Scientific Achievement
A novel catalytic process was developed to grow high quality boron nitride films with controllable numbers of layers at atmospheric pressure using gaseous molecular nitrogen and various forms of solid boron as the precursors.
Significance and Impact
This synthesis method has major industrial significance, impacting application areas of (i) single-crystal electronic grade hBN with controllable number of layers as the dielectric of choice for emerging 2D microelectronics and (ii) protection of industrial alloys with extremely large-scale usage such as low-carbon and stainless steels. This approach can be readily adopted for large-scale hBN synthesis in applications where cost, production volume, and process safety are essential.
Research Details
- hBN coating on steels exhibits improved protection against harsh corrosion over long time and against high-temperature oxidation in air, as well as a lubricating effect comparable to that of Teflon
- demonstrated the ability to grow wafer-scale single-crystal hBN with tunable number of layers for emerging 2D microelectronics
- Nitrogen dissociative adsorption on catalytic substrates recognized as the rate-limiting step, similar to that in the Haber-Bosch process
I. Vlassiouk, et al., “Armor for Steel: Facile Synthesis of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Films on Various Substrates,” Advanced Materials Interfaces 11, 2300704 (2023). DOI:10.1002/admi.202300704
Work conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
