Size-dependent oriented attachment in the growth of pure and defect-free hexagonal boronnitride nanocrystals

Abstract

Pure and defect-free hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanocrystals with deep-ultravioletlight emissions at around 215 nm were prepared via a solid state reaction. Thisinvolved preparing a precursor from potassium borohydride and ammonium chloridepowders, and then heating the precursor and additional ammonium chloride to1000 °C within a nitrogen atmosphere. The hBN nanocrystals were studiedusing a variety of characterization techniques (e.g., TEM, AFM,N2 absorption/desorption). A growth mechanism based on size-dependent oriented attachmentwas proposed for the nanocrystals.