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Stability of BN/metal interfaces in gaseous atmosphere

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Abstract

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is often prepared by epitaxial growth on metals, and stability of the formed BN/metal interfaces in gaseous environment is a key issue for physicochemical properties of the BN overlayers. As an illustration here, the structural change of a BN/Ru(0001) interface upon exposure to O2 has been investigated using in situ photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) and ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS). We demonstrate the occurrence of oxygen intercalation of the BN overlayers in O2 atmosphere, which decouples the BN overlayer from the substrate. Comparative studies of oxygen intercalation at BN/Ru(0001) and graphene/Ru(0001) surfaces indicate that the oxygen intercalation of BN overlayers happens more easily than graphene. This finding will be of importance for future applications of BN-based devices and materials under ambient conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, China

    Yang Yang, Qiang Fu, Mingming Wei & Xinhe Bao

  2. Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA

    Hendrik Bluhm

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  1. Yang Yang
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  2. Qiang Fu
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  3. Mingming Wei
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  4. Hendrik Bluhm
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  5. Xinhe Bao
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Correspondence to Qiang Fu or Xinhe Bao.

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Yang, Y., Fu, Q., Wei, M. et al. Stability of BN/metal interfaces in gaseous atmosphere. Nano Res. 8, 227–237 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0639-0

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