Boron nitride nanocarpets: controllable synthesis and their adsorption performance to organic pollutants

Abstract

Boron nitride (BN) nanocarpets were synthesized at 260 °C and 150 MPa by a hot-press benzene-thermal method, using NaN₃ and NH₄BF₄ as the reactants. The as-prepared BN nanocarpets are constructed of thin BN nano-sheets and a large amount of twisted nanorods rooted onto these nano-sheets. Besides the high density structural defects, BN nanocarpets also have a rather large specific surface area of 117.2 m² g⁻¹. Due to these characteristics, BN nanocarpets exhibit a very quick adsorption rate for methylene blue (MB) and the capacity is as high as ∼272.4 mg g⁻¹. Furthermore, these BN nanocarpets can also selectively adsorb methylene blue from a mixed solution of MB and CuSO₄. It is reasonable to believe that BN nanocarpets may find wide applications in wastewater treatment and the recovery of valuable organic compounds from wastewater.