Chemical Vapor Deposition of Highly Conjugated, Transparent Boron Carbon Nitride Thin Films

Abstract

Ternary materials made up only from the lightweight elements boron, carbon, and nitrogen are very attractive due to their tunable properties that can be obtained by changing the relative elemental composition. However, most of the times, the synthesis requires to use up to three different precursor and very high temperatures for the synthesis. Moreover, the low reciprocal solubility of boron nitride and graphene often leads to BN-C composite materials due to phase segregation. Herein, an innovative method is presented to prepare BCN thin films by chemical vapor deposition from a single source precursor, melamine diborate. The deposition occurs homogenously at relatively low temperatures generating very high degree of sp 2 conjugation. The as-prepared thin films possess high transparency and refractive index values in the visible range that are of interest for reflective mirrors and lenses. Furthermore, they are wide-bandgap semiconductor with very positive valence band, making these materials very stable against oxidation of interest as protective coating and charge transport layer for solar cells. The simple chemical vapor deposition method that relies on commonly available and low-hazard precursor can open the way for application of BCN thin films in optics, optoelectronics, and beyond.

Boron Carbon Nitride-Based Poly β-Cyclodextrin/Sulfur-Doped Quantum Dot-Modified Electrodes for Highly Sensitive Detection of 2-Amino-5-Nitrophenol

“…With the absorbance data, the band gap of the material was calculated using the Tauc method. As depicted in Figure A, the absorption spectrum shows a notable peak around 324 nm, indicating the absorption wavelength associated with the synthesized BCN nanomaterial . The band gap energy was determined through the Tauc function, expressed by the equation ̀ α h ν = A ( h v − E g ) 1 / 2 where α represents the absorption efficiency, h is Planck’s constant, ν denotes the radiation frequency, and A is a constant.…”

Boron carbon nitride (BCN): an emerging two-dimensional nanomaterial for supercapacitors

“…BCN thin films with a higher optical transparency and large refractive index in the visible region was prepared by Giusto et al 39 For this experimental procedure, melamine–boric acid adduct was used, which is a non-hazardous and readily available chemical. As boric acid contains strong B–O bond, it can be cleaved to prepare B–N and B–C bonds, driven through aromatization at elevated temperatures.…”

Graphitic carbon nitride-based nanostructures as emergent catalysts for carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation

“…50 Later, the same group made substantial advances in the synthesis of g-C 3 N 4 -based materials. 24,77–80 There are various reviews discussing in detail the preparation methods of g-C 3 N 4 . 21,28,81–83…”