties. HBN was found to be as effective as MGST and did not show any significant adverse effects on the crushing strength or work hardening. From the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, it was concluded that HBN distributed better than MGST. As well as showing better distribution, HBN's effect on disintegration was the least pronounced. Semi-quantitative weight percent distribution of B and N elements in the tablets was obtained using EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy). Based on atomic force microscope (AFM) surface roughness images, formulations prepared with 1% HBN showed better plastic character than those prepared with MGST.

Electrical spin injection, transport, and detection in graphene-hexagonal boron nitride van der Waals heterostructures: progress and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurram, M.; Omar, S.; van Wees, B. J.

2018-07-01

The current research in graphene spintronics strives for achieving a long spin lifetime, and efficient spin injection and detection in graphene. In this article, we review how hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has evolved as a crucial substrate, as an encapsulation layer, and as a tunnel barrier for manipulation and control of spin lifetimes and spin injection/detection polarizations in graphene spin valve devices. First, we give an overview of the challenges due to conventional SiO2/Si substrate for spin transport in graphene followed by the progress made in hBN based graphene heterostructures. Then we discuss in detail the shortcomings and developments in using conventional oxide tunnel barriers for spin injection into graphene followed by introducing the recent advancements in using the crystalline single/bi/tri-layer hBN tunnel barriers for an improved spin injection and detection which also can facilitate two-terminal spin valve and Hanle measurements at room temperature, and are of technological importance. A special case of bias induced spin polarization of contacts with exfoliated and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) grown hBN tunnel barriers is also discussed. Further, we give our perspectives on utilizing graphene-hBN heterostructures for future developments in graphene spintronics.

Highly Stable, Dual-Gated MoS2 Transistors Encapsulated by Hexagonal Boron Nitride with Gate-Controllable Contact, Resistance, and Threshold Voltage.

PubMed

Lee, Gwan-Hyoung; Cui, Xu; Kim, Young Duck; Arefe, Ghidewon; Zhang, Xian; Lee, Chul-Ho; Ye, Fan; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Kim, Philip; Hone, James

2015-07-28

Emerging two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) have been intensively studied because of their novel properties for advanced electronics and optoelectronics. However, 2D materials are by nature sensitive to environmental influences, such as temperature, humidity, adsorbates, and trapped charges in neighboring dielectrics. Therefore, it is crucial to develop device architectures that provide both high performance and long-term stability. Here we report high performance of dual-gated van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure devices in which MoS2 layers are fully encapsulated by hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and contacts are formed using graphene. The hBN-encapsulation provides excellent protection from environmental factors, resulting in highly stable device performance, even at elevated temperatures. Our measurements also reveal high-quality electrical contacts and reduced hysteresis, leading to high two-terminal carrier mobility (33-151 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)) and low subthreshold swing (80 mV/dec) at room temperature. Furthermore, adjustment of graphene Fermi level and use of dual gates enable us to separately control contact resistance and threshold voltage. This novel vdW heterostructure device opens up a new way toward fabrication of stable, high-performance devices based on 2D materials.

Gaps induced by inversion symmetry breaking and second-generation Dirac cones in graphene/hexagonal boron nitride

DOE PAGES

Wang, Eryin; Lu, Xiaobo; Ding, Shijie; ...

2016-08-22

Graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has emerged as a model van der Waals heterostructure as the superlattice potential, which is induced by lattice mismatch and crystal orientation, gives rise to various novel quantum phenomena, such as the self-similar Hofstadter butterfly states. Although the newly generated second-generation Dirac cones (SDCs) are believed to be crucial for understanding such intriguing phenomena, fundamental knowledge of SDCs, such as locations and dispersion, and the effect of inversion symmetry breaking on the gap opening, still remains highly debated due to the lack of direct experimental results. In this work we report direct experimental results on themore » dispersion of SDCs in 0°-aligned graphene/h-BN heterostructures using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Our data unambiguously reveal SDCs at the corners of the superlattice Brillouin zone, and at only one of the two superlattice valleys. Moreover, gaps of approximately 100 meV and approximately 160 meV are observed at the SDCs and the original graphene Dirac cone, respectively. Our work highlights the important role of a strong inversion-symmetry-breaking perturbation potential in the physics of graphene/h-BN, and fills critical knowledge gaps in the band structure engineering of Dirac fermions by a superlattice potential.« less

Hexagonal Boron Nitride: A Promising Substrate for Graphene with High Heat Dissipation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhongwei; Hu, Shiqian; Chen, Jie; Li, Baowen

Supported graphene on standard SiO2 substrate exhibits unsatisfactory heat dissipation performance that is far inferior to the ultrahigh thermal conductivity of suspended case. A suitable substrate for enhancing the thermal transport in supported graphene is highly desirable. By using molecular dynamics simulations, we have studied thermal conductivity of sing-layer graphene (SLG) supported on bulk hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) substrate. Notable length dependence and high thermal conductivity are observed in h-BN supported SLG, suggesting thermal transport properties are close to that in suspended SLG. At room temperature, thermal conductivity of h-BN supported SLG is as high as 1347.3+/-20.5 W/mK, which is about 77% of suspended case and more than twice of SiO2 supported SLG. Furthermore, the h-BN substrate gives rise to a regular and weak stress distribution in graphene, which results in less suppressed phonon relaxation time and phonon mean free path. We also find stacking and rotation have significant impacts on structure dynamics and thermal conductivity of h-BN supported graphene. Our study provides valuable insights towards the design of realistic supported graphene devices with high performance heat dissipation. Acknowledges the supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51506153 and No. 11334007) and the National Youth 1000 Talents Program in China.

Model for multi-filamentary conduction in graphene/hexagonal-boron-nitride/graphene based resistive switching devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Chengbin; Miranda, Enrique; Villena, Marco A.; Xiao, Na; Jing, Xu; Xie, Xiaoming; Wu, Tianru; Hui, Fei; Shi, Yuanyuan; Lanza, Mario

2017-06-01

Despite the enormous interest raised by graphene and related materials, recent global concern about their real usefulness in industry has raised, as there is a preoccupying lack of 2D materials based electronic devices in the market. Moreover, analytical tools capable of describing and predicting the behavior of the devices (which are necessary before facing mass production) are very scarce. In this work we synthesize a resistive random access memory (RRAM) using graphene/hexagonal-boron-nitride/graphene (G/h-BN/G) van der Waals structures, and we develop a compact model that accurately describes its functioning. The devices were fabricated using scalable methods (i.e. CVD for material growth and shadow mask for electrode patterning), and they show reproducible resistive switching (RS). The measured characteristics during the forming, set and reset processes were fitted using the model developed. The model is based on the nonlinear Landauer approach for mesoscopic conductors, in this case atomic-sized filaments formed within the 2D materials system. Besides providing excellent overall fitting results (which have been corroborated in log-log, log-linear and linear-linear plots), the model is able to explain the dispersion of the data obtained from cycle-to-cycle in terms of the particular features of the filamentary paths, mainly their confinement potential barrier height.

Tuning the Schottky rectification in graphene-hexagonal boron nitride-molybdenum disulfide heterostructure.

PubMed

Liu, Biao; Zhao, Yu-Qing; Yu, Zhuo-Liang; Wang, Lin-Zhi; Cai, Meng-Qiu

2018-03-01

It was still a great challenge to design high performance of rectification characteristic for the rectifier diode. Lately, a new approach was proposed experimentally to tune the Schottky barrier height (SBH) by inserting an ultrathin insulated tunneling layer to form metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) heterostructures. However, the electronic properties touching off the high performance of these heterostructures and the possibility of designing more efficient applications for the rectifier diode were not presently clear. In this paper, the structural, electronic and interfacial properties of the novel MIS diode with the graphene/hexagonal boron nitride/monolayer molybdenum disulfide (GBM) heterostructure had been investigated by first-principle calculations. The calculated results showed that the intrinsic properties of graphene and MoS 2 were preserved due to the weak van der Waals contact. The height of interfacial Schottky barrier can be tuned by the different thickness of hBN layers. In addition, the GBM Schottky diode showed more excellent rectification characteristic than that of GM Schottky diode due to the interfacial band bending caused by the epitaxial electric field. Based on the electronic band structure, we analyzed the relationship between the electronic structure and the nature of the Schottky rectifier, and revealed the potential of utilizing GBM Schottky diode for the higher rectification characteristic devices. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hyperbolic phonon polaritons in hexagonal boron nitride (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Siyuan; Ma, Qiong; Fei, Zhe; Liu, Mengkun; Goldflam, Michael D.; Andersen, Trond; Garnett, William; Regan, Will; Wagner, Martin; McLeod, Alexander S.; Rodin, Alexandr; Zhu, Shou-En; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, T.; Dominguez, Gerado; Thiemens, Mark; Castro Neto, Antonio H.; Janssen, Guido C. A. M.; Zettl, Alex; Keilmann, Fritz; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo; Fogler, Michael M.; Basov, Dmitri N.

2016-09-01

Uniaxial materials whose axial and tangential permittivities have opposite signs are referred to as indefinite or hyperbolic media. While hyperbolic responses are normally achieved with metamaterials, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) naturally possesses this property due to the anisotropic phonons in the mid-infrared. Using scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy, we studied polaritonic phenomena in hBN. We performed infrared nano-imaging of highly confined and low-loss hyperbolic phonon polaritons in hBN. The polariton wavelength was shown to be governed by the hBN thickness according to a linear law persisting down to few atomic layers [1]. Additionally, we carried out the modification of hyperbolic response in meta-structures comprised of a mononlayer graphene deposited on hBN [2]. Electrostatic gating of the top graphene layer allows for the modification of wavelength and intensity of hyperbolic phonon polaritons in bulk hBN. The physics of the modification originates from the plasmon-phonon coupling in the hyperbolic medium. Furthermore, we demonstrated the "hyperlens" for subdiffractional focusing and imaging using a slab of hBN [3]. References [1] S. Dai et al., Science, 343, 1125 (2014). [2] S. Dai et al., Nature Nanotechnology, 10, 682 (2015). [3] S. Dai et al., Nature Communications, 6, 6963 (2015).

Exfoliation of Hexagonal Boron Nitride via Ferric Chloride Intercalation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hung, Ching-cheh; Hurst, Janet; Santiago, Diana; Rogers, Richard B.

2014-01-01

Sodium fluoride (NaF) was used as an activation agent to successfully intercalate ferric chloride (FeCl3) into hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). This reaction caused the hBN mass to increase by approx.100 percent, the lattice parameter c to decrease from 6.6585 to between 6.6565 and 6.6569 ?, the x-ray diffraction (XRD) (002) peak to widen from 0.01deg to 0.05deg of the full width half maximum value, the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum's broad band (1277/cm peak) to change shape, and new FTIR bands to emerge at 3700 to 2700 and 1600/cm. This indicates hBN's structural and chemical properties are significantly changed. The intercalated product was hygroscopic and interacted with moisture in the air to cause further structural and chemical changes (from XRD and FTIR). During a 24-h hold at room temperature in air with 100 percent relative humidity, the mass increased another 141 percent. The intercalated product, hydrated or not, can be heated to 750 C in air to cause exfoliation. Exfoliation becomes significant after two intercalation-air heating cycles, when 20-nm nanosheets are commonly found. Structural and chemical changes indicated by XRD and FTIR data were nearly reversed after the product was placed in hydrochloric acid (HCl), resulting in purified, exfoliated, thin hBN products.

Fabrication of boron articles

DOEpatents

Benton, Samuel T.

1976-01-01

This invention is directed to the fabrication of boron articles by a powder metallurgical method wherein the articles are of a density close to the theoretical density of boron and are essentially crackfree. The method comprises the steps of admixing 1 to 10 weight percent carbon powder with amorphous boron powder, cold pressing the mixture and then hot pressing the cold pressed compact into the desired article. The addition of the carbon to the mixture provides a pressing aid for inhibiting the cracking of the hot pressed article and is of a concentration less than that which would cause the articles to possess significant concentrations of boron carbide.

Study of the boron levels in serum after implantation of different ratios nano-hexagonal boron nitride-hydroxy apatite in rat femurs.

PubMed

Atila, Alptug; Halici, Zekai; Cadirci, Elif; Karakus, Emre; Palabiyik, Saziye Sezin; Ay, Nuran; Bakan, Feray; Yilmaz, Sahin

2016-01-01

Boron and its derivatives are effective in bone recovery and osteointegration. However, increasing the boron levels in body liquids may cause toxicity. The aim of our study is to investigate serum boron levels using ICP-MS after implantation of different ratios of nano-hBN-HA composites in rat femurs. All rats were (n=126) divided into five experimental groups (n=24) and one healthy group (6 rats); healthy (Group1), femoral defect + %100 HA (Group2), femoral defect + %2.5 hBN + %97.5 HA (Group3), femoral defect + %5 hBN + %95 HA (Group4), femoral defect + %10 hBN + %90 HA (Group5), femoral defect + %100 hBN (Group6). The femoral defect was created in the distal femur (3mm drill-bit). Each implant group was divided into four different groups (n=24) also 6 rats sacrificed for each groups in one week intervals during four weeks. In our results; at 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks after implantation near bone tissue, serum levels of boron were evaluated using ICP-MS. We demonstrated that neither short-term nor long-term implantation of hBN-HA composite resulted in statistically increased serum boron levels in experimental groups compared to healthy group. In conclusion, this study investigated the implant material produced form hBN-HA for the first time. Our data suggest that hBN is a new promising target for biomaterial and implant bioengineers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of thin films in boron-carbon-nitrogen ternary system by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukreja, Ratandeep Singh

The Boron Carbon Nitorgen (B-C-N) ternary system includes materials with exceptional properties such as wide band gap, excellent thermal conductivity, high bulk modulus, extreme hardness and transparency in the optical and UV range that find application in most fields ranging from micro-electronics, bio-sensors, and cutting tools to materials for space age technology. Interesting materials that belong to the B-C-N ternary system include Carbon nano-tubes, Boron Carbide, Boron Carbon Nitride (B-CN), hexagonal Boron Nitride ( h-BN), cubic Boron Nitride (c-BN), Diamond and beta Carbon Nitride (beta-C3N4). Synthesis of these materials requires precisely controlled and energetically favorable conditions. Chemical vapor deposition is widely used technique for deposition of thin films of ceramics, metals and metal-organic compounds. Microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPECVD) is especially interesting because of its ability to deposit materials that are meta-stable under the deposition conditions, for e.g. diamond. In the present study, attempt has been made to synthesize beta-carbon nitride (beta-C3N4) and cubic-Boron Nitride (c-BN) thin films by MPECVD. Also included is the investigation of dependence of residual stress and thermal conductivity of the diamond thin films, deposited by MPECVD, on substrate pre-treatment and deposition temperature. Si incorporated CNx thin films are synthesized and characterized while attempting to deposit beta-C3N4 thin films on Si substrates using Methane (CH4), Nitrogen (N2), and Hydrogen (H2). It is shown that the composition and morphology of Si incorporated CNx thin film can be tailored by controlling the sequence of introduction of the precursor gases in the plasma chamber. Greater than 100mum size hexagonal crystals of N-Si-C are deposited when Nitrogen precursor is introduced first while agglomerates of nano-meter range graphitic needles of C-Si-N are deposited when Carbon precursor is introduced first in the deposition chamber. Hexagonal -- BN thin films are successfully deposited using Diborane (B2H6) (5% in H2), Ammonia (NH3) and H2 as precursor gases in the conventional MPECVD mode with and without the negative DC bias. The quality of h-BN in the films improved with pressure and when NH3 used as the first precursor gas in the deposition chamber. c-BN thin films are successfully deposited using Boron-Trifluoride (BF3) (10% in Argon (Ar)), N2, H2, Ar and Helium (He) gases in the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) mode of the MPECVD system with negative DC bias. Up-to 66% c-BN in the films is achieved under deposition conditions of lower gas flow rates and higher deposition pressures than that reported in the literature for film deposited by ECR-MPECVD. It is shown that the percentage c-BN in the films correlates with the deposition pressure, BF3/H2 ratio and, negative DC bias during nucleation and growth. Diamond thin films are deposited using 60%Ar, 39% H2 and, 1%CH4 at 600°C, 700°C and 800°C substrate temperatures, measured by an IR pyrometer, on Si substrates pre-treated with 3-6nm diamond sol and 20-40mum diamond slurry. Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and, photo-thermal reflectivity methods are used to characterize the thin films. Residual stresses observed for the diamond thin films deposited in this study are tensile in nature and increased with deposition temperature. Better quality diamond films with lower residual stresses are obtained for films deposited on Si substrate pre-treated with 3-6nm diamond sol. Preliminary results on thermal conductivity, k, suggest that k is directly dependent on the deposition temperature and independent of substrate pre-treatment signifying that the nano-seeding technique can be used to replace conventional surface activation technique for diamond seeding where needed.

Mid-infrared polaritonic coupling between boron nitride nanotubes and graphene.

PubMed

Xu, Xiaoji G; Jiang, Jian-Hua; Gilburd, Leonid; Rensing, Rachel G; Burch, Kenneth S; Zhi, Chunyi; Bando, Yoshio; Golberg, Dmitri; Walker, Gilbert C

2014-11-25

Boron nitride (BN) is considered to be a promising substrate for graphene-based devices in part because its large band gap can serve to insulate graphene in layered heterostructures. At mid-infrared frequencies, graphene supports surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), whereas hexagonal-BN (h-BN) is found to support surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs). We report on the observation of infrared polaritonic coupling between graphene SPPs and boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) SPhPs. Infrared scattering type scanning near-field optical microscopy is used to obtain spatial distribution of the two types of polaritons at the nanoscale. The observation suggests that those polaritons interact at the nanoscale in a one-dimensional/two-dimensional (1D/2D) geometry, exchanging energy in a nonplanar configuration at the nanoscale. Control of the polaritonic interaction is achieved by adjustment of the graphene Fermi level through voltage gating. Our observation suggests that boron nitride nanotubes and graphene can interact at mid-infrared frequencies and coherently exchange their energies at the nanoscale through the overlap of mutual electric near field of surface phonon polaritons and surface plasmon polaritons. Such interaction enables the design of nano-optical devices based on BNNT-graphene polaritonics in the mid-infrared range.

Auger electron spectroscopy analysis for growth interface of cubic boron nitride single crystals synthesized under high pressure and high temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Meizhe; Xu, Bin; Cai, Lichao; Guo, Xiaofei; Yuan, Xingdong

2018-05-01

After rapid cooling, cubic boron nitride (c-BN) single crystals synthesized under high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) are wrapped in the white film powders which are defined as growth interface. In order to make clear that the transition mechanism of c-BN single crystals, the variation of B and N atomic hybrid states in the growth interface is analyzed with the help of auger electron spectroscopy in the Li-based system. It is found that the sp2 fractions of B and N atoms decreases, and their sp3 fractions increases from the outer to the inner in the growth interface. In addition, Lithium nitride (Li3N) are not found in the growth interface by X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiment. It is suggested that lithium boron nitride (Li3BN2) is produced by the reaction of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and Li3N at the first step, and then B and N atoms transform from sp2 into sp3 state with the catalysis of Li3BN2 in c-BN single crystals synthesis process.

Adsorption of sugars on Al- and Ga-doped boron nitride surfaces: A computational study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Darwish, Ahmed A.; Fadlallah, Mohamed M.; Badawi, Ashraf; Maarouf, Ahmed A.

2016-07-01

Molecular adsorption on surfaces is a key element for many applications, including sensing and catalysis. Non-invasive sugar sensing has been an active area of research due to its importance to diabetes care. The adsorption of sugars on a template surface study is at the heart of matter. Here, we study doped hexagonal boron nitride sheets (h-BNNs) as adsorbing and sensing template for glucose and glucosamine. Using first principles calculations, we find that the adsorption of glucose and glucosamine on h-BNNs is significantly enhanced by the substitutional doping of the sheet with Al and Ga. Including long range van der Waals corrections gives adsorption energies of about 2 eV. In addition to the charge transfer occurring between glucose and the Al/Ga-doped BN sheets, the adsorption alters the size of the band gap, allowing for optical detection of adsorption. We also find that Al-doped boron nitride sheet is better than Ga-doped boron nitride sheet to enhance the adsorption energy of glucose and glucosamine. The results of our work can be potentially utilized when designing support templates for glucose and glucosamine.

Self-consistent perturbation theory for two dimensional twisted bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shirodkar, Sharmila N.; Tritsaris, Georgios A.; Kaxiras, Efthimios

Theoretical modeling and ab-initio simulations of two dimensional heterostructures with arbitrary angles of rotation between layers involve unrealistically large and expensive calculations. To overcome this shortcoming, we develop a methodology for weakly interacting heterostructures that treats the effect of one layer on the other as perturbation, and restricts the calculations to their primitive cells. Thus, avoiding computationally expensive supercells. We start by approximating the interaction potential between the twisted bilayers to that of a hypothetical configuration (viz. ideally stacked untwisted layers), which produces band structures in reasonable agreement with full-scale ab-initio calculations for commensurate and twisted bilayers of graphene (Gr) and Gr/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) heterostructures. We then self-consistently calculate the charge density and hence, interaction potential of the heterostructures. In this work, we test our model for bilayers of various combinations of Gr, h-BN and transition metal dichalcogenides, and discuss the advantages and shortcomings of the self-consistently calculated interaction potential. Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.

Electrical and Thermal Transport in Coplanar Polycrystalline Graphene-hBN Heterostructures.

PubMed

Barrios-Vargas, José Eduardo; Mortazavi, Bohayra; Cummings, Aron W; Martinez-Gordillo, Rafael; Pruneda, Miguel; Colombo, Luciano; Rabczuk, Timon; Roche, Stephan

2017-03-08

We present a theoretical study of electronic and thermal transport in polycrystalline heterostructures combining graphene (G) and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) grains of varying size and distribution. By increasing the hBN grain density from a few percent to 100%, the system evolves from a good conductor to an insulator, with the mobility dropping by orders of magnitude and the sheet resistance reaching the MΩ regime. The Seebeck coefficient is suppressed above 40% mixing, while the thermal conductivity of polycrystalline hBN is found to be on the order of 30-120 Wm -1 K -1 . These results, agreeing with available experimental data, provide guidelines for tuning G-hBN properties in the context of two-dimensional materials engineering. In particular, while we proved that both electrical and thermal properties are largely affected by morphological features (e.g., by the grain size and composition), we find in all cases that nanometer-sized polycrystalline G-hBN heterostructures are not good thermoelectric materials.

Dehalogenation and coupling of a polycyclic hydrocarbon on an atomically thin insulator.

PubMed

Dienel, Thomas; Gómez-Díaz, Jaime; Seitsonen, Ari P; Widmer, Roland; Iannuzzi, Marcella; Radican, Kevin; Sachdev, Hermann; Müllen, Klaus; Hutter, Jürg; Gröning, Oliver

2014-07-22

Catalytic activity is of pivotal relevance in enabling efficient and selective synthesis processes. Recently, covalent coupling reactions catalyzed by solid metal surfaces opened the rapidly evolving field of on-surface chemical synthesis. Tailored molecular precursors in conjunction with the catalytic activity of the metal substrate allow the synthesis of novel, technologically highly relevant materials such as atomically precise graphene nanoribbons. However, the reaction path on the metal substrate remains unclear in most cases, and the intriguing question is how a specific atomic configuration between reactant and catalyst controls the reaction processes. In this study, we cover the metal substrate with a monolayer of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), reducing the reactivity of the metal, and gain unique access to atomistic details during the activation of a polyphenylene precursor by sequential dehalogenation and the subsequent coupling to extended oligomers. We use scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory to reveal a reaction site anisotropy, induced by the registry mismatch between the precursor and the nanostructured h-BN monolayer.

Minerals of the earth's deep interior

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schiferl, D.; Zhao, Y.; Shankland, T.J.

1998-11-01

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The project addresses the major geophysical issue of the nature of the seismic velocity and density discontinuity at 670 km depth (the boundary between upper and lower mantle with temperature about 1,900 K and pressure about 23 GPa). A phase change at this depth would represent a relatively small barrier to mantle convection through the discontinuity, but compositional change would inhibit thermal convection throughout the mantle. To address this problem the authors measured equation of state parameters in mantlemore » minerals as functions of high P-T using single crystal x-ray diffraction with a unique, new diamond-anvil cell (DAC) at simultaneous high temperature and pressure. Single-crystal diffraction improves absolute accuracy in lattice constants over those from powder diffraction by a factor of 5 to 10. The authors have measured equations of state of orthoenstatite MgSiO{sub 3} and hexagonal boron nitride hBN.« less

Ab initio studies of isolated boron substitutional defects in graphane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mapasha, R. E.; Chetty, N.

2017-10-01

We have systematically studied energetics, structural and electronic properties of different configurations of the B atoms substituting C-H pairs located on a single hexagonal ring in a graphane system using the first-principles density functional theory (DFT). A total number of 12 distinct B dopants configurations were identified and characterized. Based on the formation energy analysis, we found that relative stability of B dopants depends greatly on the defect configurations. Our results suggest that the B substitutions prefer to be distributed randomly but avoiding the formation of homo-elemental B-B bonds in a graphane system, at any concentration. Generally, the values of band gap decrease as the number of B dopants increases, but the low energy configurations have large band gaps compared to those that have homo-elemental bonds. As a result, the band gap of graphane can be fine tuned through the change in the structural arrangement of B atoms. The adequate control of the electronic structure of graphane through doping should be essential for technological device applications.

Physical, mechanical and neutron shielding properties of h-BN/Gd2O3/HDPE ternary nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

İrim, Ş. Gözde; Wis, Abdulmounem Alchekh; Keskin, M. Aker; Baykara, Oktay; Ozkoc, Guralp; Avcı, Ahmet; Doğru, Mahmut; Karakoç, Mesut

2018-03-01

In order to prepare an effective neutron shielding material, not only neutron but also gamma absorption must be taken into account. In this research, a polymer nanocomposite based novel type of multifunctional neutron shielding material is designed and fabricated. For this purpose, high density polyethylene (HDPE) was compounded with different amounts of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and Gd2O3 nanoparticles having average particle size of 100 nm using melt-compounding technique. The mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of nanocomposites were investigated. As filler content increased, the absorption of both neutron and gamma fluxes increased despite fluctuating neutron absorption curves. Adding h-BN and Gd2O3 nano particles had a significant influence on both neutron and gamma attenuation properties (Σ, cm-1 and μ/ρ, cm-2/g) of ternary shields and they show an enhancement of 200-280%, 14-52% for neutron and gamma radiations, respectively, in shielding performance.

Quasi-Two-Dimensional h-BN/β-Ga2O3 Heterostructure Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor.

PubMed

Kim, Janghyuk; Mastro, Michael A; Tadjer, Marko J; Kim, Jihyun

2017-06-28

β-gallium oxide (β-Ga 2 O 3 ) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) heterostructure-based quasi-two-dimensional metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MISFETs) were demonstrated by integrating mechanical exfoliation of (quasi)-two-dimensional materials with a dry transfer process, wherein nanothin flakes of β-Ga 2 O 3 and h-BN were utilized as the channel and gate dielectric, respectively, of the MISFET. The h-BN dielectric, which has an extraordinarily flat and clean surface, provides a minimal density of charged impurities on the interface between β-Ga 2 O 3 and h-BN, resulting in superior device performances (maximum transconductance, on/off ratio, subthreshold swing, and threshold voltage) compared to those of the conventional back-gated configurations. Also, double-gating of the fabricated device was demonstrated by biasing both top and bottom gates, achieving the modulation of the threshold voltage. This heterostructured wide-band-gap nanodevice shows a new route toward stable and high-power nanoelectronic devices.

Towards NV-based magnetic sensing in the time domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urbach, Elana; Sumarac, Tamara; Lovchinsky, Igor; Landig, Renate; Sanchez-Yamagishi, Javier; Andersen, Trond; Park, Hongkun; Lukin, Mikhail

2017-04-01

The study of protein folding dynamics is an outstanding problem in the biological sciences. We show that nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond can be used to dynamically sense the conformational states of individual proteins under ambient conditions. We present preliminary data on time-domain detection of electronic spin labels which were chemically attached to the proteins, as well as label-free detection of native hydrogen nuclear spins within the protein. In addition, we discuss work towards polarizing boron-11 spins in atomically-thin hexagonal boron nitride using Hartmann-Hahn double resonance, with the ultimate goal of studying many-body spin dynamics and performing quantum simulation. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE1144152.

The boron conundrum: Bonding in the bowl B30 and B36, fullerene B40 and triple ring B42 clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pham, Hung Tan; Duong, L. V.; Tam, Nguyen Minh; Pham-Ho, M. P.; Nguyen, Minh Tho

2014-07-01

Geometries and bonding of B30, B36, B40 and B42 clusters were studied using quantum chemical computations. The bowl B30 and B36 and planar B42 clusters exhibit disk aromaticity. Diatropic ring current is strong in B30 and weaker in B42. A fullerene-like B40 (D2d) having two hexagons and four heptagons was found as the lowest-lying isomer. Such a fullerene whose MOs closely mimic those of the buckyball B80, represents novel structural feature of boron clusters. The most stable B42 (C2h) isomer is a triple ring tube with consistent σ + π diatropic magnetic responses making it a tubular aromatic species.

Boron-doped diamond microdisc arrays: electrochemical characterisation and their use as a substrate for the production of microelectrode arrays of diverse metals (Ag, Au, Cu)via electrodeposition.

PubMed

Simm, Andrew O; Banks, Craig E; Ward-Jones, Sarah; Davies, Trevor J; Lawrence, Nathan S; Jones, Timothy G J; Jiang, Li; Compton, Richard G

2005-09-01

A novel boron-doped diamond (BDD) microelectrode array is characterised with electrochemical and atomic force microscopic techniques. The array consists of 40 micron-diameter sized BDD discs which are separated by 250 microns from their nearest neighbour in a hexagonal arrangement. The conducting discs can be electroplated to produce arrays of copper, silver or gold for analytical purposes in addition to operating as an array of BDD-microelectrodes. Proof-of-concept is shown for four separate examples; a gold plated array for arsenic detection, a copper plated array for nitrate analysis, a silver plated array for hydrogen peroxide monitoring and last, cathodic stripping voltammetry for lead at the bare BDD-array.

Quantifying Friction Effects of Molybdenum Disulfide, Tungsten Disulfide, Hexagonal Boron Nitride, and Lubalox as Bullet Coating

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-07-30

is not cost effective for most applications . 15. SUBJECT TERMS armor penetration, brass, copper, full metal jacket, steel penetrator 16... applications . Introduction High barrel friction reduces the muzzle velocity of bullets that is important in maintaining long range trajectories...be effective in a variety of high-temperature and high-pressure applications .[2-4] However, the problem of reducing the force required to push a

MEMS Gate Structures for Electric Propulsion Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-07-12

distance between gates of dual gate system V = grid voltage Dsheath = sheath thickness Va = anode voltage E = electric field Vemitter = emitter voltage Es...minutes. A hot pressed boron nitride target (4N) in the hexagonal phase (h- BN) was sputtered in a RF magnetron sputtering gun. To promote the nucleation...and nanoFETs. This paper concludes with a discussion on using MEMS gates for dual -grid electron field emission applications. II. Gate Design I I

Experimental static aerodynamics of a regular hexagonal prism in a low density hypervelocity flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guy, R. W.; Mueller, J. N.; Lee, L. P.

1972-01-01

A regular hexagonal prism, having a fineness ratio of 1.67, has been tested in a wind tunnel to determine its static aerodynamic characteristics in a low-density hypervelocity flow. The prism tested was a 1/4-scale model of the graphite heat shield which houses the radioactive fuel for the Viking spacecraft auxiliary power supply. The basic hexagonal prism was also modified to simulate a prism on which ablation of one of the six side flats had occurred. This modified hexagonal prism was tested to determine the effects on the aerodynamic characteristics of a shape change caused by ablation during a possible side-on stable reentry.

Disorder and defects are not intrinsic to boron carbide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mondal, Swastik; Bykova, Elena; Dey, Somnath; Ali, Sk Imran; Dubrovinskaia, Natalia; Dubrovinsky, Leonid; Parakhonskiy, Gleb; van Smaalen, Sander

2016-01-01

A unique combination of useful properties in boron-carbide, such as extreme hardness, excellent fracture toughness, a low density, a high melting point, thermoelectricity, semi-conducting behavior, catalytic activity and a remarkably good chemical stability, makes it an ideal material for a wide range of technological applications. Explaining these properties in terms of chemical bonding has remained a major challenge in boron chemistry. Here we report the synthesis of fully ordered, stoichiometric boron-carbide B13C2 by high-pressure-high-temperature techniques. Our experimental electron-density study using high-resolution single-crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction data conclusively demonstrates that disorder and defects are not intrinsic to boron carbide, contrary to what was hitherto supposed. A detailed analysis of the electron density distribution reveals charge transfer between structural units in B13C2 and a new type of electron-deficient bond with formally unpaired electrons on the C-B-C group in B13C2. Unprecedented bonding features contribute to the fundamental chemistry and materials science of boron compounds that is of great interest for understanding structure-property relationships and development of novel functional materials.

Reduction in Recombination Current Density in Boron Doped Silicon Using Atomic Hydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Matthew Garett

The solar industry has grown immensely in recent years and has reached a point where solar energy has now become inexpensive enough that it is starting to emerge as a mainstream electrical generation source. However, recent economic analysis has suggested that for solar to become a truly wide spread source of electricity, the costs still need to plummet by a factor of 8x. This demands new and innovative concepts to help lower such cost. In pursuit of this goal, this dissertation examines the use of atomic hydrogen to lessen the recombination current density in the boron doped region of n-type silicon solar cells. This required the development of a boron diffusion process that maintained the bulk lifetime of n-type silicon such that the recombination current density could be extracted by photoconductance spectroscopy. It is demonstrated that by hydrogenating boron diffusions, the majority carrier concentration can be controlled. By using symmetrically diffused test structures with quinhydrone-methanol surface passivation the recombination current density of a hydrogenated boron profile is shown to be less than that of a standard boron profile, by as much as 30%. This is then applied to a modified industrial silicon solar cell process to demonstrate an efficiency enhancement of 0.4%.

Optimization and characterization of bulk hexagonal boron nitride single crystals grown by the nickel-chromium flux method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffman, Tim

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a wide bandgap III-V semiconductor that has seen new interest due to the development of other III-V LED devices and the advent of graphene and other 2-D materials. For device applications, high quality, low defect density materials are needed. Several applications for hBN crystals are being investigated, including as a neutron detector and interference-less infrared-absorbing material. Isotopically enriched crystals were utilized for enhanced propagation of phonon modes. These applications exploit the unique physical, electronic and nanophotonics applications for bulk hBN crystals. In this study, bulk hBN crystals were grown by the flux method using a molten Ni-Cr solvent at high temperatures (1500°C) and atmospheric pressures. The effects of growth parameters, source materials, and gas environment on the crystals size, morphology and purity were established and controlled, and the reliability of the process was greatly improved. Single-crystal domains exceeding 1mm in width and 200microm in thickness were produced and transferred to handle substrates for analysis. Grain size dependence with respect to dwell temperature, cooling rate and cooling temperature were analyzed and modeled using response surface morphology. Most significantly, crystal grain width was predicted to increase linearly with dwell temperature, with single-crystal domains exceeding 2mm in at 1700°C. Isotopically enriched 10B and 11B hBN crystal were produced using a Ni-Cr-B flux method, and their properties investigated. 10B concentration was evaluated using SIMS and correlated to the shift in the Raman peak of the E2g mode. Crystals with enrichment of 99% 10B and >99% 11B were achieved, with corresponding Raman shift peaks at 1392.0 cm-1 and 1356.6 cm-1, respectively. Peak FWHM also decreased as isotopic enrichment approached 100%, with widths as low as 3.5 cm-1 achieved, compared to 8.0 cm-1 for natural abundance samples. Defect selective etching was performed using a molten NaOH-KOH etchant at 425°C-525°C, to quantify the quality of the crystals. Three etch pit shapes were identified and etch pit width was investigated as a function of temperature. Etch pit density and etch pit activation energy was estimated at 5x107 cm-2 and 60 kJ/mol, respectively. Screw and mixed-type dislocations were identified using diffraction-contrast TEM imaging.

Achieving Ohmic Contact for High-quality MoS2 Devices on Hexagonal Boron Nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Xu

MoS2, among many other transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), holds great promise for future applications in nano-electronics, opto-electronics and mechanical devices due to its ultra-thin nature, flexibility, sizable band-gap, and unique spin-valley coupled physics. However, there are two main challenges that hinder careful study of this material. Firstly, it is hard to achieve Ohmic contacts to mono-layer MoS2, particularly at low temperatures (T) and low carrier densities. Secondly, materials' low quality and impurities introduced during the fabrication significantly limit the electron mobility of mono- and few-layer MoS2 to be substantially below theoretically predicted limits, which has hampered efforts to observe its novel quantum transport behaviours. Traditional low work function metals doesn't necessary provide good electron injection to thin MoS2 due to metal oxidation, Fermi level pinning, etc. To address the first challenge, we tried multiple contact schemes and found that mono-layer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and cobalt (Co) provide robust Ohmic contact. The mono-layer spacer serves two advantageous purposes: it strongly interacts with the transition metal, reducing its work function by over 1 eV; and breaks the metal-TMDCs interaction to eliminate the interfacial states that cause Fermi level pinning. We measure a flat-band Schottky barrier of 16 meV, which makes thin tunnel barriers upon doping the channels, and thus achieve low-T contact resistance of 3 kohm.um at a carrier density of 5.3x10. 12/cm. 2. Similar to graphene, eliminating all potential sources of disorder and scattering is the key to achieving high performance in MoS2 devices. We developed a van der Waals heterostructure device platform where MoS2 layers are fully encapsulated within h-BN and electrically contacted in a multi-terminal geometry using gate-tunable graphene electrodes. The h-BN-encapsulation provides excellent protection from environmental factors, resulting in highly stable device performance, even at elevated temperatures. Both optical and electrical characterization confirms our high quality devices, including an ultra-clean interface, a record-high Hall mobility reaching 34,000 cm. 2/Vs, and first observation of Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations. The development of Ohmic contact and fabrication of high quality devices are critical to MoS2 application and studying its intrinsic properties. Therefore, the progress made in this work will facilitate efforts to study novel physical phenomena of MoS2 that were not accessible before.

Boron-Based Hydrogen Storage: Ternary Borides and Beyond

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vajo, John J.

DOE continues to seek reversible solid-state hydrogen materials with hydrogen densities of ≥11 wt% and ≥80 g/L that can deliver hydrogen and be recharged at moderate temperatures (≤100 °C) and pressures (≤100 bar) enabling incorporation into hydrogen storage systems suitable for transportation applications. Boron-based hydrogen storage materials have the potential to meet the density requirements given boron’s low atomic weight, high chemical valance, and versatile chemistry. However, the rates of hydrogen exchange in boron-based compounds are thus far much too slow for practical applications. Although contributing to the high hydrogen densities, the high valance of boron also leads to slowmore » rates of hydrogen exchange due to extensive boron-boron atom rearrangements during hydrogen cycling. This rearrangement often leads to multiple solid phases occurring over hydrogen release and recharge cycles. These phases must nucleate and react with each other across solid-solid phase boundaries leading to energy barriers that slow the rates of hydrogen exchange. This project sought to overcome the slow rates of hydrogen exchange in boron-based hydrogen storage materials by minimizing the number of solid phases and the boron atom rearrangement over a hydrogen release and recharge cycle. Two novel approaches were explored: 1) developing matched pairs of ternary borides and mixed-metal borohydrides that could exchange hydrogen with only one hydrogenated phase (the mixed-metal borohydride) and only one dehydrogenated phase (the ternary boride); and 2) developing boranes that could release hydrogen by being lithiated using lithium hydride with no boron-boron atom rearrangement.« less

Selective MBE growth of hexagonal networks of trapezoidal and triangular GaAs nanowires on patterned (1 1 1)B substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamai, Isao; Hasegawa, Hideki

2007-04-01

As a combination of novel hardware architecture and novel system architecture for future ultrahigh-density III-V nanodevice LSIs, the authors' group has recently proposed a hexagonal binary decision diagram (BDD) quantum circuit approach where gate-controlled path switching BDD node devices for a single or few electrons are laid out on a hexagonal nanowire network to realize a logic function. In this paper, attempts are made to establish a method to grow highly dense hexagonal nanowire networks for future BDD circuits by selective molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on (1 1 1)B substrates. The (1 1 1)B orientation is suitable for BDD architecture because of the basic three-fold symmetry of the BDD node device. The growth experiments showed complex evolution of the cross-sectional structures, and it was explained in terms of kinetics determining facet boundaries. Straight arrays of triangular nanowires with 60 nm base width as well as hexagonal arrays of trapezoidal nanowires with a node density of 7.5×10 6 cm -2 were successfully grown with the aid of computer simulation. The result shows feasibility of growing high-density hexagonal networks of GaAs nanowires with precise control of the shape and size.

Microstructure and Mechanical Behaviors of Titanium Matrix Composites Containing In Situ Whiskers Synthesized via Plasma Activated Sintering.

PubMed

Sun, Yi; Zhang, Jian; Luo, Guoqiang; Shen, Qiang; Zhang, Lianmeng

2018-04-02

In this paper, titanium matrix composites with in situ TiB whiskers were synthesized by the plasma activated sintering technique; crystalline boron and amorphous boron were used as reactants for in situ reactions, respectively. The influence of the sintering process and the crystallography type of boron on the microstructure and mechanical properties of composites were studied and compared. The densities were evaluated using Archimedes' principle. The microstructure and mechanical properties were characterized by SEM, XRD, EBSD, TEM, a universal testing machine, and a Vickers hardness tester. The prepared composite material showed a high density and excellent comprehensive performance under the PAS condition of 20 MPa at 1000 °C for 3 min. Amorphous boron had a higher reaction efficiency than crystalline boron, and it completely reacted with the titanium matrix to generate TiB whiskers, while there was still a certain amount of residual crystalline boron combining well with the titanium matrix at 1100 °C. The composite samples with a relative density of 98.33%, Vickers hardness of 389.75 HV, compression yield strength of up to 1190 MPa, and an ultimate compressive strength of up to 1710 MPa were obtained. Compared with the matrix material, the compressive strength of TC4 titanium alloy containing crystalline boron and amorphous boron was increased by 7.64% and 15.50%, respectively.

Microstructure and Mechanical Behaviors of Titanium Matrix Composites Containing In Situ Whiskers Synthesized via Plasma Activated Sintering

PubMed Central

Luo, Guoqiang; Shen, Qiang; Zhang, Lianmeng

2018-01-01

In this paper, titanium matrix composites with in situ TiB whiskers were synthesized by the plasma activated sintering technique; crystalline boron and amorphous boron were used as reactants for in situ reactions, respectively. The influence of the sintering process and the crystallography type of boron on the microstructure and mechanical properties of composites were studied and compared. The densities were evaluated using Archimedes’ principle. The microstructure and mechanical properties were characterized by SEM, XRD, EBSD, TEM, a universal testing machine, and a Vickers hardness tester. The prepared composite material showed a high density and excellent comprehensive performance under the PAS condition of 20 MPa at 1000 °C for 3 min. Amorphous boron had a higher reaction efficiency than crystalline boron, and it completely reacted with the titanium matrix to generate TiB whiskers, while there was still a certain amount of residual crystalline boron combining well with the titanium matrix at 1100 °C. The composite samples with a relative density of 98.33%, Vickers hardness of 389.75 HV, compression yield strength of up to 1190 MPa, and an ultimate compressive strength of up to 1710 MPa were obtained. Compared with the matrix material, the compressive strength of TC4 titanium alloy containing crystalline boron and amorphous boron was increased by 7.64% and 15.50%, respectively. PMID:29614842

Role of Hydrogen in High-Yield Growth of Boron Nitride Nanotubes at Atmospheric Pressure by Induction Thermal Plasma.

PubMed

Kim, Keun Su; Couillard, Martin; Shin, Homin; Plunkett, Mark; Ruth, Dean; Kingston, Christopher T; Simard, Benoit

2018-01-23

We recently demonstrated scalable manufacturing of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) directly from hexagonal BN (hBN) powder by using induction thermal plasma, with a high-yield rate approaching 20 g/h. The main finding was that the presence of hydrogen is crucial for the high-yield growth of BNNTs. Here we investigate the detailed role of hydrogen by numerical modeling and in situ optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and reveal that both the thermofluidic fields and chemical pathways are significantly altered by hydrogen in favor of rapid growth of BNNTs. The numerical simulation indicated improved particle heating and quenching rates (∼10 5 K/s) due to the high thermal conductivity of hydrogen over the temperature range of 3500-4000 K. These are crucial for the complete vaporization of the hBN feedstock and rapid formation of nanosized B droplets for the subsequent BNNT growth. Hydrogen is also found to extend the active BNNT growth zone toward the reactor downstream, maintaining the gas temperature above the B solidification limit (∼2300 K) by releasing the recombination heat of H atoms, which starts at 3800 K. The OES study revealed that H radicals also stabilize B or N radicals from dissociation of the feedstock as BH and NH radicals while suppressing the formation of N 2 or N 2 + species. Our density functional theory calculations showed that such radicals can provide faster chemical pathways for the formation of BN compared with relatively inert N 2 .

Heat pipe nuclear reactor for space power

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koening, D. R.

1976-01-01

A heat-pipe-cooled nuclear reactor has been designed to provide 3.2 MWth to an out-of-core thermionic conversion system. The reactor is a fast reactor designed to operate at a nominal heat-pipe temperature of 1675 K. Each reactor fuel element consists of a hexagonal molybdenum block which is bonded along its axis to one end of a molybdenum/lithium-vapor heat pipe. The block is perforated with an array of longitudinal holes which are loaded with UO2 pellets. The heat pipe transfers heat directly to a string of six thermionic converters which are bonded along the other end of the heat pipe. An assembly of 90 such fuel elements forms a hexagonal core. The core is surrounded by a thermal radiation shield, a thin thermal neutron absorber, and a BeO reflector containing boron-loaded control drums.

Ionizing and Non-ionizing Radiation Effects in Thin Layer Hexagonal Boron Nitride

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-01

capacitance-voltage measurements indicating Frenkel-Poole (FP) and Fowler-Nordheim tunneling (FNT) are the primary current mechanisms before and after...linear FNT model and a 0.013 eV increase in the barrier potential for the FP model. There was a decrease of 0.19 eV in the tunneling potential for the...non-linear FNT model. Defects generated by the neutron damage increased currents by increasing trap assisted tunneling (TAT). v

Negative Refraction with Superior Transmission in Graphene-Hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN) Multilayer Hyper Crystal

PubMed Central

Sayem, Ayed Al; Rahman, Md. Masudur; Mahdy, M. R. C.; Jahangir, Ifat; Rahman, Md. Saifur

2016-01-01

In this article, we have theoretically investigated the performance of graphene-hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN) multilayer structure (hyper crystal) to demonstrate all angle negative refraction along with superior transmission. hBN, one of the latest natural hyperbolic materials, can be a very strong contender to form a hyper crystal with graphene due to its excellence as a graphene-compatible substrate. Although bare hBN can exhibit negative refraction, the transmission is generally low due to its high reflectivity. Whereas due to graphene’s 2D nature and metallic characteristics in the frequency range where hBN behaves as a type-I hyperbolic material, we have found graphene-hBN hyper-crystals to exhibit all angle negative refraction with superior transmission. Interestingly, superior transmission from the whole structure can be fully controlled by the tunability of graphene without hampering the negative refraction originated mainly from hBN. We have also presented an effective medium description of the hyper crystal in the low-k limit and validated the proposed theory analytically and with full wave simulations. Along with the current extensive research on hybridization of graphene plasmon polaritons with (hyperbolic) hBN phonon polaritons, this work might have some substantial impact on this field of research and can be very useful in applications such as hyper-lensing. PMID:27146561

Direct growth of nanocrystalline hexagonal boron nitride films on dielectric substrates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tay, Roland Yingjie; Temasek Laboratories@NTU, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798; Tsang, Siu Hon

Atomically thin hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) films are primarily synthesized through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on various catalytic transition metal substrates. In this work, a single-step metal-catalyst-free approach to obtain few- to multi-layer nanocrystalline h-BN (NCBN) directly on amorphous SiO{sub 2}/Si and quartz substrates is demonstrated. The as-grown thin films are continuous and smooth with no observable pinholes or wrinkles across the entire deposited substrate as inspected using optical and atomic force microscopy. The starting layers of NCBN orient itself parallel to the substrate, initiating the growth of the textured thin film. Formation of NCBN is due to the random andmore » uncontrolled nucleation of h-BN on the dielectric substrate surface with no epitaxial relation, unlike on metal surfaces. The crystallite size is ∼25 nm as determined by Raman spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the NCBN formed sheets of multi-stacked layers with controllable thickness from ∼2 to 25 nm. The absence of transfer process in this technique avoids any additional degradation, such as wrinkles, tears or folding and residues on the film which are detrimental to device performance. This work provides a wider perspective of CVD-grown h-BN and presents a viable route towards large-scale manufacturing of h-BN substrates and for coating applications.« less

Impact ionization and transport properties of hexagonal boron nitride in a constant-voltage measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hattori, Yoshiaki; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Nagashio, Kosuke

2018-01-01

The electrical evaluation of the crystallinity of hexagonal boron nitride (h -BN) is still limited to the measurement of dielectric breakdown strength, in spite of its importance as the substrate for two-dimensional van der Waals heterostructure devices. In this study, physical phenomena for degradation and failure in exfoliated single-crystal h -BN films were investigated using the constant-voltage stress test. At low electrical fields, the current gradually reduced and saturated with time, while the current increased at electrical fields higher than ˜8 MV /cm and finally resulted in the catastrophic dielectric breakdown. These transient behaviors may be due to carrier trapping to the defect sites in h -BN because trapped carriers lower or enhance the electrical fields in h -BN depending on their polarities. The key finding is the current enhancement with time at the high electrical field, suggesting the accumulation of electrons generated by the impact ionization process. Therefore, a theoretical model including the electron generation rate by an impact ionization process was developed. The experimental data support the expected degradation mechanism of h -BN. Moreover, the impact ionization coefficient was successfully extracted, which is comparable to that of Si O2 , even though the fundamental band gap for h -BN is smaller than that for Si O2 . Therefore, the dominant impact ionization in h -BN could be band-to-band excitation, not defect-assisted impact ionization.

Pulsed laser deposition of single layer, hexagonal boron nitride (white graphene, h-BN) on fiber-oriented Ag(111)/SrTiO3(001)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velázquez, Daniel; Seibert, Rachel; Man, Hamdi; Spentzouris, Linda; Terry, Jeff

2016-03-01

We report on the growth of 1-10 ML films of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), also known as white graphene, on fiber-oriented Ag buffer films on SrTiO3(001) by pulsed laser deposition. The Ag buffer films of 40 nm thickness were used as substitutes for expensive single crystal metallic substrates. In-situ, reflection high-energy electron diffraction was used to monitor the surface structure of the Ag films and to observe the formation of the characteristic h-BN diffraction pattern. Further evidence of the growth of h-BN was provided by attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy, which showed the characteristic h-BN peaks at ˜780 cm-1 and 1367.4 cm-1. Ex-situ photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the surface of the h-BN films is stoichiometric. The physical structure of the films was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. The h-BN films grew as large, sub-millimeter sheets with nano- and micro-sheets scattered on the surface. The h-BN sheets can be exfoliated by the micromechanical adhesive tape method. Spectral analysis was performed by energy dispersive spectroscopy in order to identify the h-BN sheets after exfoliation. The use of thin film Ag allows for reduced use of Ag and makes it possible to adjust the surface morphology of the thin film prior to h-BN growth.

Spatially Resolved One-Dimensional Boundary States in Graphene-Hexagonal Boron Nitride Planar Heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Li, An-Ping; Park, Jewook; Lee, Jaekwang; ...

2014-01-01

Two-dimensional (2D) interfaces between crystalline materials have been shown to generate unusual interfacial electronic states in complex oxides1-4. Recently, a onedimensional (1D) polar-on-nonpolar interface has been realized in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and graphene heterostructures 5-10, where a coherent 1D boundary is expected to possess peculiar electronic states dictated by edge states of graphene and the polarity of hBN 11-13. Here we present a combined scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and firstprinciples theory study of the graphene-hBN boundary to provide a rare glimpse into the spatial and energetic distributions of the 1D boundary states in real-space. The interfaces studied here aremore » crystallographically coherent with sharp transitions from graphene zigzag edges to B (or N) terminated hBN atomic layers on a Cu foil substrate5. The revealed boundary states are about 0.6 eV below or above the Fermi energy depending on the termination of the hBN at the boundary, and are extended along but localized at the boundary with a lateral thickness of 2-3nm. These results suggest that unconventional physical effects similar to those observed at 2D interfaces can also exist in lower dimensions, opening a route for tuning of electronic properties at interfaces in 2D heterostructures.« less

Hexagonal boron nitride: a promising substrate for graphene with high heat dissipation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhongwei; Hu, Shiqian; Chen, Jie; Li, Baowen

2017-06-01

Supported graphene on a standard SiO2 substrate exhibits unsatisfactory heat dissipation performance that is far inferior to the intrinsic ultrahigh thermal conductivity of a suspended sample. A suitable substrate for enhancing thermal transport in supported graphene is highly desirable for the development of graphene devices for thermal management. By using molecular dynamics simulations, here we demonstrate that bulk hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a more appealing substrate to achieve high performance heat dissipation in supported graphene. Notable length dependence and high thermal conductivity are observed in h-BN-supported single-layer graphene (SLG), suggesting that the thermal transport characteristics are close to that of suspended SLG. At room temperature, the thermal conductivity of h-BN-supported SLG is as high as 1347.3 ± 20.5 Wm-1 K-1, which is about 77% of that for the suspended case, and is more than twice that of the SiO2-supported SLG. Furthermore, we find that the smooth and atomically flat h-BN substrate gives rise to a regular and weak stress distribution in graphene, resulting in a less affected phonon relaxation time and dominant phonon mean free path. We also find that stacking and rotation significantly impacts the thermal transport in h-BN-supported graphene. Our study provides valuable insights towards the design of graphene devices on realistic substrate for high performance heat dissipation applications.

A hybrid MBE-based growth method for large-area synthesis of stacked hexagonal boron nitride/graphene heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wofford, Joseph M.; Nakhaie, Siamak; Krause, Thilo; Liu, Xianjie; Ramsteiner, Manfred; Hanke, Michael; Riechert, Henning; J. Lopes, J. Marcelo

2017-02-01

Van der Waals heterostructures combining hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and graphene offer many potential advantages, but remain difficult to produce as continuous films over large areas. In particular, the growth of h-BN on graphene has proven to be challenging due to the inertness of the graphene surface. Here we exploit a scalable molecular beam epitaxy based method to allow both the h-BN and graphene to form in a stacked heterostructure in the favorable growth environment provided by a Ni(111) substrate. This involves first saturating a Ni film on MgO(111) with C, growing h-BN on the exposed metal surface, and precipitating the C back to the h-BN/Ni interface to form graphene. The resulting laterally continuous heterostructure is composed of a top layer of few-layer thick h-BN on an intermediate few-layer thick graphene, lying on top of Ni/MgO(111). Examinations by synchrotron-based grazing incidence diffraction, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and UV-Raman spectroscopy reveal that while the h-BN is relaxed, the lattice constant of graphene is significantly reduced, likely due to nitrogen doping. These results illustrate a different pathway for the production of h-BN/graphene heterostructures, and open a new perspective for the large-area preparation of heterosystems combining graphene and other 2D or 3D materials.

Thermodynamic consideration and ground-state search of icosahedral boron subselenide B12(B1-xSex) 2 from a first-principles cluster expansion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ektarawong, A.

2018-05-01

The phase stability of icosahedral boron subselenide B12(B1-xSex) 2 , where 0.5 ≤x ≤1 , is explored using a first-principles cluster expansion. The results shows that, instead of a continuous solid solution, B12(B1-xSex) 2 is thermodynamically stable as an individual line compound at the composition of B9.5Se . The ground-state configuration of B9.5Se is represented by a mixture of B12(Se-Se), B12(B-Se), and B12(Se-B) with a ratio of 1:1:1, where they form a periodic A B C A B C ⋯ stacking sequence of B12(Se-Se), B12(B-Se), and B12(Se-B) layers along the c axis of the hexagonal conventional unit cell. The structural and electronic properties of the ground-state B9.5Se are also derived and discussed. By comparing the derived ground-state properties of B9.5Se to the existing experimental data of boron subselenide B˜13Se , I proposed that the as-synthesized boron subselenide B˜13Se , as reported in the literature, has the actual composition of B9.5Se .

Effect of the hexagonal phase interlayer on rectification properties of boron nitride heterojunctions to silicon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Teii, K., E-mail: teii@asem.kyushu-u.ac.jp; Ito, H.; Katayama, N.

2015-02-07

Rectification properties of boron nitride/silicon p-n heterojunction diodes fabricated under low-energy ion impact by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition are studied in terms of the resistive sp{sup 2}-bonded boron nitride (sp{sup 2}BN) interlayer. A two-step biasing technique is developed to control the fraction of cubic boron nitride (cBN) phase and, hence, the thickness of the sp{sup 2}BN interlayer in the films. The rectification ratio at room temperature is increased up to the order of 10{sup 4} at ±10 V of biasing with increasing the sp{sup 2}BN thickness up to around 130 nm due to suppression of the reverse leakage current. The variation ofmore » the ideality factor in the low bias region is related to the interface disorders and defects, not to the sp{sup 2}BN thickness. The forward current follows the Frenkel-Poole emission model in the sp{sup 2}BN interlayer at relatively high fields when the anomalous effect is assumed. The transport of the minority carriers for reverse current is strongly limited by the high bulk resistance of the thick sp{sup 2}BN interlayer, while that of the major carriers for forward current is much less affected.« less

Catalyst-free one step synthesis of large area vertically stacked N-doped graphene-boron nitride heterostructures from biomass source.

PubMed

Esteve-Adell, Ivan; He, Jinbao; Ramiro, Fernando; Atienzar, Pedro; Primo, Ana; García, Hermenegildo

2018-03-01

A procedure for the one-step preparation of films of few-layer N-doped graphene on top of nanometric hexagonal boron nitride sheets ((N)graphene/h-BN) based on the pyrolysis at 900 °C under an inert atmosphere of a film of chitosan containing about 20 wt% of ammonium borate salt as a precursor is reported. During the pyrolysis a spontaneous segregation of (N)graphene and boron nitride layers takes place. The films were characterized by optical microscopy that shows a thin graphene overlayer covering the boron nitride layer, the latter showing characteristic cracks, and by XPS measurements at different monitoring angles from 0° to 50° where an increase in the proportion of C vs. B and N was observed. The resulting (N)graphene/h-BN films were also characterized by Raman, HRTEM, SEM, FIB-SEM and AFM. The thickness of the (N)graphene and h-BN layers can be controlled by varying the concentration of precursors and the spin coating rate and is typically below 5 nm. Electrical conductivity measurements using microelectrodes can cause the burning of the graphene layer at high intensities, while lower intensities show that (N)graphene/h-BN films behave as capacitors in the range of positive voltages.

Ultrathin-shell boron nitride hollow spheres as sorbent for dispersive solid-phase extraction of polychlorinated biphenyls from environmental water samples.

PubMed

Fu, Meizhen; Xing, Hanzhu; Chen, Xiangfeng; Chen, Fan; Wu, Chi-Man Lawrence; Zhao, Rusong; Cheng, Chuange

2014-11-21

Boron nitride hollow spheres with ultrathin-shells were synthesized and used as sorbents for dispersive solid-phase extraction of aromatic pollutants at trace levels from environmental water samples. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were selected as target compounds. Sample quantification and detection were performed by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Extraction parameters influencing the extraction efficiency were optimized through response surface methodology using the Box-Behnken design. The proposed method achieved good linearity within the concentration range of 0.15-250 ng L(-1) PCBs, low limits of detection (0.04-0.09 ng L(-1), S/N=3:1), good repeatability of the extractions (relative standard deviation, <12%, n=6), and satisfactory recoveries between 84.9% and 101.0% under optimal conditions. Real environmental samples collected from rivers, local lakes, rain and spring waters were analyzed using the developed method. Results demonstrated that the hexagonal boron nitride-based material has significant potential as a sorbent for organic pollutant extraction from environmental water samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Group-Velocity-Controlled and Gate-Tunable Directional Excitation of Polaritons in Graphene-Boron Nitride Heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Yuyu; Lin, Xiao; Low, Tony; Zhang, Baile; Chen, Hongsheng

2018-05-01

A fundamental building block in nano-photonics is the ability to directionally excite highly squeezed optical mode dynamically, particularly with an electrical bias. Such capabilities would enable the active manipulation of light propagation for information processing and transfer. However, when the optical source is built-in, it remains challenging to steer the excitation directionality in a flexible way. Here, we reveal a novel mechanism for tunable directional excitation of highly squeezed polaritons in graphene-hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) heterostructures. The effect relies on controlling the sign of the group velocity of the coupled plasmon-phonon polaritons, which can be flipped by simply tuning the chemical potential of graphene (through electrostatic gating) in the heterostructures. Graphene-hBN heterostructure thus present a promising platform toward nano-photonic circuits and nano-devices with electrically reconfigurable functionalities.

Boron nitride encapsulated copper nanoparticles: a facile one-step synthesis and their effect on thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate.

PubMed

Huang, Caijin; Liu, Qiuwen; Fan, Wenjie; Qiu, Xiaoqing

2015-11-16

Reactivity is of great importance for metal nanoparticles used as catalysts, biomaterials and advanced sensors, but seeking for high reactivity seems to be conflict with high chemical stability required for metal nanoparticles. There is a subtle balance between reactivity and stability. This could be reached for colloidal metal nanoparticles using organic capping reagents, whereas it is challenging for powder metal nanoparticles. Here, we developed an alternative approach to encapsulate copper nanoparticles with a chemical inertness material--hexagonal boron nitride. The wrapped copper nanoparticles not only exhibit high oxidation resistance under air atmosphere, but also keep excellent promoting effect on thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate. This approach opens the way to design metal nanoparticles with both high stability and reactivity for nanocatalysts and their technological application.

Boron nitride encapsulated copper nanoparticles: a facile one-step synthesis and their effect on thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

PubMed Central

Huang, Caijin; liu, Qiuwen; Fan, Wenjie; Qiu, Xiaoqing

2015-01-01

Reactivity is of great importance for metal nanoparticles used as catalysts, biomaterials and advanced sensors, but seeking for high reactivity seems to be conflict with high chemical stability required for metal nanoparticles. There is a subtle balance between reactivity and stability. This could be reached for colloidal metal nanoparticles using organic capping reagents, whereas it is challenging for powder metal nanoparticles. Here, we developed an alternative approach to encapsulate copper nanoparticles with a chemical inertness material—hexagonal boron nitride. The wrapped copper nanoparticles not only exhibit high oxidation resistance under air atmosphere, but also keep excellent promoting effect on thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate. This approach opens the way to design metal nanoparticles with both high stability and reactivity for nanocatalysts and their technological application. PMID:26567862

Thermophoretically driven water droplets on graphene and boron nitride surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajegowda, Rakesh; Kannam, Sridhar Kumar; Hartkamp, Remco; Sathian, Sarith P.

2018-05-01

We investigate thermally driven water droplet transport on graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) surfaces using molecular dynamics simulations. The two surfaces considered here have different wettabilities with a significant difference in the mode of droplet transport. The water droplet travels along a straighter path on the h-BN sheet than on graphene. The h-BN surface produced a higher driving force on the droplet than the graphene surface. The water droplet is found to move faster on h-BN surface compared to graphene surface. The instantaneous contact angle was monitored as a measure of droplet deformation during thermal transport. The characteristics of the droplet motion on both surfaces is determined through the moment scaling spectrum. The water droplet on h-BN surface showed the attributes of the super-diffusive process, whereas it was sub-diffusive on the graphene surface.

Theoretical study on third-order nonlinear optical properties in hexagonal graphene nanoflakes: Edge shape effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagai, Hiroshi; Nakano, Masayoshi; Yoneda, Kyohei; Fukui, Hitoshi; Minami, Takuya; Bonness, Sean; Kishi, Ryohei; Takahashi, Hideaki; Kubo, Takashi; Kamada, Kenji; Ohta, Koji; Champagne, Benoît; Botek, Edith

2009-08-01

Using hybrid density functional theory methods, we investigate the second hyperpolarizabilities ( γ) of hexagonal shaped finite graphene fragments, which are referred to as hexagonal graphene nanoflakes (HGNFs), with two types of edge shapes: zigzag (Z) and armchair (A) edges. It is found that Z-HGNF, which gives intermediate diradical characters ( y), exhibits about 3.3 times larger orthogonal components of γ ( γ xxxx = γ yyyy in this case) than A-HGNF, which gives zero y value (closed-shell system). The γ density analysis reveals that this enhancement originates in the significant contribution of γ densities on edge regions in Z-HGNF. These observations strongly indicate that Z-HGNF is a promising candidate of open-shell singlet NLO systems.

Sodium-Doped Mesoporous Ni2P2O7 Hexagonal Tablets for High-Performance Flexible All-Solid-State Hybrid Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Wei, Chengzhen; Cheng, Cheng; Wang, Shanshan; Xu, Yazhou; Wang, Jindi; Pang, Huan

2015-08-01

A simple hydrothermal method has been developed to prepare hexagonal tablet precursors, which are then transformed into porous sodium-doped Ni2P2O7 hexagonal tablets by a simple calcination method. The obtained samples were evaluated as electrode materials for supercapacitors. Electrochemical measurements show that the electrode based on the porous sodium-doped Ni2P2O7 hexagonal tablets exhibits a specific capacitance of 557.7 F g(-1) at a current density of 1.2 A g(-1) . Furthermore, the porous sodium-doped Ni2P2O7 hexagonal tablets were successfully used to construct flexible solid-state hybrid supercapacitors. The device is highly flexible and achieves a maximum energy density of 23.4 Wh kg(-1) and a good cycling stability after 5000 cycles, which confirms that the porous sodium-doped Ni2P2 O7 hexagonal tablets are promising active materials for flexible supercapacitors. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Electronic, Magnetic, and Transport Properties of Polyacrylonitrile-Based Carbon Nanofibers of Various Widths: Density-Functional Theory Calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Partovi-Azar, P.; Panahian Jand, S.; Kaghazchi, P.

2018-01-01

Edge termination of graphene nanoribbons is a key factor in determination of their physical and chemical properties. Here, we focus on nitrogen-terminated zigzag graphene nanoribbons resembling polyacrylonitrile-based carbon nanofibers (CNFs) which are widely studied in energy research. In particular, we investigate magnetic, electronic, and transport properties of these CNFs as functions of their widths using density-functional theory calculations together with the nonequilibrium Green's function method. We report on metallic behavior of all the CNFs considered in this study and demonstrate that the narrow CNFs show finite magnetic moments. The spin-polarized electronic states in these fibers exhibit similar spin configurations on both edges and result in spin-dependent transport channels in the narrow CNFs. We show that the partially filled nitrogen dangling-bond bands are mainly responsible for the ferromagnetic spin ordering in the narrow samples. However, the magnetic moment becomes vanishingly small in the case of wide CNFs where the dangling-bond bands fall below the Fermi level and graphenelike transport properties arising from the π orbitals are recovered. The magnetic properties of the CNFs as well as their stability have also been discussed in the presence of water molecules and the hexagonal boron nitride substrate.

Efficient Carrier-to-Exciton Conversion in Field Emission Tunnel Diodes Based on MIS-Type van der Waals Heterostack.

PubMed

Wang, Shunfeng; Wang, Junyong; Zhao, Weijie; Giustiniano, Francesco; Chu, Leiqiang; Verzhbitskiy, Ivan; Zhou Yong, Justin; Eda, Goki

2017-08-09

We report on efficient carrier-to-exciton conversion and planar electroluminescence from tunnel diodes based on a metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) van der Waals heterostack consisting of few-layer graphene (FLG), hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), and monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS 2 ). These devices exhibit excitonic electroluminescence with extremely low threshold current density of a few pA·μm -2 , which is several orders of magnitude lower compared to the previously reported values for the best planar EL devices. Using a reference dye, we estimate the EL quantum efficiency to be ∼1% at low current density limit, which is of the same order of magnitude as photoluminescence quantum yield at the equivalent excitation rate. Our observations reveal that the efficiency of our devices is not limited by carrier-to-exciton conversion efficiency but by the inherent exciton-to-photon yield of the material. The device characteristics indicate that the light emission is triggered by injection of hot minority carriers (holes) to n-doped WS 2 by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling and that hBN serves as an efficient hole-transport and electron-blocking layer. Our findings offer insight into the intelligent design of van der Waals heterostructures and avenues for realizing efficient excitonic devices.

High density crystalline boron prepared by hot isostatic pressing in refractory metal containers

DOEpatents

Hoenig, C.L.

1993-08-31

Boron powder is hot isostatically pressed in a refractory metal container to produce a solid boron monolith with a bulk density at least 2.22 g/cc and up to or greater than 2.34 g/cc. The refractory metal container is formed of tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum or alloys thereof in the form of a canister or alternatively plasma sprayed or chemical vapor deposited onto a powder compact. Hot isostatic pressing at 1,800 C and 30 PSI (206.8 MPa) argon pressure for four hours produces a bulk density of 2.34 g/cc. Complex shapes can be made.

High density crystalline boron prepared by hot isostatic pressing in refractory metal containers

DOEpatents

Hoenig, Clarence L.

1993-01-01

Boron powder is hot isostatically pressed in a refractory metal container to produce a solid boron monolith with a bulk density at least 2.22 g/cc and up to or greater than 2.34 g/cc. The refractory metal container is formed of tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum or alloys thereof in the form of a canister or alternatively plasma sprayed or chemical vapor deposited onto a powder compact. Hot isostatic pressing at 1800.degree. C. and 30 KSI (206.8 MPa) argon pressure for four hours produces a bulk density of 2.34 g/cc. Complex shapes can be made.

Electronic properties of hexagonal gallium phosphide: A DFT investigation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kumar, Vipin; Shah, Esha V.; Roy, Debesh R., E-mail: drr@ashd.svnit.ac.in

2016-05-23

A detail density functional investigation is performed to develop hexagonal 2D gallium phosphide material. The geometry, band structure and density of states (total and projected) of 2D hexagonal GaP are reported in detail. It is heartening to note that the developed material is identified as an indirect band gap semiconductor. The indirect gap for this material is predicted as 1.97 eV at K-Γ, and a direct gap of 2.28 eV at K point is achieved, which is very close to the reported direct band gap for zinc blende and buckled structures of GaP.

A Density Functional Theory Study of New Boron Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhao-Hua; Xie, Zun

2017-11-01

Using first-principles calculations, a series of new boron nanotubes (BNTs), which show various electronic properties, were theoretically predicted. Stable nanotubes with various chiral vectors and diameters can be formed by rolling up the boron sheet with relative stability [H. Tang and S. I. Beigi, Phys. Rev. B 82, 115412 (2010).]. By increasing the diameter for BNT, the stability is enhanced. The calculated density of states and band structures demonstrate that all the predicted BNTs are metallic, regardless of their diameter and chirality. The multicentre chemical bonds of the relatively stable boron sheet and BNTs are analysed using the deformation electron density. Within our study, the BNTs all have metallic conductive characteristics, in addition to having a low effective quality and high carrier concentration, which are very good nanoconductive material properties and could be combined to form high-power electrodes for lithium-ion batteries such as those used in many modern electronics.

Structural Characterization of Atomically Thin Hexagonal Boron Nitride via Raman Spectroscopy

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

thickness and the use of depth profiling to maximize spectral returns. Chapter 3 also outlines the experimental set-up and procedures related to...section. 46 Figure 4.8: Unaltered spectral return of both Site 1 (A) and Site 2 ( B ). As to be expected the relative intensity of the Raman...Dent, Modern Raman Spectroscopy : A Practical Approach. Wiley, 2006, p. 224. 59 25. A. B . Kaul, E. W . Wong, L. Epp, and B . D. Hunt, “Two

Moiré assisted fractional quantum Hall state spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Wu, Fengcheng; MacDonald, A. H.

2016-12-14

Intra-Landau level excitations in the fractional quantum Hall regime are not accessible via optical absorption measurements. Here we point out that optical probes are enabled by the periodic potentials produced by a moire pattern. Our observation is motivated by the recent observations of fractional quantum Hall incompressible states in moire-patterned graphene on a hexagonal boron nitride substrate, and is theoretically based on f-sum rule considerations supplemented by a perturbative analysis of the influence of the moire potential on many-body states.

Synthesis of Few-Layer, Large Area Hexagonal-Boron Nitride by Pulsed Laser Deposition (POSTPRINT)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

methods. Analysis of the as-deposited films reveals epitaxial- like growth on the nearly lattice matched HOPG substrate, resulting in a polycrystalline ɦ...epitaxial like growth on the nearly lattice matched HOPG substrate, resulting in a polycrystalline h BN film, and amorphous BN (a BN) on the sapphire...BNxOy observed as a shoulder on the B 1s spectra is seen in other polycrystalline h BN films [16], and is most likely due to exposure to ambient

[Plasma temperature of white-eye hexagonal pattern in dielectric barrier discharge].

PubMed

Zhao, Yang; Dong, Li-fang; Fu, Hong-yan

2015-01-01

By using the water-electrode discharge experimental setup, the white-eye hexagonal pattern is firstly observed and investigated in the dielectric barrier discharge with the mixture of argon and air whose content can be varied whenever necessary, and the study shows that the white-eye cell is an interleaving of three different hexagonal sub-structures: the spot, the ring, and the halo. The white-eye hexagonal pattern has the excellent discharge stability and sustainability during the experiment. Pictures recorded by ordinary camera with long exposure time in the same argon content condition show that the spot, the ring, and the halo of the white-eye hexagonal pattern have different brightness, which may prove that their plasma states are different. And, it is worth noting that there are obvious differences not only on the brightness but also on the color of the white-eye cell in conditions of different argon content, which shows that its plasma state also changed with the variation of the argon content. The white-eye hexagonal pattern is observed at a lower applied voltage so that the temperature of the water electrodes almost keeps unchanged during the whole experiment, which is advantageous for the long term stable measurement. The plasma state will not be affected by the temperature of the electrodes during the continuous discharge. Based on the above phenomena, plasma temperatures of the spot, the ring, and the halo in white-eye hexagonal pattern including molecule vibrational temperature and variations of electron density at different argon content are investigated by means of optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The emission spectra of the N2 second positive band(C3Πu-->B3Πg)are measured, and the molecule vibrational temperature of the spot, the ring, and the halo of the white-eye hexagonal pattern are calculated by the emission intensities. Furthermore, emission spectra of Ar I (2P2-->1S5)is collected and the changes of its width with different argon content are used to estimate the variations of electron density of the spot, the ring, and the halo of the white-eye hexagonal pattern. In the same argon content condition, the molecule vibrational temperatures of halo, ring, and spot in the white-eye hexagonal pattern are in descending order, while the electron densities of halo, ring, and spot are in ascending order. With argon content increasing from 70% to 90%, both the molecule vibrational temperature and the electron density of the spot increase, while both of them of the halo decrease. And the molecule vibrational temperature of the ring keeps constant, while its electron density decreases. The experimental results indicate that the plasma state of the spot, the halo and the ring in a white-eye cell of the white-eye hexagonal pattern is different. These results are of great importance to the investigation of the multilayer structure of the patterns in dielectric barrier discharge and applications in industry.

Fabrication of nickel hydroxide electrodes with open-ended hexagonal nanotube arrays for high capacitance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Wu, Mao-Sung; Huang, Kuo-Chih

2011-11-28

A nickel hydroxide electrode with open-ended hexagonal nanotube arrays, prepared by hydrolysis of nickel chloride in the presence of hexagonal ZnO nanorods, shows a very high capacitance of 1328 F g(-1) at a discharge current density of 1 A g(-1) due to the significantly improved ion transport.

Effect of different thickness h-BN coatings on interface shear strength of quartz fiber reinforced Sisbnd Osbnd Csbnd N composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shubin; Zheng, Yu

2014-02-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) coatings with different thickness were prepared on quartz fibers to improve mechanical properties of quartz fiber reinforced Sisbnd Osbnd Csbnd N composite. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), push-out test and single edge notched beam (SENB) in three point bending test were employed to study morphology, interface shear strength and fracture toughness of the composite. The results showed that h-BN coatings changed the crack growth direction and weaken the interface shear strength efficiently. When the h-BN coating was 308.2 nm, the interface shear strength was about 5.2 MPa, which was about one-quarter of that of the sample without h-BN coatings. After the heating process for obtaining composite, the h-BN nanometer-sized grains would grow up to micron-sized hexagonal grains. Different thickness h-BN coatings had different structure. When the coatings were relatively thin, the hexagonal grains were single layer structure, and when the coatings were thicker, the hexagonal grains were multiple layer structure. This multiple layer interface phase would consume more power of cracks, thus interface shear strength of the composite decreased steadily with the increasing of h-BN coatings thickness. When the coating thickness was 238.8 nm, KIC reaches the peak value 3.8 MPa m1/2, which was more than two times of that of composites without h-BN coatings.

Hexagonal Uniformly Redundant Arrays (HURAs) for scintillator based coded aperture neutron imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gamage, K.A.A.; Zhou, Q.

2015-07-01

A series of Monte Carlo simulations have been conducted, making use of the EJ-426 neutron scintillator detector, to investigate the potential of using hexagonal uniformly redundant arrays (HURAs) for scintillator based coded aperture neutron imaging. This type of scintillator material has a low sensitivity to gamma rays, therefore, is of particular use in a system with a source that emits both neutrons and gamma rays. The simulations used an AmBe source, neutron images have been produced using different coded-aperture materials (boron- 10, cadmium-113 and gadolinium-157) and location error has also been estimated. In each case the neutron image clearly showsmore » the location of the source with a relatively small location error. Neutron images with high resolution can be easily used to identify and locate nuclear materials precisely in nuclear security and nuclear decommissioning applications. (authors)« less

Conductivity equations of protons transporting through 2D crystals obtained with the rate process theory and free volume concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Tian; Xu, Yuanze; Hao, Ting

2018-04-01

The Eyring's rate process theory and free volume concept are employed to treat protons (or other particles) transporting through a 2D (two dimensional) crystal like graphene and hexagonal boron nitride. The protons are assumed to be activated first in order to participate conduction and the conduction rate is dependent on how much free volume available in the system. The obtained proton conductivity equations show that only the number of conduction protons, proton size and packing structure, and the energy barrier associated with 2D crystals are critical; the quantization conductance is unexpectedly predicted with a simple Arrhenius type temperature dependence. The predictions agree well with experimental observations and clear out many puzzles like much smaller energy barrier determined from experiments than from the density function calculations and isotope separation rate independent of the energy barrier of 2D crystals, etc. Our work may deepen our understandings on how protons transport through a membrane and has direct implications on hydrogen related technology and proton involved bioprocesses.

Few-layer and symmetry-breaking effects on the electrical properties of ordered CF3Cl phases on graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morales-Cifuentes, Josue; Wang, Yilin; Reutt-Robey, Janice; Einstein, T. L.

2014-03-01

An effective pseudopotential mechanism for breaking the inherent sub-lattice symmetry of graphene has been studied using DFT calculations on hexagonal boron nitride. Electrical detection of CF3Cl phase transitions on graphene shows the existence of a commensurate ordered phase in which this can be tested. We study the electronic properties of this phase using VASP ver 5.3.3, with ab initio van der Waals density functionals (vdW-DF1 and vdW-DF2). Consistent with a physisorbed phase, binding energies and charge transfer per CF3Cl molecule are calculated to be on the order of 280meV and 0.01e, respectively. By exploring different coverages and orientations of this ordered phase we are able to open a band gap in some configurations; said gap is in the range of 8 to 80meV depending on the strength of the effective pseudopotential. Furthermore, we calculate the screening of these effects in bi-layer and tri-layer graphene. Work supported by NSF-MRSEC at UMD, grant DMR 05-20471 and NSF-CHE 13-05892.

Two-dimensional materials as catalysts for energy conversion

DOE PAGES

Siahrostami, Samira; Tsai, Charlie; Karamad, Mohammadreza; ...

2016-08-24

Although large efforts have been dedicated to studying two-dimensional materials for catalysis, a rationalization of the associated trends in their intrinsic activity has so far been elusive. In the present work we employ density functional theory to examine a variety of two-dimensional materials, including, carbon based materials, hexagonal boron nitride ( h-BN), transition metal dichalcogenides (e.g. MoS 2, MoSe 2) and layered oxides, to give an overview of the trends in adsorption energies. By examining key reaction intermediates relevant to the oxygen reduction, and oxygen evolution reactions we find that binding energies largely follow the linear scaling relationships observed formore » pure metals. Here, this observation is very important as it suggests that the same simplifying assumptions made to correlate descriptors with reaction rates in transition metal catalysts are also valid for the studied two-dimensional materials. By means of these scaling relations, for each reaction we also identify several promising candidates that are predicted to exhibit a comparable activity to the state-of-the-art catalysts.« less

B38: an all-boron fullerene analogue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Jian; Wang, Yanchao; Zhu, Li; Ma, Yanming

2014-09-01

Fullerene-like structures formed by elements other than carbon have long been sought. Finding all-boron (B) fullerene-like structures is challenging due to the geometrical frustration arising from competitions among various structural motifs. We report here the prediction of a B38 fullerene analogue found through first-principles swarm structure searching calculations. The structure is highly symmetric and consists of 56 triangles and four hexagons, which provide an optimal void in the center of the cage. Energetically, it is more favorable than the planar and tubular structures, and possesses an unusually high chemical stability: a large energy gap (~2.25 eV) and a high double aromaticity, superior to those of most aromatic quasi-planar B12 and double-ring B20 clusters. Our findings represent a key step forward towards to the understanding of structures of medium-sized B clusters and map out the experimental direction of the synthesis of an all-B fullerene analogue.Fullerene-like structures formed by elements other than carbon have long been sought. Finding all-boron (B) fullerene-like structures is challenging due to the geometrical frustration arising from competitions among various structural motifs. We report here the prediction of a B38 fullerene analogue found through first-principles swarm structure searching calculations. The structure is highly symmetric and consists of 56 triangles and four hexagons, which provide an optimal void in the center of the cage. Energetically, it is more favorable than the planar and tubular structures, and possesses an unusually high chemical stability: a large energy gap (~2.25 eV) and a high double aromaticity, superior to those of most aromatic quasi-planar B12 and double-ring B20 clusters. Our findings represent a key step forward towards to the understanding of structures of medium-sized B clusters and map out the experimental direction of the synthesis of an all-B fullerene analogue. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr01846j

Density functional calculations of the Mössbauer parameters in hexagonal ferrite SrFe12O19

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeno, Hidekazu

2018-03-01

Mössbauer parameters in a magnetoplumbite-type hexagonal ferrite, SrFe12O19, are computed using the all-electron band structure calculation based on the density functional theory. The theoretical isomer shift and quadrupole splitting are consistent with experimentally obtained values. The absolute values of hyperfine splitting parameters are found to be underestimated, but the relative scale can be reproduced. The present results validate the site-dependence of Mössbauer parameters obtained by analyzing experimental spectra of hexagonal ferrites. The results also show the usefulness of theoretical calculations for increasing the reliability of interpretation of the Mössbauer spectra.

Hexagon solar power panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rubin, I. (Inventor)

1978-01-01

A solar energy panel support is described upon which silicon cells are arrayed. The cells are wafer thin and of two geometrical types, both of the same area and electrical rating, namely hexagon cells and hourglass cells. The hourglass cells are composites of half hexagons. A near perfect nesting relationship of the cells achieves a high density packing whereby optimum energy production per panel area is achieved.

Hexagon solar power panel

DOEpatents

Rubin, Irwin

1978-01-01

A solar energy panel comprises a support upon which silicon cells are arrayed. The cells are wafer thin and of two geometrical types, both of the same area and electrical rating, namely hexagon cells and hourglass cells. The hourglass cells are composites of half hexagons. A near perfect nesting relationship of the cells achieves a high density packing whereby optimum energy production per panel area is achieved.

Doping Level of Boron-Doped Diamond Electrodes Controls the Grafting Density of Functional Groups for DNA Assays.

PubMed

Švorc, Ĺubomír; Jambrec, Daliborka; Vojs, Marian; Barwe, Stefan; Clausmeyer, Jan; Michniak, Pavol; Marton, Marián; Schuhmann, Wolfgang

2015-09-02

The impact of different doping levels of boron-doped diamond on the surface functionalization was investigated by means of electrochemical reduction of aryldiazonium salts. The grafting efficiency of 4-nitrophenyl groups increased with the boron levels (B/C ratio from 0 to 20,000 ppm). Controlled grafting of nitrophenyldiazonium was used to adjust the amount of immobilized single-stranded DNA strands at the surface and further on the hybridization yield in dependence on the boron doping level. The grafted nitro functions were electrochemically reduced to the amine moieties. Subsequent functionalization with a succinic acid introduced carboxyl groups for subsequent binding of an amino-terminated DNA probe. DNA hybridization significantly depends on the probe density which is in turn dependent on the boron doping level. The proposed approach opens new insights for the design and control of doped diamond surface functionalization for the construction of DNA hybridization assays.

Ultralow-loss polaritons in isotopically pure boron nitride.

PubMed

Giles, Alexander J; Dai, Siyuan; Vurgaftman, Igor; Hoffman, Timothy; Liu, Song; Lindsay, Lucas; Ellis, Chase T; Assefa, Nathanael; Chatzakis, Ioannis; Reinecke, Thomas L; Tischler, Joseph G; Fogler, Michael M; Edgar, J H; Basov, D N; Caldwell, Joshua D

2018-02-01

Conventional optical components are limited to size scales much larger than the wavelength of light, as changes to the amplitude, phase and polarization of the electromagnetic fields are accrued gradually along an optical path. However, advances in nanophotonics have produced ultrathin, so-called 'flat' optical components that beget abrupt changes in these properties over distances significantly shorter than the free-space wavelength. Although high optical losses still plague many approaches, phonon polariton (PhP) materials have demonstrated long lifetimes for sub-diffractional modes in comparison to plasmon-polariton-based nanophotonics. We experimentally observe a threefold improvement in polariton lifetime through isotopic enrichment of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Commensurate increases in the polariton propagation length are demonstrated via direct imaging of polaritonic standing waves by means of infrared nano-optics. Our results provide the foundation for a materials-growth-directed approach aimed at realizing the loss control necessary for the development of PhP-based nanophotonic devices.

Ultralow-loss polaritons in isotopically pure boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giles, Alexander J.; Dai, Siyuan; Vurgaftman, Igor; Hoffman, Timothy; Liu, Song; Lindsay, Lucas; Ellis, Chase T.; Assefa, Nathanael; Chatzakis, Ioannis; Reinecke, Thomas L.; Tischler, Joseph G.; Fogler, Michael M.; Edgar, J. H.; Basov, D. N.; Caldwell, Joshua D.

2018-02-01

Conventional optical components are limited to size scales much larger than the wavelength of light, as changes to the amplitude, phase and polarization of the electromagnetic fields are accrued gradually along an optical path. However, advances in nanophotonics have produced ultrathin, so-called `flat' optical components that beget abrupt changes in these properties over distances significantly shorter than the free-space wavelength. Although high optical losses still plague many approaches, phonon polariton (PhP) materials have demonstrated long lifetimes for sub-diffractional modes in comparison to plasmon-polariton-based nanophotonics. We experimentally observe a threefold improvement in polariton lifetime through isotopic enrichment of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Commensurate increases in the polariton propagation length are demonstrated via direct imaging of polaritonic standing waves by means of infrared nano-optics. Our results provide the foundation for a materials-growth-directed approach aimed at realizing the loss control necessary for the development of PhP-based nanophotonic devices.

Effect of substrate temperature in the synthesis of BN nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sajjad, M.; Zhang, H. X.; Peng, X. Y.; Feng, P. X.

2011-06-01

Boron nitride (BN) nanostructures were grown on molybdenum discs at different substrate temperatures using the short-pulse laser plasma deposition technique. Large numbers of randomly oriented nanorods of fiber-like structures were obtained. The variation in the length and diameter of the nanorods as a function of the substrate temperature was systematically studied. The surface morphologies of the samples were studied using scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy confirmed that both the elements boron and nitrogen are dominant in the nanostructure. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was used to analyse BN phases. The XRD peak that appeared at 26° showed the presence of hexagonal BN phase, whereas the peak at 44° was related to cubic BN content in the samples. Raman spectroscopic analysis showed vibrational modes of sp2- and sp3-type bonding in the sample. The Raman spectra agreed well with XRD results.

Thermal Conductivity Performance of Polypropylene Composites Filled with Polydopamine-Functionalized Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

PubMed

Chen, Lin; Xu, Hong-Fei; He, Shao-Jian; Du, Yi-Hang; Yu, Nan-Jie; Du, Xiao-Ze; Lin, Jun; Nazarenko, Sergei

2017-01-01

Mussel-inspired approach was attempted to non-covalently functionalize the surfaces of boron nitride (BN) with self-polymerized dopamine coatings in order to reduce the interfacial thermal barrier and enhance the thermal conductivity of BN-containing composites. Compared to the polypropylene (PP) composites filled with pristine BN at the same filler content, thermal conductivity was much higher for those filled with both functionalized BN (f-BN) and maleic anhydride grafted PP (PP-g-ma) due to the improved filler dispersion and better interfacial filler-matrix compatibility, which facilitated the development of more thermal paths. Theoretical models were also applied to predict the composite thermal conductivity in which the Nielsen model was found to fit well with the experimental results, and the estimated effective aspect ratio of fillers well corresponded to the degree of filler aggregation as observed in the morphological study.

Thermal Conductivity Performance of Polypropylene Composites Filled with Polydopamine-Functionalized Hexagonal Boron Nitride

PubMed Central

Xu, Hong-Fei; He, Shao-Jian; Du, Yi-Hang; Yu, Nan-Jie; Du, Xiao-Ze; Lin, Jun; Nazarenko, Sergei

2017-01-01

Mussel-inspired approach was attempted to non-covalently functionalize the surfaces of boron nitride (BN) with self-polymerized dopamine coatings in order to reduce the interfacial thermal barrier and enhance the thermal conductivity of BN-containing composites. Compared to the polypropylene (PP) composites filled with pristine BN at the same filler content, thermal conductivity was much higher for those filled with both functionalized BN (f-BN) and maleic anhydride grafted PP (PP-g-ma) due to the improved filler dispersion and better interfacial filler-matrix compatibility, which facilitated the development of more thermal paths. Theoretical models were also applied to predict the composite thermal conductivity in which the Nielsen model was found to fit well with the experimental results, and the estimated effective aspect ratio of fillers well corresponded to the degree of filler aggregation as observed in the morphological study. PMID:28107466

First-principles engineering of charged defects for two-dimensional quantum technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Feng; Galatas, Andrew; Sundararaman, Ravishankar; Rocca, Dario; Ping, Yuan

2017-12-01

Charged defects in two-dimensional (2D) materials have emerging applications in quantum technologies such as quantum emitters and quantum computation. The advancement of these technologies requires a rational design of ideal defect centers, demanding reliable computation methods for the quantitatively accurate prediction of defect properties. We present an accurate, parameter-free, and efficient procedure to evaluate the quasiparticle defect states and thermodynamic charge transition levels of defects in 2D materials. Importantly, we solve critical issues that stem from the strongly anisotropic screening in 2D materials, that have so far precluded the accurate prediction of charge transition levels in these materials. Using this procedure, we investigate various defects in monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h -BN ) for their charge transition levels, stable spin states, and optical excitations. We identify CBVN (nitrogen vacancy adjacent to carbon substitution of boron) to be the most promising defect candidate for scalable quantum bit and emitter applications.

Thermophoretically driven water droplets on graphene and boron nitride surfaces.

PubMed

Rajegowda, Rakesh; Kannam, Sridhar Kumar; Hartkamp, Remco; Sathian, Sarith P

2018-05-25

We investigate thermally driven water droplet transport on graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) surfaces using molecular dynamics simulations. The two surfaces considered here have different wettabilities with a significant difference in the mode of droplet transport. The water droplet travels along a straighter path on the h-BN sheet than on graphene. The h-BN surface produced a higher driving force on the droplet than the graphene surface. The water droplet is found to move faster on h-BN surface compared to graphene surface. The instantaneous contact angle was monitored as a measure of droplet deformation during thermal transport. The characteristics of the droplet motion on both surfaces is determined through the moment scaling spectrum. The water droplet on h-BN surface showed the attributes of the super-diffusive process, whereas it was sub-diffusive on the graphene surface.

B38: an all-boron fullerene analogue.

PubMed

Lv, Jian; Wang, Yanchao; Zhu, Li; Ma, Yanming

2014-10-21

Fullerene-like structures formed by elements other than carbon have long been sought. Finding all-boron (B) fullerene-like structures is challenging due to the geometrical frustration arising from competitions among various structural motifs. We report here the prediction of a B38 fullerene analogue found through first-principles swarm structure searching calculations. The structure is highly symmetric and consists of 56 triangles and four hexagons, which provide an optimal void in the center of the cage. Energetically, it is more favorable than the planar and tubular structures, and possesses an unusually high chemical stability: a large energy gap (∼2.25 eV) and a high double aromaticity, superior to those of most aromatic quasi-planar B12 and double-ring B20 clusters. Our findings represent a key step forward towards to the understanding of structures of medium-sized B clusters and map out the experimental direction of the synthesis of an all-B fullerene analogue.

Thermo-mechanical improvement of Inconel 718 using ex situ boron nitride-reinforced composites processed by laser powder bed fusion.

PubMed

Kim, Sang Hoon; Shin, Gi-Hun; Kim, Byoung-Kee; Kim, Kyung Tae; Yang, Dong-Yeol; Aranas, Clodualdo; Choi, Joon-Phil; Yu, Ji-Hun

2017-10-30

Hexagonal boron nitride-reinforced Inconel 718 (h-BN/IN718) composites were fabricated using a laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technique to treat a nanosheet-micropowder precursor mixture prepared in a mechanical blending process. Tailoring the BN in IN718 enhanced the thermal resistance of the composites, thereby dampening the sharpness of the melting temperature peak at 1364 °C. This is because the presence of the BN reinforcement, which has a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), resulted in a heat-blocking effect within the matrix. Following this lead, we found that the BN (2.29 g/cm 3 ) was uniformly distributed and strongly embedded in the IN718 (8.12 g/cm 3 ), with the lowest alloy density value (7.03 g/cm 3 ) being obtained after the addition of 12 vol% BN. Consequently, its specific hardness and compressive strength rose to 41.7 Hv 0.5 ·cm 3 /g and 92.4 MPa·cm 3 /g, respectively, compared to the unreinforced IN718 alloy with 38.7 Hv 0.5 ·cm 3 /g and 89.4 MPa·cm 3 /g, respectively. Most importantly, we discovered that the wear resistance of the composite improved compared to the unreinforced IN718, indicated by a decrease in the coefficient of friction (COF) from 0.43 to 0.31 at 2400 s. This is because the BN has an exfoliated surface and intrinsically high sliding and lubricating characteristics.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Han,W.Q.

Boron nitride (BN) is a synthetic binary compound located between III and V group elements in the Periodic Table. However, its properties, in terms of polymorphism and mechanical characteristics, are rather close to those of carbon compared with other III-V compounds, such as gallium nitride. BN crystallizes into a layered or a tetrahedrally linked structure, like those of graphite and diamond, respectively, depending on the conditions of its preparation, especially the pressure applied. Such correspondence between BN and carbon readily can be understood from their isoelectronic structures [1, 2]. On the other hand, in contrast to graphite, layered BN ismore » transparent and is an insulator. This material has attracted great interest because, similar to carbon, it exists in various polymorphic forms exhibiting very different properties; however, these forms do not correspond strictly to those of carbon. Crystallographically, BN is classified into four polymorphic forms: Hexagonal BN (h-BN) (Figure 1(b)); rhombohedral BN (r-BN); cubic BN (c-BN); and wurtzite BN (w-BN). BN does not occur in nature. In 1842, Balmain [3] obtained BN as a reaction product between molten boric oxide and potassium cyanide under atmospheric pressure. Thereafter, many methods for its synthesis were reported. h-BN and r-BN are formed under ambient pressure. c-BN is synthesized from h-BN under high pressure at high temperature while w-BN is prepared from h-BN under high pressure at room temperature [1]. Each BN layer consists of stacks of hexagonal plate-like units of boron and nitrogen atoms linked by SP{sup 2} hybridized orbits and held together mainly by Van der Waals force (Fig 1(b)). The hexagonal polymorph has two-layered repeating units: AA'AA'... that differ from those in graphite: ABAB... (Figure 1(a)). Within the layers of h-BN there is coincidence between the same phases of the hexagons, although the boron atoms and nitrogen atoms are alternatively located along the c-axis. The rhombohedral system consists of three-layered units: ABCABC..., whose honeycomb layers are arranged in a shifted phase, like as those of graphite. Reflecting its weak interlayer bond, the h-BN can be cleaved easily along its layers, and hence, is widely used as a lubricant material. The material is stable up to a high temperature of 2300 C before decomposition sets in [2] does not fuse a nitrogen atmosphere of 1 atm, and thus, is applicable as a refractory material. Besides having such properties, similar to those of graphite, the material is transparent, and acts as a good electric insulator, especially at high temperatures (10{sup 6} {Omega}m at 1000 C) [1]. c-BN and w-BN are tetrahedrally linked BN. The former has a cubic sphalerite-type structure, and the latter has a hexagonal wurtzite-type structure. c-BN is the second hardest known material (the hardest is diamond), the so-called white diamond. It is used mainly for grinding and cutting industrial ferrous materials because it does not react with molten iron, nickel, and related alloys at high temperatures whereas diamond does [1]. It displays the second highest thermal conductivity (6-9 W/cm.deg) after diamond. This chapter focuses principally upon information about h-BN nanomaterials, mainly BN nanotubes (BNNTs), porous BN, mono- and few-layer-BN sheets. There are good reviews book chapters about c-BN in [1, 4-6].« less

Magnetron sputtered boron films and TI/B multilayer structures

DOEpatents

Makowiecki, Daniel M.; Jankowski, Alan F.

1993-01-01

A method is described for the production of thin boron and titanium/boron films by magnetron sputter deposition. The amorphous boron films contain no morphological growth features, unlike those found when thin films are prepared by various physical vapor deposition processes. Magnetron sputter deposition method requires the use of a high density crystalline boron sputter target which is prepared by hot isostatic pressing. Thin boron films prepared by this method are useful for ultra-thin band pass filters as well as the low Z element in low Z/high Z mirrors which enhance reflectivity from grazing to normal incidence.

Magnetron sputtered boron films and Ti/B multilayer structures

DOEpatents

Makowiecki, Daniel M.; Jankowski, Alan F.

1995-01-01

A method is described for the production of thin boron and titanium/boron films by magnetron sputter deposition. The amorphous boron films contain no morphological growth features, unlike those found when thin films are prepared by various physical vapor deposition processes. Magnetron sputter deposition method requires the use of a high density crystalline boron sputter target which is prepared by hot isostatic pressing. Thin boron films prepared by this method are useful for ultra-thin band pass filters as well as the low Z element in low Z/high Z mirrors which enhance reflectivity from grazing to normal incidence.

Magnetron sputtered boron films and TI/B multilayer structures

DOEpatents

Makowiecki, D.M.; Jankowski, A.F.

1993-04-20

A method is described for the production of thin boron and titanium/boron films by magnetron sputter deposition. The amorphous boron films contain no morphological growth features, unlike those found when thin films are prepared by various physical vapor deposition processes. Magnetron sputter deposition method requires the use of a high density crystalline boron sputter target which is prepared by hot isostatic pressing. Thin boron films prepared by this method are useful for ultra-thin band pass filters as well as the low Z element in low Z/high Z mirrors which enhance reflectivity from grazing to normal incidence.

Magnetron sputtered boron films and Ti/B multilayer structures

DOEpatents

Makowiecki, D.M.; Jankowski, A.F.

1995-02-14

A method is described for the production of thin boron and titanium/boron films by magnetron sputter deposition. The amorphous boron films contain no morphological growth features, unlike those found when thin films are prepared by various physical vapor deposition processes. Magnetron sputter deposition method requires the use of a high density crystalline boron sputter target which is prepared by hot isostatic pressing. Thin boron films prepared by this method are useful for ultra-thin band pass filters as well as the low Z element in low Z/high Z mirrors which enhance reflectivity from grazing to normal incidence. 6 figs.

High hardness BaCb-(BxOy/BN) composites with 3D mesh-like fine grain-boundary structure by reactive spark plasma sintering.

PubMed

Vasylkiv, Oleg; Borodianska, Hanna; Badica, Petre; Grasso, Salvatore; Sakka, Yoshio; Tok, Alfred; Su, Liap Tat; Bosman, Michael; Ma, Jan

2012-02-01

Boron carbide B4C powders were subject to reactive spark plasma sintering (also known as field assisted sintering, pulsed current sintering or plasma assisted sintering) under nitrogen atmosphere. For an optimum hexagonal BN (h-BN) content estimated from X-ray diffraction measurements at approximately 0.4 wt%, the as-prepared BaCb-(BxOy/BN) ceramic shows values of Berkovich and Vickers hardness of 56.7 +/- 3.1 GPa and 39.3 +/- 7.6 GPa, respectively. These values are higher than for the vacuum SPS processed B4C pristine sample and the h-BN -mechanically-added samples. XRD and electronic microscopy data suggest that in the samples produced by reactive SPS in N2 atmosphere, and containing an estimated amount of 0.3-1.5% h-BN, the crystallite size of the boron carbide grains is decreasing with the increasing amount of N2, while for the newly formed lamellar h-BN the crystallite size is almost constant (approximately 30-50 nm). BN is located at the grain boundaries between the boron carbide grains and it is wrapped and intercalated by a thin layer of boron oxide. BxOy/BN forms a fine and continuous 3D mesh-like structure that is a possible reason for good mechanical properties.

Catalytically-etched hexagonal boron nitride flakes and their surface activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Do-Hyun; Lee, Minwoo; Ye, Bora; Jang, Ho-Kyun; Kim, Gyu Tae; Lee, Dong-Jin; Kim, Eok-Soo; Kim, Hong Dae

2017-04-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a ceramic compound which is thermally stable up to 1000 °C in air. Due to this, it is a very challenging task to etch h-BN under air atmosphere at low temperature. In this study, we report that h-BN flakes can be easily etched by oxidation at 350 °C under air atmosphere in the presence of transition metal (TM) oxide. After selecting Co, Cu, and Zn elements as TM precursors, we simply oxidized h-BN sheets impregnated with the TM precursors at 350 °C in air. As a result, microscopic analysis revealed that an etched structure was created on the surface of h-BN flakes regardless of catalyst type. And, X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that the air oxidation led to the formation of Co3O4, CuO, and ZnO from each precursor. Thermogravimetric analysis showed a gradual weight loss in the temperature range where the weight of h-BN flakes increased by air oxidation. As a result of etching, pore volume and pore area of h-BN flakes were increased after catalytic oxidation in all cases. In addition, the surface of h-BN flakes became highly active when the h-BN samples were etched by Co3O4 and CuO catalysts. Based on these results, we report that h-BN flakes can be easily oxidized in the presence of a catalyst, resulting in an etched structure in the layered structure.

Hexagonal boron nitride nanomechanical resonators with spatially visualized motion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zheng, Xu-Qian; Lee, Jaesung; Feng, Philip X. -L.

Atomic layers of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) crystal are excellent candidates for structural materials as enabling ultrathin, two-dimensional (2D) nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) due to the outstanding mechanical properties and very wide bandgap (5.9 eV) of h-BN. In this work, we report the experimental demonstration of h-BN 2D nanomechanical resonators vibrating at high and very high frequencies (from ~ 5 to ~ 70 MHz), and investigations of the elastic properties of h-BN by measuring the multimode resonant behavior of these devices. First, we demonstrate a dry-transferred doubly clamped h-BN membrane with ~ 6.7 nm thickness, the thinnest h-BN resonator known tomore » date. In addition, we fabricate circular drumhead h-BN resonators with thicknesses ranging from ~ 9 to 292 nm, from which we measure up to eight resonance modes in the range of ~ 18 to 35 MHz. Combining measurements and modeling of the rich multimode resonances, we resolve h-BN’s elastic behavior, including the transition from membrane to disk regime, with built-in tension ranging from 0.02 to 2 N m -1. The Young’s modulus of h-BN is determined to be EY≈392 GPa from the measured resonances. The ultrasensitive measurements further reveal subtle structural characteristics and mechanical properties of the suspended h-BN diaphragms, including anisotropic built-in tension and bulging, thus suggesting guidelines on how these effects can be exploited for engineering multimode resonant functions in 2D NEMS transducers.« less

Optical Absorption and Emission Mechanisms of Single Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jungwirth, Nicholas R.; Fuchs, Gregory D.

2017-08-01

We investigate the polarization selection rules of sharp zero-phonon lines (ZPLs) from isolated defects in hexagonal boron nitride (HBN) and compare our findings with the predictions of a Huang-Rhys model involving two electronic states. Our survey, which spans the spectral range ˜550 - 740 nm , reveals that, in disagreement with a two-level model, the absorption and emission dipoles are often misaligned. We relate the dipole misalignment angle (Δ θ ) of a ZPL to its energy shift from the excitation energy (Δ E ) and find that Δ θ ≈0 ° when Δ E corresponds to an allowed HBN phonon frequency and that 0 ° ≤Δ θ ≤90 ° when Δ E exceeds the maximum allowed HBN phonon frequency. Consequently, a two-level Huang-Rhys model succeeds at describing excitations mediated by the creation of one optical phonon but fails at describing excitations that require the creation of multiple phonons. We propose that direct excitations requiring the creation of multiple phonons are inefficient due to the low Huang-Rhys factors in HBN and that these ZPLs are instead excited indirectly via an intermediate electronic state. This hypothesis is corroborated by polarization measurements of an individual ZPL excited with two distinct wavelengths that indicate a single ZPL may be excited by multiple mechanisms. These findings provide new insight on the nature of the optical cycle of novel defect-based single-photon sources in HBN.

Exceptionally large migration length of carbon and topographically-facilitated self-limiting molecular beam epitaxial growth of graphene on hexagonal boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Plaut, Annette S.; Wurstbauer, Ulrich; Wang, Sheng

We demonstrate growth of single-layer graphene (SLG) on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), only limited in area by the finite size of the h-BN flakes. Using atomic force microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy, we show that for growth over a wide range of temperatures (500 °C – 1000 °C) the deposited carbon atoms spill off the edge of the h-BN flakes. We attribute this spillage to the very high mobility of the carbon atoms on the BN basal plane, consistent with van der Waals MBE. The h-BN flakes vary in size from 30 μm to 100 μm,more » thus demonstrating that the migration length of carbon atoms on h-BN is greater than 100 μm. When sufficient carbon is supplied to compensate for this loss, which is largely due to this fast migration of the carbon atoms to and off the edges of the h-BN flake, we find that the best growth temperature for MBE SLG on h-BN is ~950 °C. Self-limiting graphene growth appears to be facilitated by topographic h-BN surface features: We have thereby grown MBE self-limited SLG on an h-BN ridge. This opens up future avenues for precisely tailored fabrication of nano- and hetero-structures on pre-patterned h-BN surfaces for device applications.« less

Hexagonal boron nitride nanomechanical resonators with spatially visualized motion

DOE PAGES

Zheng, Xu-Qian; Lee, Jaesung; Feng, Philip X. -L.

2017-07-31

Atomic layers of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) crystal are excellent candidates for structural materials as enabling ultrathin, two-dimensional (2D) nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) due to the outstanding mechanical properties and very wide bandgap (5.9 eV) of h-BN. In this work, we report the experimental demonstration of h-BN 2D nanomechanical resonators vibrating at high and very high frequencies (from ~ 5 to ~ 70 MHz), and investigations of the elastic properties of h-BN by measuring the multimode resonant behavior of these devices. First, we demonstrate a dry-transferred doubly clamped h-BN membrane with ~ 6.7 nm thickness, the thinnest h-BN resonator known tomore » date. In addition, we fabricate circular drumhead h-BN resonators with thicknesses ranging from ~ 9 to 292 nm, from which we measure up to eight resonance modes in the range of ~ 18 to 35 MHz. Combining measurements and modeling of the rich multimode resonances, we resolve h-BN’s elastic behavior, including the transition from membrane to disk regime, with built-in tension ranging from 0.02 to 2 N m -1. The Young’s modulus of h-BN is determined to be EY≈392 GPa from the measured resonances. The ultrasensitive measurements further reveal subtle structural characteristics and mechanical properties of the suspended h-BN diaphragms, including anisotropic built-in tension and bulging, thus suggesting guidelines on how these effects can be exploited for engineering multimode resonant functions in 2D NEMS transducers.« less

Tuning the electronic and optical properties of hexagonal boron-nitride nanosheet by inserting graphene quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Yi-Min; Shi, Jun-Jie; Zhang, Min; Wu, Meng; Wang, Hui; Cen, Yu-Lang; Pan, Shu-Hang; Guo, Wen-Hui

2018-02-01

It is difficult to integrate two-dimensional (2D) graphene and hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) in optoelectronic nanodevices, due to the semi-metal and insulator characteristic of graphene and h-BN, respectively. Using the state-of-the-art first-principles calculations based on many-body perturbation theory, we investigate the electronic and optical properties of h-BN nanosheet embedded with graphene dots. We find that C atom impurities doped in h-BN nanosheet tend to phase-separate into graphene quantum dots (QD), and BNC hybrid structure, i.e. a graphene dot within a h-BN background, can be formed. The band gaps of BNC hybrid structures have an inverse relationship with the size of graphene dot. The calculated optical band gaps for BNC structures vary from 4.71 eV to 3.77 eV, which are much smaller than that of h-BN nanosheet. Furthermore, the valence band maximum is located in C atoms bonded to B atoms and conduction band minimum is located in C atoms bonded to N atoms, which means the electron and hole wave functions are closely distributed around the graphene dot. The bound excitons, localized around the graphene dot, determine the optical spectra of the BNC hybrid structures, in which the exciton binding energies decrease with increase in the size of graphene dots. Our results provide an important theoretical basis for the design and development of BNC-based optoelectronic nanodevices.

JAGUAR Procedures for Detonation Behavior of Explosives Containing Boron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stiel, Leonard; Baker, Ernest; Capellos, Christos

2009-06-01

The JAGUAR product library was expanded to include boron and boron containing products. Relationships of the Murnaghan form for molar volumes and derived properties were implemented in JAGUAR. Available Hugoniot and static volumertic data were analyzed to obtain constants of the Murnaghan relationship for solid boron, boron oxide, boron nitride, boron carbide, and boric acid. Experimental melting points were also utilized with optimization procedures to obtain the constants of the volumetric relationships for liquid boron and boron oxide. Detonation velocities for HMX - boron mixtures calculated with these relationships using JAGUAR are in closer agreement with literature values at high initial densities for inert (unreacted) boron than with the completely reacted metal. These results indicate that boron mixtures may exhibit eigenvalue detonation behavior, as observed by aluminized combined effects explosives, with higher detonation velocities than would be achieved by a classical Chapman-Jouguet detonation. Analyses of calorimetric measurements for RDX - boron mixtures indicate that at high boron contents the formation of side products, including boron nitride and boron carbide, inhibits the energy output obtained from the detonation of the formulation.

Effect of Boron Microalloying Element on Susceptibility to Hydrogen Embrittlement in High Strength Mooring Chain Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, H.; Cheng, X. Y.; Shen, H. P.; Su, L. C.; Zhang, S. Y.

The susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement in high strength mooring chain steel with different boron content (0, 0.003 %, 0.008 %) were investigated by electrochemical hydrogen charging technique and tensile test. The results revealed that appropriate boron content can effectively depress hydrogen induced embrittlement. Precharged with a low current density, this effect seemed to be unobvious. It gradually became clearly with the increasing current density. The increase of resistance to the hydrogen embrittlement for 3B and 8B after adding appropriate boron was attributed to three facts. The first was that the segregation of boron atoms along grain boundaries reduced the grain boundary segregation of phosphorus, which prohibited hydrogen concentration at the grain boundaries, depressing the possibility of the intergranular fracture due to H. The second was that the segregation of boron increased intergranular cohesion, enhanced grain boundary strength, and refined the final microstructure. The third was that the addition of boron changed the state of hydrogen traps, leading to the small amount of diffusible hydrogen. That is to say, hydrogen transferred to these defects by dislocations was accordingly decreased, which led to the low sensitive of hydrogen induced cracking.

Understanding and Calibrating Density-Functional-Theory Calculations Describing the Energy and Spectroscopy of Defect Sites in Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

PubMed

Reimers, Jeffrey R; Sajid, A; Kobayashi, Rika; Ford, Michael J

2018-03-13

Defect states in 2-D materials present many possible uses but both experimental and computational characterization of their spectroscopic properties is difficult. We provide and compare results from 13 DFT and ab initio computational methods for up to 25 excited states of a paradigm system, the V N C B defect in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). Studied include: (i) potentially catastrophic effects for computational methods arising from the multireference nature of the closed-shell and open-shell states of the defect, which intrinsically involves broken chemical bonds, (ii) differing results from DFT and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations, (iii) comparison of cluster models to periodic-slab models of the defect, (iv) the starkly differing effects of nuclear relaxation on the various electronic states that control the widths of photoabsorption and photoemission spectra as broken bonds try to heal, (v) the effect of zero-point energy and entropy on free-energy differences, (vi) defect-localized and conduction/valence-band transition natures, and (vii) strategies needed to ensure that the lowest-energy state of a defect can be computationally identified. Averaged state-energy differences of 0.3 eV are found between CCSD(T) and MRCI energies, with thermal effects on free energies sometimes also being of this order. However, DFT-based methods can perform very poorly. Simple generalized-gradient functionals like PBE fail at the most basic level and should never be applied to defect states. Hybrid functionals like HSE06 work very well for excitations within the triplet manifold of the defect, with an accuracy equivalent to or perhaps exceeding the accuracy of the ab initio methods used. However, HSE06 underestimates triplet-state energies by on average of 0.7 eV compared to closed-shell singlet states, while open-shell singlet states are predicted to be too low in energy by 1.0 eV. This leads to misassignment of the ground state of the V N C B defect. Long-range corrected functionals like CAM-B3LYP are shown to work much better and to represent the current entry level for DFT calculations on defects. As significant differences between cluster and periodic-slab models are also found, the widespread implementation of such functionals in periodic codes is in urgent need.

Boron supercapacitors

DOE PAGES

Zhan, Cheng; Zhang, Pengfei; Dai, Sheng; ...

2016-11-16

Supercapacitors based on the electric double-layer mechanism use porous carbons or graphene as electrodes. To move beyond this paradigm, we propose boron supercapacitors to leverage two-dimensional (2D) boron sheets’ metallicity and low weight. Six 2D boron sheets from both previous theoretical design and experimental growth are chosen as test electrodes. By applying joint density functional theory (JDFT) to the electrode–electrolyte system, we examine how the 2D boron sheets charge up against applied potential. JDFT predicts that these 2D boron sheets exhibit specific capacitance on the order of 400 F/g, about four times that of graphene. As a result, our workmore » suggests that 2D boron sheets are promising electrodes for supercapacitor applications.« less

Boron supercapacitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhan, Cheng; Zhang, Pengfei; Dai, Sheng

Supercapacitors based on the electric double-layer mechanism use porous carbons or graphene as electrodes. To move beyond this paradigm, we propose boron supercapacitors to leverage two-dimensional (2D) boron sheets’ metallicity and low weight. Six 2D boron sheets from both previous theoretical design and experimental growth are chosen as test electrodes. By applying joint density functional theory (JDFT) to the electrode–electrolyte system, we examine how the 2D boron sheets charge up against applied potential. JDFT predicts that these 2D boron sheets exhibit specific capacitance on the order of 400 F/g, about four times that of graphene. As a result, our workmore » suggests that 2D boron sheets are promising electrodes for supercapacitor applications.« less

Investigation of electronic and magnetic properties of FeS: First principle and Monte Carlo simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouachraoui, Rachid; El Hachimi, Abdel Ghafour; Ziat, Younes; Bahmad, Lahoucine; Tahiri, Najim

2018-06-01

Electronic and magnetic properties of hexagonal Iron (II) Sulfide (hexagonal FeS) have been investigated by combining the Density functional theory (DFT) and Monte Carlo simulations (MCS). This compound is constituted by magnetic hexagonal lattice occupied by Fe2+ with spin state (S = 2). Based on ab initio method, we calculated the exchange coupling JFe-Fe between two magnetic atoms Fe-Fe in different directions. Also phase transitions, magnetic stability and magnetizations have been investigated in the framework of Monte Carlo simulations. Within this method, a second phase transition is observed at the Néel temperature TN = 450 K. This finding in good agreement with the reported data in the literature. The effect of the applied different parameters showed how can these parameters affect the critical temperature of this system. Moreover, we studied the density of states and found that the hexagonal FeS will be a promoting material for spintronic applications.

Thin-film preparation by back-surface irradiation pulsed laser deposition using metal powder targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawasaki, Hiroharu; Ohshima, Tamiko; Yagyu, Yoshihito; Ihara, Takeshi; Yamauchi, Makiko; Suda, Yoshiaki

2017-01-01

Several kinds of functional thin films were deposited using a new thin-film preparation method named the back-surface irradiation pulsed laser deposition (BIPLD) method. In this BIPLD method, powder targets were used as the film source placed on a transparent target holder, and then a visible-wavelength pulsed laser was irradiated from the holder side to the substrate. Using this new method, titanium oxide and boron nitride thin films were deposited on the silicon substrate. Surface scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images suggest that all of the thin films were deposited on the substrate with some large droplets irrespective of the kind of target used. The deposition rate of the films prepared by using this method was calculated from film thickness and deposition time to be much lower than that of the films prepared by conventional PLD. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement results suggest that rutile and anatase TiO2 crystal peaks were formed for the films prepared using the TiO2 rutile powder target. Crystal peaks of hexagonal boron nitride were observed for the films prepared using the boron nitride powder target. The crystallinity of the prepared films was changed by annealing after deposition.

Toward Edge-Defined Holey Boron Nitride Nanosheets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Yi; Liao, Yunlong; Chen, Zhongfan; Connell, John W.

2015-01-01

"Holey" two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets with well-defined holy morphology and edge chemistry are highly desirable for applications such as energy storage, catalysis, sensing, transistors, and molecular transport/separation. For example, holey grapheme is currently under extensive investigation for energy storage applications because of the improvement in ion transport due to through the thickness pathways provided by the holes. Without the holes, the 2D materials have significant limitations for such applications in which efficient ion transport is important. As part of an effort to apply this approach to other 2D nanomaterials, a method to etch geometrically defined pits or holes on the basal plane surface of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets has been developed. The etching, conducted via heating in ambient air using metal nanoparticles as catalysts, was facile, controllable, and scalable. Starting h-BN layered crystals were etched and subsequently exfoliated into boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs). The as-etched and exfoliated h-BN nanosheets possessed defined pit and hole shapes that were comprised of regulated nanostructures at the edges. The current finding are the first step toward the bulk preparation of holey BNNSs with defined holes and edges.

Fragment approach to the electronic structure of τ -boron allotrope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karmodak, Naiwrit; Jemmis, Eluvathingal D.

2017-04-01

The presence of nonconventional bonding features is an intriguing part of elemental boron. The recent addition of τ boron to the family of three-dimensional boron allotropes is no exception. We provide an understanding of the electronic structure of τ boron using a fragment molecular approach, where the effect of symmetry reduction on skeletal bands of B12 and the B57 fragments are examined qualitatively by analyzing the projected density of states of these fragments. In spite of the structural resemblance to β boron, the reduction of symmetry from a rhombohedral space group to the orthorhombic one destabilizes the bands and reduces the electronic requirements. This suggests the presence of the partially occupied boron sites, as seen for a β boron unit cell, and draws the possibility for the existence of different energetically similar polymorphs. τ boron has a lower binding energy than β boron.

Magnetron sputtered boron films

DOEpatents

Makowiecki, Daniel M.; Jankowski, Alan F.

1998-01-01

A method is described for the production of thin boron and titanium/boron films by magnetron sputter deposition. The amorphous boron films contain no morphological growth features, unlike those found when thin films are prepared by various physical vapor deposition processes. Magnetron sputter deposition method requires the use of a high density crystalline boron sputter target which is prepared by hot isostatic pressing. Thin boron films prepared by this method are useful for producing hardened surfaces, surfacing machine tools, etc. and for ultra-thin band pass filters as well as the low Z element in low Z/high Z optical components, such as mirrors which enhance reflectivity from grazing to normal incidence.

Magnetron sputtered boron films

DOEpatents

Makowiecki, D.M.; Jankowski, A.F.

1998-06-16

A method is described for the production of thin boron and titanium/boron films by magnetron sputter deposition. The amorphous boron films contain no morphological growth features, unlike those found when thin films are prepared by various physical vapor deposition processes. Magnetron sputter deposition method requires the use of a high density crystalline boron sputter target which is prepared by hot isostatic pressing. Thin boron films prepared by this method are useful for producing hardened surfaces, surfacing machine tools, etc. and for ultra-thin band pass filters as well as the low Z element in low Z/high Z optical components, such as mirrors which enhance reflectivity from grazing to normal incidence. 8 figs.

Boron removal by electrocoagulation and recovery.

PubMed

Isa, Mohamed Hasnain; Ezechi, Ezerie Henry; Ahmed, Zubair; Magram, Saleh Faraj; Kutty, Shamsul Rahman Mohamed

2014-03-15

This work investigated the removal of boron from wastewater and its recovery by electrocoagulation and hydrothermal mineralization methods respectively. The experimental design was developed using Box-Behnken Model. An initial study was performed based on four preselected variables (pH, current density, concentration and time) using synthetic wastewater. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to evaluate the effect of process variables and their interaction on boron removal. The optimum conditions were obtained as pH 6.3, current density 17.4 mA/cm(2), and time 89 min. At these applied optimum conditions, 99.7% boron removal from an initial concentration of 10.4 mg/L was achieved. The process was effectively optimized by RSM with a desirability value of 1.0. The results showed that boron removal efficiency enhanced with increase in current density and treatment time. Removal efficiency also increased when pH was increased from 4 to 7 and subsequently decreased at pH 10. Adsorption kinetics study revealed that the reaction followed pseudo second order kinetic model; evidenced by high correlation and goodness of fit. Thermodynamics study showed that mechanism of boron adsorption was chemisorption and the reaction was endothermic in nature. Furthermore, the adsorption process was spontaneous as indicated by negative values of the adsorption free energy. Treatment of real produced water using electrocoagulation resulted in 98% boron removal. The hydrothermal mineralization study showed that borate minerals (Inyoite, Takadaite and Nifontovite) can be recovered as recyclable precipitate from electrocoagulation flocs of produced water. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Capacitance of graphenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Andrea; Dean, Cory; Meric, Inanc; Hone, Jim; Shepard, Ken; Kim, Philip

2010-03-01

Using a transfer procedure and single crystal hexagonal Boron Nitride gate dielectric, we are able to fabricate high mobility graphene devices with local top and back gates. The novel geometry of these devices allows us to measure the spatially averaged compressibility of mono- and bilayer graphene using the ``penetration field'' technique [Eisenstein, J.P. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 674 (1992)]. In particular, we analyze the the effects of strong transverse electric fields on the compressibility of graphenes, especially as pertains to charged impurity scattering in single layer graphene and the opening of an energy gap in bilayer.

Ballistic Transport Exceeding 28 μm in CVD Grown Graphene.

PubMed

Banszerus, Luca; Schmitz, Michael; Engels, Stephan; Goldsche, Matthias; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Beschoten, Bernd; Stampfer, Christoph

2016-02-10

We report on ballistic transport over more than 28 μm in graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) that is fully encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride. The structures are fabricated by an advanced dry van-der-Waals transfer method and exhibit carrier mobilities of up to three million cm(2)/(Vs). The ballistic nature of charge transport is probed by measuring the bend resistance in cross- and square-shaped devices. Temperature-dependent measurements furthermore prove that ballistic transport is maintained exceeding 1 μm up to 200 K.

ARO 1.2: Solid Mechanics: Augmented Finite Element Method for High-Fidelity Analysis of Structural Composites

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-03

Physics of Solids, 78 (314-332). 2014. 6. C . X. Zhang, J . Z. Song, Q. D. Yang, “Periodic buckling patterns of graphene/hexagonal boron nitride...Mechanics, 139 (78-97), 2015. 9. Y. C . Gu, J . Jung, Q. D. Yang, and W. Q. Chen, “A New Stabilizing Method for Numerical Analyses with Severe...Local and Global Instability”, ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, 82 (101010-1, -12), 2015 10. J . Jung, B. C . Do, and Q. D. Yang, “A-FEM for Arbitrary

Structural and mechanical characterization of boron doped biphasic calcium phosphate produced by wet chemical method and subsequent thermal treatment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Albayrak, Onder, E-mail: albayrakonder@mersin.edu.tr

In the current study, boron doped biphasic calcium phosphate bioceramics consisting of a mixture of boron doped hydroxyapatite (BHA) and beta tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) of varying BHA/β-TCP ratios were obtained after sintering stage. The effects of varying boron contents and different sintering temperatures on the BHA/β-TCP ratios and on the sinterability of the final products were investigated. Particle sizes and morphologies of the obtained precipitates were determined using SEM. XRD and FTIR investigation were conducted to detect the boron formation in the structure of HA and quantitative analysis was performed to determine the BHA/β-TCP ratio before and after sintering stage.more » In order to determine the sinterability of the obtained powders, pellets were prepared and sintered; the rates of densification were calculated and obtained results were correlated by SEM images. Also Vickers microhardness values of the sintered samples were determined. The experimental results verified that boron doped hydroxyapatite powders were obtained after sintering stage and the structure consists of a mixture of BHA and β-TCP. As the boron content used in the precipitation stage increases, β-TCP content of the BHA/β-TCP ratio increases but sinterability, density and microhardness deteriorate. As the sintering temperature increases, β-TCP content, density and microhardness of the samples increase and sinterability improves. - Highlights: • This is the first paper about boron doped biphasic calcium phosphate bioceramics. • Boron doping affects the structural and mechanical properties. • BHA/β-TCP ratio can be adjustable with boron content and sintering temperature.« less

Electronic structure and electron-phonon interaction in hexagonal yttrium by density functional calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Prabhakar P.

2007-03-01

To understand the pressure-induced changes in the electronic structure and the electron-phonon interaction in yttrium, we have studied hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) yttrium, stable at ambient pressure, and double hexagonal-close-packed (dhcp) yttrium, stable up to around 44GPa , using density-functional-based methods. Our results show that as one goes from hcp yttrium to dhcp yttrium, there are (i) a substantial charge transfer from s→d with extensive modifications of the d band and a sizable reduction in the density of states at the Fermi energy, (ii) a substantial stiffening of phonon modes with the electron-phonon coupling covering the entire frequency range, and (iii) an increase in the electron-phonon coupling constant λ from 0.55 to 1.24, leading to a change in the superconducting transition temperature Tc from 0.3to15.3K for μ*=0.2 .

Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations of high mobility holes in monolayer and bilayer WSe2: spin-valley locking, effective mass, and inter-layer coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fallahazad, Babak; Movva, Hema Chandra Prakash; Kim, Kyounghwan; Larentis, Stefano; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Banerjee, Sanjay K.; Tutuc, Emanuel

We study the magnetotransport properties of high mobility holes in monolayer and bilayer WSe2, measured in dual-gated samples with top and bottom hexagonal boron-nitride dielectrics, and using platinum bottom contacts. Thanks to the Pt high work-function combined with the a high hole density induced electrostatically by an applied top gate bias, the contacts remain ohmic down to low (1.5 K) temperatures. The samples display well defined Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations, and quantum Hall states (QHS) in high magnetic fields. In both mono and bilayer WSe2, the SdH oscillations and the QHSs occur predominantly at even filling factors, evincing a two-fold Landau level degeneracy consistent with spin-valley locking. The Fourier transform analysis of the SdH oscillations in dual-gated bilayer WSe2 reveal the presence of two subbands, each localized in the top or the bottom layer, as well as negative compressibility. From the temperature dependence of the SdH oscillation amplitude we determine a hole effective mass of 0.45me for both mono and bilayer WSe2. The top and bottom layer densities can be independently tuned using the top and bottom gates, respectively, evincing a weak interlayer coupling. This work has been supported by NRI-SWAN and Intel corporation.

The organization of the cone photoreceptor mosaic measured in the living human retina

PubMed Central

Sawides, Lucie; de Castro, Alberto; Burns, Stephen A.

2016-01-01

The cone photoreceptors represent the initial fundamental sampling step in the acquisition of visual information. While recent advances in adaptive optics have provided increasingly precise estimates of the packing density and spacing of the cone photoreceptors in the living human retina, little is known about the local cone arrangement beyond a tendency towards hexagonal packing. We analyzed the cone mosaic in data from 10 normal subjects. A technique was applied to calculate the local average cone mosaic structure which allowed us to determine the hexagonality, spacing and orientation of local regions. Using cone spacing estimates, we find the expected decrease in cone density with retinal eccentricity and higher densities along the horizontal meridians as opposed to the vertical meridians. Orientation analysis reveals an asymmetry in the local cone spacing of the hexagonal packing, with cones having a larger local spacing along the horizontal direction. This horizontal/vertical asymmetry is altered at eccentricities larger than 2 degrees in the superior meridian and 2.5 degrees in the inferior meridian. Analysis of hexagon orientations in the central 1.4° of the retina show a tendency for orientation to be locally coherent, with orientation patches consisting of between 35 and 240 cones. PMID:27353225

Cubic and orthorhombic structures of aluminum hydride Al H3 predicted by a first-principles study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ke, Xuezhi; Kuwabara, Akihide; Tanaka, Isao

2005-05-01

The most stable structure of aluminum hydride AlH3 is believed to be a hexagonal symmetry. However, using the density functional theory, we have identified two more stable structures for the AlH3 with the cubic and orthorhombic symmetries. Based on the quasiharmonic approximation, the cubic and orthorhombic AlH3 are almost degenerate when the zero-point energies are included. The geometric and electronic structures, the phonon, and the thermodynamic properties for the hexagonal, cubic, and orthorhombic AlH3 have been studied by means of density functional theory and direct ab initio force constant approach. The calculated electronic structures, phonon density of states, and thermodynamic functions [including S(T) and H(T)-H(0) ] for the three hydrides are similar. The results show that these three hydrides have negative enthalpies of formation, but positive free energies of formation. This conclusion is the same as that made by Wolverton for the hexagonal AlH3 [Phys. Rev. B 69, 144109 (2004)]. The thermodynamic properties indicate that the orthorhombic and cubic AlH3 should be more difficult to dissociate than the hexagonal AlH3 .

Hugoniot equation of state and dynamic strength of boron carbide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grady, Dennis E.

Boron carbide ceramics have been particularly problematic in attempts to develop adequate constitutive model descriptions for purposes of analysis of dynamic response in the shock and impact environment. Dynamic strength properties of boron carbide ceramic differ uniquely from comparable ceramics. Furthermore, boron carbide is suspected, but not definitely shown, to undergoing polymorphic phase transformation under shock compression. In the present paper, shock-wave compression measurements conducted over the past 40 years are assessed for the purpose of achieving improved understanding of the dynamic equation of state and strength of boron carbide. In particular, attention is focused on the often ignored Losmore » Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Hugoniot measurements performed on porous sintered boron carbide ceramic. The LANL data are shown to exhibit two compression anomalies on the shock Hugoniot within the range of 20–60 GPa that may relate to crystallographic structure transitions. More recent molecular dynamics simulations on the compressibility of the boron carbide crystal lattice reveal compression transitions that bear similarities to the LANL Hugoniot results. The same Hugoniot data are complemented with dynamic isentropic compression data for boron carbide extracted from Hugoniot measurements on boron carbide and copper granular mixtures. Other Hugoniot measurements, however, performed on near-full-density boron carbide ceramic differ markedly from the LANL Hugoniot data. These later data exhibit markedly less compressibility and tend not to show comparable anomalies in compressibility. Alternative Hugoniot anomalies, however, are exhibited by the near-full-density data. Experimental uncertainty, Hugoniot strength, and phase transformation physics are all possible explanations for the observed discrepancies. It is reasoned that experimental uncertainty and Hugoniot strength are not likely explanations for the observed differences. The notable mechanistic difference in the processes of shock compression between the LANL data and that of the other studies is the markedly larger inelastic deformation and dissipation experienced in the shock event brought about by compaction of the substantially larger porosity LANL test ceramics. High-pressure diamond anvil cell experiments reveal extensive amorphization, reasoned to be a reversion product of a higher-pressure crystallographic phase, which is a consequence of application of both high pressure and shear deformation to the boron carbide crystal structure. A dependence of shock-induced high-pressure phase transformation in boron carbide on the extent of shear deformation experienced in the shock process offers a plausible explanation for the differences observed in the LANL Hugoniot data on porous ceramic and that of other shock data on near-full-density boron carbide.« less

Attenuation of Neutron and Gamma Radiation by a Composite Material Based on Modified Titanium Hydride with a Varied Boron Content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yastrebinskii, R. N.

2018-04-01

The investigations on estimating the attenuation of capture gamma radiation by a composite neutron-shielding material based on modified titanium hydride and Portland cement with a varied amount of boron carbide are performed. The results of calculations demonstrate that an introduction of boron into this material enables significantly decreasing the thermal neutron flux density and hence the levels of capture gamma radiation. In particular, after introducing 1- 5 wt.% boron carbide into the material, the thermal neutron flux density on a 10 cm-thick layer is reduced by 11 to 176 factors, and the capture gamma dose rate - from 4 to 9 times, respectively. The difference in the degree of reduction in these functionals is attributed to the presence of capture gamma radiation in the epithermal region of the neutron spectrum.

Magnetron sputtered boron films for increasing hardness of a metal surface

DOEpatents

Makowiecki, Daniel M [Livermore, CA; Jankowski, Alan F [Livermore, CA

2003-05-27

A method is described for the production of thin boron and titanium/boron films by magnetron sputter deposition. The amorphous boron films contain no morphological growth features, unlike those found when thin films are prepared by various physical vapor deposition processes. Magnetron sputter deposition method requires the use of a high density crystalline boron sputter target which is prepared by hot isostatic pressing. Thin boron films prepared by this method are useful for producing hardened surfaces, surfacing machine tools, etc. and for ultra-thin band pass filters as well as the low Z element in low Z/high Z optical components, such as mirrors which enhance reflectivity from grazing to normal incidence.

Phonons and superconductivity in fcc and dhcp lanthanum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baǧcı, S.; Tütüncü, H. M.; Duman, S.; Srivastava, G. P.

2010-04-01

We have investigated the structural and electronic properties of lanthanum in the face-centered-cubic (fcc) and double hexagonal-close-packed (dhcp) phases using a generalized gradient approximation of the density functional theory and the ab initio pseudopotential method. It is found that double hexagonal-close-packed is the more stable phase for lanthanum. Differences in the density of states at the Fermi level between these two phases are pointed out and discussed in detail. Using the calculated lattice constant and electronic band structure for both phases, a linear response approach based on the density functional theory has been applied to study phonon modes, polarization characteristics of phonon modes, and electron-phonon interaction. Our phonon results show a softening behavior of the transverse acoustic branch along the Γ-L direction and the Γ-M direction for face-centered-cubic and double hexagonal-close-packed phases, respectively. Thus, the transverse-phonon linewidth shows a maximum at the zone boundary M(L) for the double hexagonal-close-packed phase (face-centered-cubic phase), where the transverse-phonon branch exhibits a dip. The electron-phonon coupling parameter λ is found to be 0.97 (1.06) for the double hexagonal-close-packed phase (face-centered-cubic phase), and the superconducting critical temperature is estimated to be 4.87 (dhcp) and 5.88 K (fcc), in good agreement with experimental values of around 5.0 (dhcp) and 6.0 K (fcc). A few superconducting parameters for the double hexagonal-close-packed phase have been calculated and compared with available theoretical and experimental results. Furthermore, the calculated superconducting parameters for both phases are compared between each other in detail.

Ground-State Charge-Density Distribution in a Crystal of the Luminescent ortho-Phenylenediboronic Acid Complex with 8-Hydroxyquinoline.

PubMed

Jarzembska, Katarzyna N; Kamiński, Radosław; Durka, Krzysztof; Woźniak, Krzysztof

2018-05-10

This contribution is devoted to the first electron density studies of a luminescent oxyquinolinato boron complex in the solid state. ortho-Phenylenediboronic acid mixed with 8-hydroxyquinoline in dioxane forms high-quality single crystals via slow solvent evaporation, which allows successful high resolution data collection (sin θ/λ = 1.2 Å -1 ) and charge density distribution modeling. Particular attention has been paid to the boron-oxygen fragment connecting the two parts of the complex, and to the solvent species exhibiting anharmonic thermal motion. The experiment and theory compared rather well in terms of atomic charges and volumes, except for the boron centers. Boron atoms, as expected, constitute the most electron-deficient species in the complex molecule, whereas the neighboring oxygen and carbon atoms are the most significantly negatively charged ones. This part of the molecule appears to be very much involved in the charge transfer occurring between the acid fragment and oxyquinoline moiety leading to the observed fluorescence, as supported by the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) results and the generated transition density maps. TDDFT calculations indicated that p-type atomic orbitals contributing to the HOMO-1, HOMO, and LUMO play the major role in the lowest energy transitions, and enabled further comparison with the charge density features, which is discussed in details. Furthermore, the results confirmed the known fact the Q ligand character is most important for the spectroscopic properties of this class of complexes.

Hexagonal boron nitride as a tablet lubricant and a comparison with conventional lubricants.

PubMed

Uğurlu, Timuçin; Turkoğlu, Murat

2008-04-02

The objective of this study was to investigate the lubrication properties of hexagonal boron nitride (HBN) as a new tablet lubricant and compare it with conventional lubricants such as magnesium stearate (MGST), stearic acid (STAC), and glyceryl behenate (COMP). Tablets were manufactured on an instrumented single-station tablet press to monitor lower punch ejection force (LPEF) containing varied lubricants in different ratio (0.5, 1, 2%). Tablet crushing strength, disintegration time and thickness were measured. Tensile strength of compacted tablets were measured by applying a diametrical load across the edge of tablets to determine mechanical strength. The deformation mechanism of tablets was studied during compression from the Heckel plots with or without lubricants. MGST was found to be the most effective lubricant based on LPEF-lubrication concentration profile and LPEF of HBN was found very close to that of MGST. HBN was better than both STAC and COMP. A good lubrication was obtained at 0.5% for MGST and HBN (189 and 195N, respectively). Where COMP and STAC showed 20 and 35% more LPEF compare to that of MGST (239 and 288N, respectively). Even at the concentration of 2% COMP and STAC did not decrease LPEF as much as 0.5% of MGST and HBN. Like all conventional lubricants the higher the concentration of HBN the lower the mechanical properties of tablets because of its hydrophobic character. However, this deterioration was not as pronounced as MGST. HBN had no significant effect on tablet properties. Based on the Heckel plots, it was observed that after the addition of 1% lubricant granules showed less plastic deformation.

Interface-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of Co nanoparticles on single-layer h-BN/Pt(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Takahiro; Yamada, Yoichi; Koide, Akihiro; Entani, Shiro; Li, Songtian; Popov, Zakhar I.; Sorokin, Pavel B.; Naramoto, Hiroshi; Sasaki, Masahiro; Amemiya, Kenta; Sakai, Seiji

2018-01-01

Ferromagnetism with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) was observed at room temperature in cobalt nanoparticles (NPs) grown on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) on a Pt(111) surface. It was shown that the Co NPs have planar hexagonal shapes with a mean diameter of ˜20 nm and a mean height of ˜1.6 nm. The depth-resolved analysis of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the Co L2,3-edges revealed that in the ferromagnetic Co NPs, the ratio of the orbital magnetic moment to the spin magnetic moment in the out-of-plane direction becomes larger at the Co NP/h-BN interface than the ratio in bulk Co. The B and N K-edge near edge X-ray absorption fine structures showed the orbital hybridization between the π orbitals of h-BN and d orbitals of Co at the interface, as an origin of the orbital magnetic moment enhancement possibly giving rise to PMA in the Co NPs.

Heterogeneous Metal-Free Hydrogenation over Defect-Laden Hexagonal Boron Nitride

DOE PAGES

Nash, David J.; Restrepo, David T.; Parra, Natalia S.; ...

2016-12-21

Catalytic hydrogenation is an important process used for the production of everything from foods to fuels. Current heterogeneous implementations of this process utilize metals as the active species. Until recently, catalytic heterogeneous hydrogenation over a metal-free solid was unknown; implementation of such a system would eliminate the health, environmental, and economic concerns associated with metal-based catalysts. We report good hydrogenation rates and yields for a metal-free heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst as well as its unique hydrogenation mechanism. We achieved catalytic hydrogenation of olefins over defect-laden h-BN (dh-BN) in a reactor designed to maximize the defects in h-BN sheets. Good yields (>90%)more » and turnover frequencies (6 × 10 –5–4 × 10 –3) were obtained for the hydrogenation of propene, cyclohexene, 1,1-diphenylethene, (E)- and (Z)-1,2-diphenylethene, octadecene, and benzylideneacetophenone. Temperature-programmed desorption of ethene over processed h-BN indicates the formation of a highly defective structure. Solid-state NMR (SSNMR) measurements of dh-BN with high and low propene surface coverages show four different binding modes. The introduction of defects into h-BN creates regions of electronic deficiency and excess. Density functional theory calculations show that both the alkene and hydrogen-bond order are reduced over four specific defects: boron substitution for nitrogen (B N), vacancies (V B and V N), and Stone–Wales defects. SSNMR and binding-energy calculations show that V N are most likely the catalytically active sites. Our work shows that catalytic sites can be introduced into a material previously thought to be catalytically inactive through the production of defects.« less

Electrical conductivity enhancement by boron-doping in diamond using first principle calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ullah, Mahtab; Ahmed, Ejaz; Hussain, Fayyaz; Rana, Anwar Manzoor; Raza, Rizwan

2015-04-01

Boron doping in diamond plays a vital role in enhancing electrical conductivity of diamond by making it a semiconductor, a conductor or even a superconductor. To elucidate this fact, partial and total density of states has been determined as a function of B-content in diamond. Moreover, the orbital charge distributions, B-C bond lengths and their population have been studied for B-doping in pristine diamond thin films by applying density functional theory (DFT). These parameters have been found to be influenced by the addition of different percentages of boron atoms in diamond. The electronic density of states, B-C bond situations as well as variations in electrical conductivities of diamond films with different boron content and determination of some relationship between these parameters were the basic tasks of this study. Diamond with high boron concentration (∼5.88% B-atoms) showed maximum splitting of energy bands (caused by acceptor impurity states) at the Fermi level which resulted in the enhancement of electron/ion conductivities. Because B atoms either substitute carbon atoms and/or assemble at grain boundaries (interstitial sites) inducing impurity levels close to the top of the valence band. At very high B-concentration, impurity states combine to form an impurity band which accesses the top of the valence band yielding metal like conductivity. Moreover, bond length and charge distributions are found to decrease with increase in boron percentage in diamond. It is noted that charge distribution decreased from +1.89 to -1.90 eV whereas bond length reduced by 0.04 Å with increasing boron content in diamond films. These theoretical results support our earlier experimental findings on B-doped diamond polycrystalline films which depict that the addition of boron atoms to diamond films gives a sudden fall in resistivity even up to 105 Ω cm making it a good semiconductor for its applications in electrical devices.

Stability of boron-doped graphene/copper interface: DFT, XPS and OSEE studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boukhvalov, D. W.; Zhidkov, I. S.; Kukharenko, A. I.; Slesarev, A. I.; Zatsepin, A. F.; Cholakh, S. O.; Kurmaev, E. Z.

2018-05-01

Two different types of boron-doped graphene/copper interfaces synthesized using two different flow rates of Ar through the bubbler containing the boron source were studied. X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and optically stimulated electron emission (OSEE) measurements have demonstrated that boron-doped graphene coating provides a high corrosion resistivity of Cu-substrate with the light traces of the oxidation of carbon cover. The density functional theory calculations suggest that for the case of substitutional (graphitic) boron-defect only the oxidation near boron impurity is energetically favorable and creation of the vacancies that can induce the oxidation of copper substrate is energetically unfavorable. In the case of non-graphitic boron defects oxidation of the area, a nearby impurity is metastable that not only prevent oxidation but makes boron-doped graphene. Modeling of oxygen reduction reaction demonstrates high catalytic performance of these materials.

Variable-Size Bead Layer as Standard Reference for Endothelial Microscopes.

PubMed

Tufo, Simona; Prazzoli, Erica; Ferraro, Lorenzo; Cozza, Federica; Borghesi, Alessandro; Tavazzi, Silvia

2017-02-01

For morphometric analysis of the cell mosaic of corneal endothelium, checking accuracy and precision of instrumentation is a key step. In this study, a standard reference sample is proposed, developed to reproduce the cornea with its shape and the endothelium with its intrinsic variability in the cell size. A polystyrene bead layer (representing the endothelium) was deposited on a lens (representing the cornea). Bead diameters were 20, 25, and 30 μm (fractions in number 55%, 30%, and 15%, respectively). Bead density and hexagonality were simulated to obtain the expected true values and measured using a slit-lamp endothelial microscope applied to 1) a Takagi 700GL slit lamp at 40× magnification (recommended standard setup) and 2) a Takagi 2ZL slit lamp at 25× magnification. The simulation provided the expected bead density 2001 mm and hexagonality 47%. At 40×, density and hexagonality were measured to be 2009 mm (SD 93 mm) and 45% (SD 3%). At 25× on a different slit lamp, the comparison between measured and expected densities provided the factor 1.526 to resize the image and to use the current algorithms of the slit-lamp endothelial microscope for cell recognition. A variable-size polystyrene bead layer on a lens is proposed as a standard sample mimicking the real shape of the cornea and the variability of cell size and cell arrangement of corneal endothelium. The sample is suggested to evaluate accuracy and precision of cell density and hexagonality obtained by different endothelial microscopes, including a slit-lamp endothelial microscope applied to different slit lamps, also at different magnifications.

Ultralow-loss polaritons in isotopically pure boron nitride

DOE PAGES

Giles, Alexander J.; Dai, Siyuan; Vurgaftman, Igor; ...

2017-12-11

Conventional optical components are limited to size scales much larger than the wavelength of light, as changes to the amplitude, phase and polarization of the electromagnetic fields are accrued gradually along an optical path. However, advances in nanophotonics have produced ultrathin, so-called ‘flat’ optical components that beget abrupt changes in these properties over distances significantly shorter than the free-space wavelength. Although high optical losses still plague many approaches, phonon polariton (PhP) materials have demonstrated long lifetimes for sub-diffractional modes in comparison to plasmon-polariton-based nanophotonics. We experimentally observe a threefold improvement in polariton lifetime through isotopic enrichment of hexagonal boron nitridemore » (hBN). Commensurate increases in the polariton propagation length are demonstrated via direct imaging of polaritonic standing waves by means of infrared nano-optics. Lastly, our results provide the foundation for a materials-growth-directed approach aimed at realizing the loss control necessary for the development of PhP-based nanophotonic devices.« less

Polypropylene Biocomposites with Boron Nitride and Nanohydroxyapatite Reinforcements

PubMed Central

Chan, Kai Wang; Wong, Hoi Man; Yeung, Kelvin Wai Kwok; Tjong, Sie Chin

2015-01-01

In this study, we develop binary polypropylene (PP) composites with hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanoplatelets and ternary hybrids reinforced with hBN and nanohydroxyapatite (nHA). Filler hybridization is a sound approach to make novel nanocomposites with useful biological and mechanical properties. Tensile test, osteoblastic cell culture and dimethyl thiazolyl diphenyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay were employed to investigate the mechanical performance, bioactivity and biocompatibility of binary PP/hBN and ternary PP/hBN-nHA composites. The purpose is to prepare biocomposite nanomaterials with good mechanical properties and biocompatibility for replacing conventional polymer composites reinforced with large hydroxyapatite microparticles at a high loading of 40 vol%. Tensile test reveals that the elastic modulus of PP composites increases, while tensile elongation decreases with increasing hBN content. Hybridization of hBN with nHA further enhances elastic modulus of PP. The cell culture and MTT assay show that osteoblastic cells attach and proliferate on binary PP/hBN and ternary PP/hBN-20%nHA nanocomposites. PMID:28787984

High-Responsivity Graphene-Boron Nitride Photodetector and Autocorrelator in a Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuit.

PubMed

Shiue, Ren-Jye; Gao, Yuanda; Wang, Yifei; Peng, Cheng; Robertson, Alexander D; Efetov, Dmitri K; Assefa, Solomon; Koppens, Frank H L; Hone, James; Englund, Dirk

2015-11-11

Graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) materials have emerged as promising materials for broadband and ultrafast photodetection and optical modulation. These optoelectronic capabilities can augment complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices for high-speed and low-power optical interconnects. Here, we demonstrate an on-chip ultrafast photodetector based on a two-dimensional heterostructure consisting of high-quality graphene encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride. Coupled to the optical mode of a silicon waveguide, this 2D heterostructure-based photodetector exhibits a maximum responsivity of 0.36 A/W and high-speed operation with a 3 dB cutoff at 42 GHz. From photocurrent measurements as a function of the top-gate and source-drain voltages, we conclude that the photoresponse is consistent with hot electron mediated effects. At moderate peak powers above 50 mW, we observe a saturating photocurrent consistent with the mechanisms of electron-phonon supercollision cooling. This nonlinear photoresponse enables optical on-chip autocorrelation measurements with picosecond-scale timing resolution and exceptionally low peak powers.

Superhard nanocomposite of dense polymorphs of boron nitride: Noncarbon material has reached diamond hardness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubrovinskaia, Natalia; Solozhenko, Vladimir L.; Miyajima, Nobuyoshi; Dmitriev, Vladimir; Kurakevych, Oleksandr O.; Dubrovinsky, Leonid

2007-03-01

The authors report a synthesis of unique superhard aggregated boron nitride nanocomposites (ABNNCs) showing the enhancement of hardness up to 100% in comparison with single crystal c-BN. Such a great hardness increase is due to the combination of the Hall-Petch and the quantum confinement effects. The decrease of the grain size down to 14nm and the simultaneous formation of the two dense BN phases with hexagonal and cubic structures within the grains at nano- and subnanolevel result in enormous mechanical property enhancement with maximum hardness of 85(5)GPa. Thus, ABNNC is the first non-carbon-based bulk material with the value of hard-ness approaching that of single crystal and polycrystalline diamond and aggregated diamond nanorods. ABNNC also has an unusually high fracture toughness for superhard materials (K1C=15MPam0.5) and wear resistance (WH=11; compare, for industrial polycrystalline diamond, WH=3-4), in combination with high thermal stability (above 1600K in air), making it an exceptional superabrasive.