Chemical Synthesis and Characterization of Flaky h-BCN at High Pressure and High Temperature

Hexagonal boron carbonitrogen (h-BCN) compound is synthesized from a
mixture of boron powder and CNH compound prepared by pyrolysis of
melamine (C₃H₆N₆) under high temperature (1400--1500°C) and high pressure (5.0--5.5GPa). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy are used to determine the chemical composition and bonds of the product. The results show that the product has composition of B_0.18C_0.64N_0.16 (near BC₄N) and atomic-level hybrid. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the powder has a hexagonal network structure. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy results suggest that h-BCN compound morphology is mainly flaky in width about 1μm and thickness 200nm.