Abstract
Boron nitride (BN) aerogels are porous materials with a continuous three-dimensional network structure. They are attracting increasing attention for a wide range of applications. Here, we report the template-assisted synthesis of BN aerogels by catalyst-free, low-pressure chemical vapor deposition on graphene-carbon nanotube composite aerogels using borazine as the B and N sources with a relatively low temperature of 900 °C. The three-dimensional structure of the BN aerogels was achieved through the structural design of carbon aerogel templates. The BN aerogels have an ultrahigh specific surface area, ultralow density, excellent oil absorbing ability, and high temperature oxidation resistance. The specific surface area of BN aerogels can reach up to 1051 m2 g−1, 2-3 times larger than the reported BN aerogels. The mass density can be as low as 0.6 mg cm−3, much lower than that of air. The BN aerogels exhibit high hydrophobic properties and can absorb up to 160 times their weight in oil. This is much higher than porous BN nanosheets reported previously. The BN aerogels can be restored for reuse after oil absorption simply by burning them in air. This is because of their high temperature oxidation resistance and suggests broad utility as water treatment tools.
Highlights
Boron nitride (BN) aerogels are porous materials with a continuous three-dimensional network structure
The carbon templates in our work have a continuous 3D stacking network structure of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that are coated with graphene
Template-assisted methods allow the BN aerogels to copy the structure of the carbon aerogel templates, and it is important to find an effective process for the BN to grow on carbon substrates
Summary
Boron nitride (BN) aerogels are porous materials with a continuous three-dimensional network structure. BN aerogels[9,10] are special BN-based porous materials with continuous three-dimensional (3D) network structure, ultralow density and high specific surface area They are attracting great attention for their potential applications as catalyst supports[11,12], gas storage tools[13,14,15,16,17,18] and water treatment tools[19,20], etc. BN foam with an ultralow mass density (1.6 mg cm−3) has been reported[31] with Ni foam employed as a catalyst and template This route cannot be applied for the synthesis of BN-based porous materials without a catalyst—the commercial Ni template restricts the size and morphology of the BN foam. Compounds with a 1:1 B/N stoichiometry are often selected as h-BN precursors for CVD, and borazine (B3N3H6) could be a promising choice because it might produce BN and hydrogen both of which are environmentally friendly
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