Novel Precursor for h-BN Synthesis on Ni(111) Substrates

In this study, we report the synthesis of single-crystalline h-BN on Ni(111) under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions using hexamethylborazine (HMB) as a nonclassical precursor. The novel use of HMB facilitates the diffusion of methyl groups into the bulk of Ni(111), playing a critical role in the achievement of high-quality crystalline h-BN layers. The synthesis is performed on a 2 mm-thick Ni(111) single crystal and on a 2-μm-thick Ni(111) thin film on sapphire to evaluate the feasibility of synthesizing h-BN on industrially relevant substrates. Advanced microscopic and spectroscopic techniques confirm the successful synthesis of h-BN. The growth of h-BN was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron microscopy. Low-energy electron diffraction confirms the single crystallinity of the grown 2-dimensional layer. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the presence of boron and nitrogen bonds at the same binding energies reported in the literature for h-BN. In contrast, photoemission electron microscopy allows identification of the presence of h-BN throughout the Ni(111) surface. This work advances the understanding of h-BN growth mechanisms on metal substrates and provides a foundation for improving synthesis methods to meet the demands of next-generation materials and devices.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
Published
2025-08-21
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c03822
Primary Topic
Graphene research and applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Novel Precursor for h-BN Synthesis on Ni(111) Substrates

Núria Félez-Guerrero, Liviu C. Tănase, Maurício J. Prieto, Irene M. N. Groot et al.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
Graphene research and applications
article

Novel Precursor for h-BN Synthesis on Ni(111) Substrates

Núria Félez-Guerrero, Liviu C. Tănase, Maurício J. Prieto, Irene M. N. Groot, Jim van Os, Tycho Roorda, Mohamad‐Assaad Mawass, V. A. Virchenko, Richard M. van Rijn, Thomas Schmidt, Sergi Campos‐Jara, Andy Jiao, Grégory F. Schneider, Vladimir Calvi, Rick Monsma, Laurens P. M. de Jong, Jing-Wen Hsueh
article en

Abstract

In this study, we report the synthesis of single-crystalline h-BN on Ni(111) under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions using hexamethylborazine (HMB) as a nonclassical precursor. The novel use of HMB facilitates the diffusion of methyl groups into the bulk of Ni(111), playing a critical role in the achievement of high-quality crystalline h-BN layers. The synthesis is performed on a 2 mm-thick Ni(111) single crystal and on a 2-μm-thick Ni(111) thin film on sapphire to evaluate the feasibility of synthesizing h-BN on industrially relevant substrates. Advanced microscopic and spectroscopic techniques confirm the successful synthesis of h-BN. The growth of h-BN was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron microscopy. Low-energy electron diffraction confirms the single crystallinity of the grown 2-dimensional layer. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the presence of boron and nitrogen bonds at the same binding energies reported in the literature for h-BN. In contrast, photoemission electron microscopy allows identification of the presence of h-BN throughout the Ni(111) surface. This work advances the understanding of h-BN growth mechanisms on metal substrates and provides a foundation for improving synthesis methods to meet the demands of next-generation materials and devices.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry CVol. 129(35)
Leiden University (NL), University of Applied Sciences Leiden (NL), Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (DE), Delft University of Technology (NL)
Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Universiteit Leiden, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Openalex Percentile: Top 84%
Graphene research and applications
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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