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We report an experimental study of excitons in a double quantum well van der Waals heterostructure made of atomically thin layers of MoS{sub 2} and hexagonal boron nitride. The emission of neutral and charged excitons is controlled by gate voltage, temperature, and both the helicity and the power of optical excitation.
Here, we report the development of deep-learning coherent electron diffractive imaging at subangstrom resolution using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained with only simulated data. We experimentally demonstrate this method by applying the trained CNNs to recover the phase images from electron diffraction patterns of twisted hexagonal boron nitride, monolayer graphene, and a gold nanoparticle with comparable quality to those reconstructed by a conventional ptychographic algorithm. Fourier ring correlation between the CNN and ptychographic images indicates the achievement of a resolution in the range of 0.70 and 0.55 Å. We further develop CNNs to recover the probe function from the experimental data. The ability to replace iterative algorithms with CNNs and perform real-time atomic imaging from coherent diffraction patterns is expected to find applications in the physical and biological sciences.
In this work, we synthesized mixed-phase hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN)/cubic-BN (c-BN) composites with varying ratios and investigated their frequency and temperature-dependent dielectric properties. As the ratio of c-BN increased, we observed a corresponding increase in the dielectric constant of the composites. Furthermore, we used spark-plasma sintering (SPS) to treat the mixed-phase composite, which resulted in a phase transformation from mixed phase to pure h-BN phase. Remarkably, the composite exhibited an increase in dielectric constant after the SPS process, which can be attributed to the densification of the composite and the enhancement in grain size. Our approach presents a promising strategy for effectively modulating the dielectric properties of BN, which is crucial for advanced electronics.
A method for fabricating a neutron detector includes providing an epilayer wafer of Boron-10 enriched hexagonal boron nitride (h-10BN or h-BN or 10BN or BN) having a thickness (t), dicing or cutting the epilayer wafer into one or more BN strips having a width (W) and a length (L), and depositing a first metal contact on a first surface of at least one of the BN strip and a second metal contact on a second surface of the at least one BN strip. The neutron detector includes an electrically insulating submount, a BN epilayer of Boron-10 enriched hexagonal boron nitride (h-10BN or h-BN or 10BN or BN) placed on the insulating submount, a first metal contact deposited on a first surface of the BN epilayer, and a second metal contact deposited on a second surface of the BN epilayer.
A method for fabricating a neutron detector includes providing an epilayer wafer of Boron-10 enriched hexagonal boron nitride (h- 10 BN or h-BN or 10 BN or BN) having a thickness (t), dicing or cutting the epilayer wafer into one or more BN strips having a width (W) and a length (L), and depositing a first metal contact on a first surface of at least one of the BN strip and a second metal contact on a second surface of the at least one BN strip. The neutron detector includes an electrically insulating submount, a BN epilayer of Boron-10 enriched hexagonal boron nitride (h- 10 BN or h-BN or 10 BN or BN) placed on the insulating submount, a first metal contact deposited on a first surface of the BN epilayer, and a second metal contact deposited on a second surface of the BN epilayer.
This project was funded under the Department of Energy (DOE) Lab Call on Nanomanufacturing for Energy Efficiency and was directed toward the development of novel boron-based nanocolloidal lubrication additives for improving the friction and wear performance of machine components in a wide range of industrial and transportation applications. Argonne's research team concentrated on the scientific and technical aspects of the project, using a range of state-of-the art analytical and tribological test facilities. Argonne has extensive past experience and expertise in working with boron-based solid and liquid lubrication additives, and has intellectual property ownership of several. There were two industrial collaborators in this project: Ashland Oil (represented by its Valvoline subsidiary) and Primet Precision Materials, Inc. (a leading nanomaterials company). There was also a sub-contract with the University of Arkansas. The major objectives of the project were to develop novel boron-based nanocolloidal lubrication additives and to optimize and verify their performance under boundary-lubricated sliding conditions. The project also tackled problems related to colloidal dispersion, larger-scale manufacturing and blending of nano-additives with base carrier oils. Other important issues dealt with in the project were determination of the optimum size and concentration of the particles and compatibility with various base fluids and/or additives. Boron-based particulate additives considered in this project included boric acid (H 3 BO 3 ), hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), boron oxide, and borax. As part of this project, we also explored a hybrid MoS 2 + boric acid formulation approach for more effective lubrication and reported the results. The major motivation behind this work was to reduce energy losses related to friction and wear in a wide spectrum of mechanical systems and thereby reduce our dependence on imported oil. Growing concern over greenhouse gas emissions was also a major reason. The transportation sector alone consumes about 13 million barrels of crude oil per day (nearly 60% of which is imported) and is responsible for about 30% of the CO 2 emission. When we consider manufacturing and other energy-intensive industrial processes, the amount of petroleum being consumed due to friction and wear reaches more than 20 million barrels per day (from official energy statistics, U.S. Energy Information Administration). Frequent remanufacturing and/or replacement of worn parts due to friction-, wear-, and scuffing-related degradations also consume significant amounts of energy and give rise to additional CO 2 emission. Overall, the total annual cost of friction- and wear-related energy and material losses is estimated to be rather significant (i.e., as much as 5% of the gross national products of highly industrialized nations). It is projected that more than half of the total friction- and wear-related energy losses can be recovered by developing and implementing advanced friction and wear control technologies. In transportation vehicles alone, 10% to 15% of the fuel energy is spent to overcome friction. If we can cut down the friction- and wear-related energy losses by half, then we can potentially save up to 1.5 million barrels of petroleum per day. Also, less friction and wear would mean less energy consumption as well as less carbon emissions and hazardous byproducts being generated and released to the environment. New and more robust anti-friction and -wear control technologies may thus have a significant positive impact on improving the efficiency and environmental cleanliness of the current legacy fleet and future transportation systems. Effective control of friction in other industrial sectors such as manufacturing, power generation, mining and oil exploration, and agricultural and earthmoving machinery may bring more energy savings. Therefore, this project was timely and responsive to the energy and environmental objectives of DOE and our nation. In this project, most of the boron-based materials with known and potential anti-friction and -wear properties have been manufactured as colloidal additives and tested for their effectiveness in controlling friction and wear. Unlike other anti-friction and -wear additives, which consist of zinc, molybdenum, sulfur, phosphorus, and even chlorine, lubricious boron compounds considered in this project are made of boron, oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen, which are more environmentally benign. Among others, boric acid is a natural mineral (known in mineralogy as "sassolite"). Based on our earlier exploratory research, it was found to offer the best overall prospect in terms of performance improvements, environmental friendliness, and ease of manufacturing and, hence, cost effectiveness. Hexagonal boron nitride and borax also offered good prospects for improving the tribological properties of lubricated sliding surfaces. Boron oxide particles were found to be rather hard and somewhat abrasive and, hence, were not considered beyond the initial screening studies. In our bench-top tribological evaluation, we also demonstrated that those additives which worked well with engine oils could work equally well with very common gear oils. When added at appropriate concentrations, such gear oils were found to provide significant resistance to micropitting and scuffing failures in bench-top tribological test systems. Their traction coefficients were also reduced substantially and their scuffing limits were improved considerably. Such impressive tribological behavior of boron-based additives may have been due to their high chemical affinities to interact with sliding contact surfaces and to form slick and protective boundary films. Indeed, our surface studies have confirmed that most of the boron-based nanoparticulate additives prepared in our project possess a strong tendency to form a boron-rich boundary film on sliding contact surfaces. It is believed that the formation of such slick and highly durable boundary films is perhaps one of the fundamental reasons for their superior anti-friction, -wear, and -scuffing performance. Boron-based additives developed under this project have shown potential to reduce or replace the uses of environmentally unsafe sulfur- and phosphorus-bearing anti-wear and friction additives, such as zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) and molybdenum dialkyl dithiocarbamate (MoDTC), in current lubricating oils. Because ZDDP and MoDTC were suspected of adversely impacting the performance of after-treatment catalysts in current engines, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other regulatory agencies are demanding that the concentrations of these catalysts in current oils be curtailed drastically. The boron-based nano-additives developed in this project may help reduce the use of ZDDP and MoDTC additives and, hence, help ease the poisoning effects on after-treatment catalysts. When used as lubricity additives, these boron additives can chemically interact with sliding or contacting surfaces and form a protective and slick boundary film, which can, in turn, help reduce friction and wear and increase resistance to scuffing. In the cases of traditional anti-friction and -wear additives mentioned, such protective boundary films result from phosphorus, sulfur, and other elements in the additive package, and again they have been under increased scrutiny in recent years, mainly because of their adverse effects on after-treatment devices. Overall, the boron-based nano-additive technology of this project was shown to hold promise for a broad range of industrial and transportation applications where lower friction and higher resistance to wear and scuffing are needed. Due to more stringent operating conditions of modern machinery, rolling, rotating, and sliding components have been failing to meet the projected lifetimes, mainly because of failures related to mechanical wear, corrosion, and scuffing. The novel boron-based additive technology developed under this project may help such machine components to function reliably by cutting down the friction and wear losses and by increasing resistance to scuffing.
Two-dimensional atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayers have attracted considerable research interest. In this paper, given the tremendous progress in the synthesis of h-BN monolayers on transition metals and their potential as electrocatalysts, we investigate the electrocatalytic activities of h-BN/Ni, h-BN/Co, and h-BN/Cu interfaces for CO 2 reduction by the first-principles density functional theory. We find that with the h-BN monolayer on the metal, electrons transfer from the metal to the interface and accumulate under the B atoms. By calculating the binding energies of three key intermediates (H, HCOO, and COOH) for hydrogen evolution and CO 2 reduction, we find that H binding on the metal can be significantly weakened by the h-BN monolayer, preventing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the binding strength of HCOO is strong on both the metal and h-BN/metal, especially for Ni and Co, promoting the CO 2 reduction channel. On the basis of the free-energy diagrams, we predict that h-BN/Ni and h-BN/Co will have very good electrocatalytic activities for CO 2 reduction to HCOOH, while the competitive HER channel is filtered out by the surface h-BN monolayer. Finally, our study opens a new way for selective electroreduction of CO 2 via the interface engineering of the h-BN/metal system.
Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a highly selective catalyst for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP) to propylene. Using a variety of ex situ characterization techniques, the activity of the catalyst has been attributed to the formation of an amorphous boron oxyhydroxide surface layer. The ODHP reaction mechanism proceeds via a combination of surface mediated and gas phase propagated radical reactions with the relative importance of both depending on the surface-to-void-volume ratio. Here we demonstrate the unique capability of operando X-ray Raman spectroscopy (XRS) to investigate the oxyfunctionalization of the catalyst under reaction conditions (1 mm outer diameter reactor, 500 to 550 °C, P = 30 kPa C 3 H 8 , 15 kPa O 2 , 56 kPa He). We probe the effect of a water cofeed on the surface of the activated catalyst and find that water removes boron oxyhydroxide from the surface, resulting in a lower reaction rate when the surface reaction dominates and an enhanced reaction rate when the gas phase contribution dominates. Computational description of the surface transformations at an atomic-level combined with high precision XRS spectra simulations with the OCEAN code rationalize the experimental observations. Finally, this work establishes XRS as a powerful technique for the investigation of light element-containing catalysts under working conditions.
Abstract We demonstrate the reversible intercalation of CO between a hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN) monolayer and a Rh(111) substrate above a threshold CO pressure of 0.01 mbar at room temperature. The intercalation of CO results in the flattening of the originally corrugated h‐BN nanomesh and an electronic decoupling of the BN layer from the Rh substrate. The intercalated CO molecules assume a coverage and adsorption site distribution comparable to that on the free Rh(111) surface at similar conditions. The pristine h‐BN nanomesh is reinstated upon heating to above 625 K. These observations may open up opportunities for a reversible tuning of the electronic and structural properties of monolayer BN films.
We report fabrication and characterization of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)-encapsulated carbon nanotube (CNT) field effect transistors, which are coupled to electrical leads via zero-dimensional contacts. Device quality is attested by the ohmic contacts and observation of Coulomb blockade with a single periodicity in small bandgap semiconducing nanotubes. Surprisingly, hBN-encapsulated CNT devices demonstrate significantly enhanced current carrying capacity; a single-walled CNT can sustain >180 μA current or, equivalently, a current density of ~2 × 10 10 A/cm 2 , which is a factor of 6–7 higher than devices supported on SiO 2 substrates. Such dramatic enhancement of current carrying capacity arises from the high thermal conductivity of hBN and lower hBN-CNT interfacial thermal resistance and has implications for carbon electronic applications.
Since its first application as a substrate for graphene field effect transistors (FETs), hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has become a prominent component in two-dimensional (2D) material devices. In addition, hBN has been shown to host defects that can be manipulated to change the electronic properties of adjacent 2D materials. Despite the wide use of such defect manipulations, no focused efforts have been made to further the understanding of defect excitations and their influence in graphene/hBN FETs. In this study, we explore the effect of high electric fields (~10 V/nm) on graphene/hBN FETs and find that persistent and reversible shifts in graphene's charge neutrality point (CNP) occur. By increasing the applied electric field and temperature of our device, we find that this CNP shift is enhanced. With this insight, we propose a mechanism that explains these observations based on Poole–Frenkel emissions from defects in hBN. Finally, we show that such an effect may be suppressed by using graphite as a backgate, thus preventing unintended changes in the electrical properties of graphene/hBN FETs.
The current approaches used to fabricate hexagonal boron nitrides (h-BN) from boron trioxide and urea always results in contamination of the h-BN product with carbon/oxygen. Thus, discovering a facile way of mass producing high-purity h-BN remains a challenge. A simple yet highly efficient thermal treatment approach to large-scale fabrication of nanoporous h-BN with high yield, high purity, and high crystallinity is described using NaNH 2 and NaBH 4 as the oxygen- and carbon-free precursors. The unique properties of inorganic metal salts, i.e., high melting point and strong electrostatic interaction with carbon substrates, render this strategy suitable for the production of homogeneous h-BN/mesoporous carbon and h-BN/carbon nanotube heterostructures of high crystallinity, high h-BN dispersity, and with a strong interfacial effect. Therefore, these unique features make them promising candidates for supercapacitor applications, resulting a significantly enhanced specific capacitance. This study provides new insight into the fabrication of high-purity h-BN and h-BN-based heterostructures thus expanding their application in the field of energy storage and transformation.
In this letter, we report a pilot study on epitaxy of monolayer graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). We found that GNRs grow preferentially from the atomic steps of h-BN, forming in-plane heterostructures. GNRs with well-defined widths ranging from ∼15 nm to ∼150 nm can be obtained reliably. As-grown GNRs on h-BN have high quality with a carrier mobility of ∼20 000 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} for ∼100-nm-wide GNRs at a temperature of 1.7 K. Besides, a moiré pattern induced quasi-one-dimensional superlattice with a periodicity of ∼15 nm for GNR/h-BN was also observed, indicating zero crystallographic twisting angle between GNRs and h-BN substrate. The superlattice induced band structure modification is confirmed by our transport results. These epitaxial GNRs/h-BN with clean surfaces/interfaces and tailored widths provide an ideal platform for high-performance GNR devices.
Chemical exfoliation of boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) from large flakes of specially synthesized micro-sized hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) ceramics was carried out through microfluidization. The surface of BNNSs obtained was then functionalized with vinyl-trimethoxy silane (VTS) coupling agent through microfluidization once again in an effort to make them compatible with organic materials, especially those including polymers. The morphology of BNNSs with and without silane treatment was then systematically characterized by conducting various different analytical techniques, including Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Bright field Transmission Electron Microscopy (BF-TEM), Contact angle analyzer (CAA), Particle size analyzer (PSA) and Fourier Transmission Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy attached with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) module. As a result, the silane treatment was determined to be properly and successfully carried out and to give rise to the irregularity of large flakes of the BNNSs by folding back their free edges upon themselves, which in turn assists in inducing further exfoliation of the few-layered nanosheets. To gain more insight into the effectiveness of the surface functionalization, thermal conductivity of polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites containing different amounts (1 wt% and 5 wt%) of BNNSs with and without silane treatment was experimentally investigated. Regardless of the weight content, PP nanocomposites containing silanized BNNSs were found to exhibit high thermal conductivity compared to PP nanocomposites containing BNNSs without silane treatment. It was concluded that microfluidization possesses the robustness to provide a reliable product quality, whether in small or large quantities, in a very time effective manner, when it comes to first exfoliating two-dimensional inorganic materials into few layered sheets, and functionalizing the surface of these sheets afterwards to make it possible to utilize them as promising filler constituent in manufacturing thermally conductive and electrically insulating polymer nanocomposites that could be considered as whole or a part of a heat-releasing device.
Results of ab initio study of magnetism and transport properties of charge carriers in zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNR) on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN(0001)) substrate are presented within the density functional theory framework. Peculiarities of the interface band structure and its role in the formation of magnetism and transport properties of the ZGNR/h-BN(0001) heterostructure have been studied using two different density functional approximations. The effect of the substrate and graphene nanoribbons width on the low-energy spectrum of π-electrons, local magnetic moments on atoms of interface, and charge carriers mobility in the ZGNR/h-BN(0001) heterostructures have been established for the first time. The regularity consisting in the charge carrier mobility growth with decrease of dimers number in nanoribbon was also established. It is found that the charge carriers mobility in the N-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) (N—number of carbon (C) dimers) heterostructures is 5% higher than in freestanding ZGNR.
In recent years, field-effect transistors (FETs) have been very promising for biosensor applications due to their high sensitivity, real-time applicability, scalability, and prospect of integrating measurement system on a chip. Non-carbon 2D materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), black phosphorus (BP), and metal oxides, are a group of new materials that have a huge potential in FET biosensor applications. In this work, we review the recent advances and remarkable studies of non-carbon 2D materials, in terms of their structures, preparations, properties and FET biosensor applications. We will also discuss the challenges facing non-carbon 2D materials-FET biosensors and their future perspectives.
The production of ethylene and propylene through aerobic alkane oxidation without significant coproduction of CO and CO 2 (CO x ) presents a challenge to academic and industrial researchers alike. Recently, boron-containing materials such as hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) have been identified as active and selective catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of propane to propylene with minimal CO x selectivity. Additionally, high olefin selectivity is also obtained in the oxidation of other alkanes and other materials such as metal borides and supported B/SiO 2 have been successfully applied to this transformation. Here, recent advances in the understanding of these catalysts in the oxidation of light alkanes are presented here providing a framework for further study of this exciting field.
Efficient nanophotonic devices are essential for applications in quantum networking, optical information processing, sensing, and nonlinear optics. Extensive research efforts have focused on integrating two-dimensional (2D) materials into photonic structures, but this integration is often limited by size and material quality. Here, we use hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), a benchmark choice for encapsulating atomically thin materials, as a waveguiding layer while simultaneously improving the optical quality of the embedded films. When combined with a photonic inverse design, it becomes a complete nanophotonic platform to interface with optically active 2D materials. Grating couplers and low-loss waveguides provide optical interfacing and routing, tunable cavities provide a large exciton-photon coupling to transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers through Purcell enhancement, and metasurfaces enable the efficient detection of TMD dark excitons. This work paves the way for advanced 2D-material nanophotonic structures for classical and quantum nonlinear optics.