A facile solid state reaction route towards nearly monodisperse hexagonal boron nitridenanoparticles

Abstract

Nearly monodisperse hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanoparticles with low agglomeration degree were successfully synthesized via a modified solid state metathesis reaction route. It was found that sulfur was essential for preparing monodisperse hBN nanoparticles at 250 °C. However, when the temperature exceeded 300 °C, hBN nanoparticles with uniform size could also be quickly synthesized even without sulfur, and the yield was up to ∼65%. Furthermore, the experimental results were properly explained by a fast reaction and explosive dispersion mechanism, which was proposed according to the exothermal reaction between sulfur and NaN₃ and the explosive decomposition of the latter. Besides, the good thermal stability and high specific surface area made the as-prepared hBN nanoparticles applicable in many areas.