Anisotropic alignment of non-modified BN nanosheets in polysiloxane matrix under nano pulse width electricity

Abstract

Boron nitride (BN) nanosheets/polysiloxane composites were fabricated under nano pulse width electric field to enhance the anisotropic alignment of BN nanosheets in a viscous matrix. BN nanosheets have unique physical and thermal properties and exhibit semiconducting behavior with a wide band gap comparing to carbon graphite. However the researches over one dimensional arrangement of BN nanosheets with application of the electric field are limited. The difficulty of modifying the BN surface with electrophilic metal particles or organic functional groups due to its remarkable chemical inertness is one of the reasons. In this study, we attempted to fabricate anisotropic aligned BN nanosheets in a viscous polysiloxane matrix without surface modification of BN nanosheets by using nano pulse width electricity. The electric responses of various nano-dimensional BN nanoparticles were compared by zeta potential. Two kinds of polysiloxane pre-polymers were used to compare the viscosity effects of the polymer matrix. The anisotropic alignment of none-modified BN nanosheets inside polysiloxane can be controlled with variation of the shape and dimension of BN nanosheets, electrodes, DC electric fields, and by application of nano pulse width electricity.