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Defect engineering in Boron Nitride for catalysis

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Abstract

Catalytic processes are critical steps in numerous industrial processes. The discovery of high reactivity of defects in metal-free two-dimensional materials has bolstered their emergence as catalysts. Here we consider the effect of defect-inducing methods in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) on their performance for olefin and CO2 hydrogenation. We compare the changes introduced by ball milling and heat treatment in h-BN and show how varying the treatment conditions can impact the properties. We provide some evidence of the reactivity of the powders. Our results highlight how characterization can be exploited to assess the potential catalytic activity of h-BN for heterogeneous catalysis.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank Saint-Gobain Ceramic Materials for the generous donation of hexagonal boron nitride powders used in this study. We acknowledge the NSF support for CHE-1465105 entitled “SusChEM: Defect-laden 2D Catalysts for Carbon Sequestration and Safer Hydrogenation”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Orlando, FL, 32826, USA

    Yi Ding, Fernand Torres-Davila, Ahmad Khater & Laurene Tetard

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12760 Pegasus Drive, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA

    Yi Ding & Laurene Tetard

  3. Physics Department, University of Central Florida, 4111 Libra Drive, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA

    Fernand Torres-Davila, David Nash & Laurene Tetard

  4. Florida Space Institute, University of Central Florida, 4111 Libra Drive, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA

    Richard Blair

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  1. Yi Ding
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Correspondence to Laurene Tetard.

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The supplementary material for this article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2018.113.

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Ding, Y., Torres-Davila, F., Khater, A. et al. Defect engineering in Boron Nitride for catalysis. MRS Communications 8, 1236–1243 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2018.113

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2018.113

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