Abstract

We show that in a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system, the residual oxygen and/or air play a crucial role in the mechanism of the growth of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films on Ni foil ‘enclosures’. Hexagonal-BN films grow on the Ni foil surface via the formation of an intermediate boric-oxide (BOx) phase followed by a thermal reduction of the BOx by a carbon source (either amorphous carbon powder or methane), leading to the formation of single- and bi-layer h-BN. Low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and diffraction (LEED) were used to map the number of layers over large areas; Raman spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) were used to characterize the structure and physical quality of the ultra-thin h-BN film. The growth procedure reported here leads to a better understanding and control of the synthesis of ultra-thin h-BN films.

Highlights

  • Major advances have been made over the last decade or so in the growth of large area polycrystalline and single crystal graphene [1,2,3]

  • In the case of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) growth on polycrystalline Ni and Co the growth has been reported to be a process of diffusion of B-N or B and N species thorough the metal followed by segregation to form the h-BN phase [13,14,15,16, 35]

  • Substrates such as flat Ni foils and Ni foil enclosures were used to grow h-BN by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using borazane as the precursor

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Major advances have been made over the last decade or so in the growth of large area polycrystalline and single crystal graphene [1,2,3]. We report the carbon-assisted formation of ultra-thin h-BN films on the interior surface of a nickel foil enclosure.

Results
Conclusion

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.