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The thermal oxidation of hexagonal boron nitride single crystals: Dry and ambient air compared

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Abstract

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), a two dimensional (2D) material is used to protect the 2D materials from environment through encapsulation due to its oxidation resistant ability. High temperature electronics based on graphene and hBN hetrostructures have the potential to operate in extreme environments. Thus, it is critical to investigate the oxidation behavior of bulk hBN single crystals at high temperatures in different environments. This study reports on the thermal oxidation of single hBN crystals in dry air, from 800 to 1100°C, for 20 to 60 min, and is compared to the oxidation in ambient air. Oxidation in both dry and ambient air produced etch pits and particles. Pit formation was localized and non-uniform across the hBN crystal surfaces. Increasing the temperature and duration in dry air did not significantly change the surface pit sizes, that was in contrast to the thermal oxidation in ambient air (which contains a small water concentration). Elemental analysis by SEM/EDX revealed the major elements of the particles were boron and oxygen.

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Data availability

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our collaborators Elisabeth Mansfield, and Jason D. Holm from National Institute of Science and Technology for their help with elemental analysis by scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy.

Funding

This project was supported by National Science Foundation Award CHE –1621665. Support for hexagonal boron nitride crystal growth from the Office of Naval Research Award N00014-20-1-2474 is greatly appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Georgia Gwinnett College, School of Science and Technology, Lawrenceville, GA, 30043, USA

    N. Khan

  2. Tim Taylor Department of Chemical Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA

    J. Li & J. H. Edgar

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  1. N. Khan
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  2. J. Li
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  3. J. H. Edgar
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Correspondence to N. Khan.

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Khan, N., Li, J. & Edgar, J.H. The thermal oxidation of hexagonal boron nitride single crystals: Dry and ambient air compared. MRS Communications 12, 74–82 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-021-00143-8

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