Search

Low-cost and high-efficiency catalysts are of crucial importance for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Two-dimensional (2D) boron nitride (B–N) compounds formed by the combination of boron and nitrogen atoms of group III and V elements are promising candidates for electrocatalytic HER due to their significant electronic properties. Hence, an electrocatalyst is computer-aided designed with isolated single atoms of 3d, 4d, and 5d transition metals supported on 2D B–N (B2N, B5N3, and B7N5) monolayers to fabricate single-atom catalysts (SACs) with an excellent HER performance. Moreover, pH modulations are considered to improve the HER activity theoretically based on first-principles calculation. Our results indicate that B–N compounds surface doping with transition metal atoms can effectively enhance the HER catalytic performance over a wide range of pH. Among all SACs studied, Co-, Ti-, V-, Nb-, Ru-, Tc-, Zr-, and Os-embedded B2N, Sc-, Cr-, Mn-, Ti-, and Y-embedded B5N3, and Sc- and Mn-embedded B7N5 have excellent catalytic activity under acidic conditions, while Mo-, Ir-, Re-, Ta-, and W-embedded B2N and Ti- and Fe-embedded B7N5 show high catalytic activity under alkaline conditions. Interestingly, Hf@B2N and V@B5N3 systems exhibit promising catalytic activity under acidic, neutral, and alkaline conditions. Our work offers cost-effective candidates with a wide pH range HER performance for exploring ideal electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bragg interferometry (BI) is an imaging technique based on four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) wherein the intensities of select overlapping Bragg disks are fit or more qualitatively analyzed in the context of simple trigonometric equations to determine local stacking order. In 4D-STEM based approaches, the collection of full diffraction patterns at each real-space position of the scanning probe allows the use of precise virtual apertures much smaller and more variable in shape than those used in conventional dark field imaging such that even buried interfaces marginally twisted from other layers can be targeted. With a coarse-grained form of dark field ptychography, BI uses simple physically derived fitting functions to extract the average structure within the illumination region and is, therefore, viable over large fields of view. BI has shown a particular advantage for selectively investigating the interlayer stacking and associated moiré reconstruction of bilayer interfaces within complex multi-layered structures. This has enabled investigation of reconstruction and substrate effects in bilayers through encapsulating hexagonal boron nitride and of select bilayer interfaces within trilayer stacks. However, the technique can be improved to provide a greater spatial resolution and probe a wider range of twisted structures, for which current limitations on acquisition parameters can lead to large illumination regions and the computationally involved post-processing can fail. Here, we analyze these limitations and the computational processing in greater depth, presenting a few methods for improvement over previous works, discussing potential areas for further expansion, and illustrating the current capabilities of this approach for extracting moiré-scale strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epoxy dielectrics with high through-plane thermal conductivity (λ) hold great promise for applications in the thermal management of advanced power electronics. Intensive attempts have been made to improve the λ of epoxy by filling with boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs). However, it remains a great challenge to achieve a satisfactory increased λ by a small amount of BNNS loading. Herein, we reported a new strategy to prepare epoxy dielectrics with internal three-dimensional phonon transport channels by vacuum freeze-drying and vacuum impregnation. Aramid nanofibers (ANFs) and BNNSs were used for the collaborative construction of a vertical interconnected thermal framework. The resultant ANF-BNNS/epoxy achieved a high through-plane λ of 0.87 W m−1 K−1 at only 1.43 vol. % BNNS, which is ∼17.1% higher than that of the BNNS/epoxy counterpart with even 18.34 vol. % randomly distributed BNNS. The increasing efficiency of λ of epoxy by ANF-BNNS is tenfold more than that of the conventional blending methods. In addition, the ANF-BNNS/epoxy composite also exhibits a low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss. The findings of this study offer an inspired venue to develop high-performance thermally conductive epoxy dielectrics with a minimal BNNS loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New properties can arise at van der Waals (vdW) interfaces hosting a moiré pattern generated by interlayer twist and strain. However, achieving precise control of interlayer twist/strain remains an ongoing challenge in vdW heterostructure assembly, and even subtle variation in these structural parameters can create significant changes in the moiré period and emergent properties. Characterizing the rate of interlayer twist/strain relaxation during thermal annealing is critical to establish a thermal budget for vdW heterostructure construction and may provide a route to improve the homogeneity of the interface or to control its final state. Here, we characterize the spatial and temporal dependence of interfacial twist and strain relaxation in marginally-twisted hBN/hBN interfaces heated under conditions relevant to vdW heterostructure assembly and typical sample annealing. We find that the ferroelectric hBN/hBN moiré at very small twist angles (θ ≤ 0.1 °) relaxes minimally during annealing in air at typical assembly temperatures of 170 ° C. However, at 400 ° C, twist angle relaxes significantly, accompanied by a decrease in spatial uniformity. Uniaxial heterostrain initially increases and then decreases over time, becoming increasingly non-uniform in direction. Structural irregularities such as step edges, contamination bubbles, or contact with the underlying substrate result in local inhomogeneity in the rate of relaxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) on piezoelectric insulators can generate dynamic periodic potentials inside one-dimensional and two-dimensional materials. These periodic potentials have been utilized or proposed for various applications, including acoustoelectric charge pumping. In this study, we investigate acoustoelectric charge pumping in graphene with very low electrostatic disorder. By employing a graphite top gate on boron-nitride-encapsulated graphene, we adjust the graphene carrier concentration over a broad range, enabling us to examine the acoustoelectric signal in both mixed-carrier and single-carrier regimes. We discuss the benefits of h-BN-encapsulated graphene for charge pumping applications and introduce a model that describes the acoustoelectric signal across all carrier concentrations, including at the charge neutrality point. This quantitative model will support future SAW-enabled explorations of phenomena in low-dimensional materials and guide the design of novel SAW sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has excellent thermal conductivity and dielectric properties, which shows great potential for low-dimensional devices. However, mechanical properties of h-BN have not been comprehensively investigated through experiments. In this work, we conduct in situ direct tensile tests on freestanding single-crystal few-layer h-BN nanosheets with various layer numbers from 3 to 8, with an elaborate sample transfer and characterization protocol. Young's modulus of 573.8 ± 101.4 GPa and a tensile fracture strain up to 3.2% are revealed, which are comparable to its monolayer counterpart. Moreover, we find a tough-to-brittle transition in few-layer h-BN with the increase in layer number, which is attributed the interplay between the van der Waals interaction and in-plane covalent bonding. These findings could open up new possibilities in mechanical research of van der Waals materials and provide guidance for the design of h-BN-based devices and composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single photon emitters (SPEs) in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are elementary building blocks for room-temperature on-chip quantum photonic technologies. However, fundamental challenges, such as slow radiative decay and nondeterministic placement of the emitters, limit their full potential. Here, we demonstrate large-area arrays of plasmonic nanoresonators (PNRs) for Purcell-induced room-temperature SPEs by engineering emitter-cavity coupling and enhancing radiative emission. Gold-coated silicon pillars with an alumina spacer enable a 10-fold local-field enhancement in the emission band of native hBN defects. We observe bright SPEs with an average saturated emission rate surpassing 5 million counts per second, an average lifetime of

The in-plane thermal conductivity of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with varying thicknesses is a key property that affects the performance of various applications from electronics to optoelectronics. However, the transition of the thermal conductivity from two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) h-BN remains elusive. To answer this question, we have developed a machine learning interatomic potential within the neuroevolution potential (NEP) framework for h-BN, achieving a high accuracy akin to ab initio calculations in predicting its thermal conductivity and phonon transport from monolayer to multilayers and bulk. Utilizing molecular dynamics simulations based on the NEP, we predict the thermal conductivity of h-BN with a thickness up to ∼100 nm, demonstrating that its thermal conductivity quickly decreases from the monolayer and saturates to the bulk value above four layers. The saturation of its thermal conductivity is attributed to the little change in phonon group velocity and lifetime as the thickness increases beyond four layers. In particular, the weak thickness dependence of phonon lifetime in h-BN with a nanoscale thickness results from its extremely high phonon focusing along the in-plane direction. This research bridges the knowledge gap of phonon transport between 2D and 3D h-BN and will benefit the thermal design and performance optimization of relevant applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the piezoelectric properties of scandium-alloyed gallium nitride (ScGaN), which is expected to be applied to microelectromechanical systems devices, are evaluated by first-principles calculations. The piezoelectric constant (d33) of GaN is found to increase by up to approximately 30 times upon the addition of 62.5 mol. % of Sc. The piezoelectric stress constant (e33) increases and the elastic constant (C33) decreases with increasing Sc content of ScGaN, driving the rise of d33. The improved piezoelectric properties of ScGaN compared with those of GaN are largely attributed to elastic softening, which is thought to be related to the transition from a wurtzite to hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) structure driven by the change in bonding states between atoms caused by the addition of Sc to GaN. The crystal orbital Hamilton population analysis suggests that addition of Sc to GaN results in the combination of weaker Sc–N and Ga–N bonding, which makes the crystal structure unstable. This weakened bonding is thought to be the main cause of the destabilization of the wurtzite structure and transition to the h-BN structure of ScGaN. The elastic softening associated with this structural transition leads to the dramatic improvement in piezoelectric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Packaging insulation materials with high thermal conductivity and excellent dielectric properties are favorable to meet the high demand and rapid development of third generation power semiconductors. In this study, we propose to improve the thermal conductivity of epoxy resin (EP) by incorporating a three-dimensional boron nitride thermally conductive network. Detailedly, polyurethane foam (PU) was used as a supporter, and boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) were loaded onto the PU supporter through chemical bonding (BNNS@PU). After immersing BNNS@PU into the EP resin, EP-based thermally conductive composites were prepared by vacuum-assisted impregnation. Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and scanning electron microscope were used to characterize the chemical bonding and morphological structure of BNNS@PU, respectively. The content of BNNS in BNNS@PU/EP composites was quantitatively analyzed by TGA. The results show that the thermal conductivity of the BNNS@PU/EP composites reaches 0.521 W/m K with an enhancement rate η of 30.89 at an ultra-low BNNS filler content (5.93 wt. %). Additionally, the BNNS@PU/EP composites have excellent dielectric properties with the frequency range from 101 to 106 Hz. This paper provides an interesting idea for developing high thermal conductivity insulating materials used for power semiconductor packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the value and the polarity of the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization have been investigated, as the use of two different reference structures for wurtzite-type group-III nitrides, namely, the zinc-blende and the layered-hexagonal crystal lattice, have resulted in different predictions. It was found that although the differences in value and polarity of the polarization for heterostructures such as wurtzite Al1−xScxN/GaN lead to similar interface sheet charges, a significant mismatch is observed when polarization reversal is considered. The interface sheet charge predicted before and after the polarization reversal in the wurtzite Al1−xScxN layer on GaN using the zinc-blende lattice as a reference predominantly shows a change in sign. When using the layered-hexagonal lattice as a reference, not only is the same polarity of the interface sheet charge maintained after polarization reversal, but it is even 30 times larger. In this case, the giant and positive spontaneous polarization values for metal-polar Al1−xScxN extracted from the ferroelectric switching, as well as the alignment of the piezoelectric polarization to it, were observed to be consistent with the predictions referenced to the layered-hexagonal lattice. Thus, it is concluded that the layered-hexagonal reference is not only more suitable for predicting the ferroelectric properties of wurtzite Al1−xScxN but should also be the correct reference when considering polarization reversal in heterostructures. If the significant increase in the interface sheet charge after polarization reversal is experimentally detected, it will allow the design and fabrication of novel devices for future high-frequency and power electronics applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, we utilized density functional theory (DFT) computations to perform ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and static calculations on graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, and their heterostructures, subjecting them to strains, perturbations, twist angles, and defects. The gathered energy, force, and virial information informed the creation of a training set comprising 1253 structures. Employing the Neural Evolutionary Potential framework integrated into Graphics Processing Units Molecular Dynamics, we fitted a machine learning potential (MLP) that closely mirrored the DFT potential energy surface. Rigorous validation of lattice constants and phonon dispersion relations confirmed the precision and dependability of the MLP, establishing a solid foundation for subsequent thermal transport investigations. A further analysis of the impact of twist angles uncovered a significant reduction in thermal conductivity, particularly notable in heterostructures with a decline exceeding 35%. The reduction in thermal conductivity primarily stems from the twist angle-induced softening of phonon modes and the accompanying increase in phonon scattering rates, which intensifies anharmonic interactions among phonons. Our study underscores the efficacy of the MLP in delineating the thermal transport attributes of two-dimensional materials and their heterostructures, while also elucidating the micro-mechanisms behind the influence of the twist angle on thermal conductivity, offering fresh perspectives for the design of advanced thermal management materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inquiring the isotopically engineered carrier transport in polar materials remains an open question. Herein, the phonon-limited drift carrier mobility of single-crystal cubic boron nitride is presented using first-principles calculations. Natural c-BN has the predicted electron mobility of 1230 and 760 cm2/V s by solving the iterative Boltzmann transport equation and self-energy relaxation time approximation, respectively. The hole mobility under the Boltzmann transport equation and self-energy relaxation time approximation is 193 and 105 cm2/Vs, respectively. Subsequently, the electron and hole mobilities at the stable isotope levels of boron and nitride are predicted, and nitride isotopes are found to be more effective than boron for carrier mobility. Those carrier mobilities further decrease with increasing temperature due to the strengthened electron–phonon interactions. Moreover, the phonon-assisted indirect optical absorption of c-BN is investigated by considering the contribution of phonons to the indirect electronic inter-band transitions. The predicted imaginary part of the dielectric function is in better agreement with previous experiments. This work aims to understand the role of phonons in determining the carrier mobility and indirect optical absorption of c-BN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional magnetic materials have been increasingly studied and discussed in the field of spintronics due to their unique electronic properties, high spin polarizability, and a variety of magnetic properties. In this paper, we report a new two-dimensional bilayer hexagonal monolayer material bilayer hexagonal structure (BHS)-CrN2 by first-principles calculations. The BHS-CrN2 nanosheet is an intrinsic ferromagnetic semiconductor material, and the Curie temperature obtained by Monte Carlo simulation is 343 K. The absence of a significant imaginary frequency in the phonon spectrum indicates the dynamic stability of BHS-CrN2. After ab initio molecular dynamics simulation, the supercell of BHS-CrN2 remains a complete structure, indicating its thermal stability. The calculated elastic moduli satisfy the Born–Huang criterion, indicating that the BHS-CrN2 system has good mechanical stability. Interestingly, the compressive strain and O atom doping can transform the electronic structure of BHS-CrN2 from a semiconductor to a half-metal, and the Curie temperature of BHS-CrN2 can be further increased to 1059 K when a 5% tensile strain is applied. Furthermore, the BHS-CrN2 in the ferromagnetic state shows a significant in-plane magnetic anisotropy energy of 0.01 meV per Cr, and the CrP2 and CrAs2 show a large out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy energy of 0.207 and 0.988 meV per Cr, respectively. The results show that the intrinsic ferromagnetic semiconductor BHS-CrN2 has good stability, high Curie temperature, and tunable magnetic properties, which is a promising material for room-temperature spintronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employ the molecular dynamics simulations to study the dynamics of acetanilide (ACN) molecules placed on a flat surface of planar multilayer hexagonal boron nitride. We demonstrate that the ACN molecules, known to be achiral in the three-dimensional space, become chiral after being placed on the substrate. Homochirality of the ACN molecules leads to stable secondary structures stabilized by hydrogen bonds between peptide groups of the molecules. By employing molecular dynamics simulations, we reveal that the structure of the resulting hydrogen-bond chains depends on the isomeric composition of the molecules. If all molecules are homochiral (i.e., with only one isomer being present), they form secondary structures (chains of hydrogen bonds in the shapes of arcs, circles, and spirals). If the molecules at the substrate form a racemic mixture, then no regular secondary structures appear, and only curvilinear chains of hydrogen bonds of random shapes emerge. A hydrogen-bond chain can form a zigzag array only if it has an alternation of isomers. Such chains can create two-dimensional (2D) regular lattices or 2D crystals. The melting scenarios of such 2D crystals depend on density of its coverage of the substrate. At 25% coverage, melting occurs continuously in the temperature interval 295–365 K. For a complete coverage, melting occurs at 415–470 K due to a shift of 11% of all molecules into the second layer of the substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene has been a subject of great interest not only due to its fascinating properties but also for being the pioneer among 2D van der Waals (vdW) materials. Hexagonal boron nitride, an isomorph of graphene and a wide gap insulator, is commonly referred to as white graphene. The combination of the insulating hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with other crystals to form heterostructures provide a path for engineering and manipulating new physics and device properties. In this work, we investigate the vdW heterostructures formed by assembling h-BN and lizardite, a clay-mineral that is abundant in nature and represents the most stable polymorph of the serpentine family. The optoelectronic properties of three distinct heterostructures are presented to discern the characteristics of the systems. We observe that unlike lizardite and h-BN which are insulators, all the three heterostructures exhibit a semiconducting nature. The direct gap of the heterostructure in which two h-BN sheets are simultaneously placed above and below the octahedral and tetrahedral layers also makes it relevant for optoelectronic devices. Additionally, unlike lizardite, the heterostructures demonstrate a polarization-dependent optical properties. The study of the assembled structures combining the clay-mineral with h-BN not only widens the spectrum of vdW heterostructures but also explores their potential within the context of the serpentine family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a non-monotonic evolution of in-plane thermal conductivity of large-area hexagonal boron nitride films with thickness. Wrinkles and defects/impurities are present in these films. Raman spectroscopy, an optothermal non-contact technique, is employed to probe the temperature and laser power dependence property of the Raman active E2ghigh phonon mode, which, in turn, is used to estimate the rise in the temperature of the films under different laser powers. As the conventional Fourier law of heat diffusion cannot be directly employed analytically to evaluate the thermal conductivity of these films with defects and wrinkles, finite-element modeling is used instead. In the model, average heat resistance is used to incorporate an overall near-surface defect structure, and Voronoi cells with contact resistance at the cell boundaries are constructed to mimic the wrinkled domains. The effective in-plane thermal conductivity is estimated to be 87, 55, and 117 W/m K for the 2, 10, and 30 nm-thick films, respectively. We also present a quantitative estimation of the thermal resistance by defects and wrinkles individually to the heat flow. Our study reveals that the defects/impurities render a much higher resistance to heat transfer in the films than wrinkles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A real-space method using generating integers is used to determine possible commensurate lattice Moiré patterns for a bilayer of two equal hexagonal lattices, which can in principle be extended to lattice mismatched bilayers. These Moiré patterns can be classified by a pair of relatively prime integers (n , m) , wherein a rotation θ (n , m) of the top hexagonal lattice maps its lattice vector (n , m) to (m , n) of the bottom lattice. Within this formulation, the area of the commensurate supercell is proportional to (n 2 + m 2 + n m) and the number of coincident lattice sites per supercell is given by (n − m) 2. Taking bilayer boron nitride (BN) as an example, we present how to systematically generate Moiré patterns and explore the differences in local chemistry in the interstitial region by impurity intercalation. Systematic calculations of the properties of intercalated 3d transition metals were performed in an h-BN (4 , 3) bilayer, corresponding to a rotation of 9.43 degrees. These calculations reveal that local symmetry in the intercalated region significantly affect the energetics and magnetization of the intercalated species. These results highlight that Moiré pattern physics is not limited to optoelectronic/electronic phenomena, such as interfacial exciton formation or magic angle superconductivity, but it also produces chemical and magnetic atomic site selectivity, which may play important roles in adsorption, catalysis, or quantum information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene-based field-effect transistors (FETs) are suitable for pH sensors due to their outstanding surface chemical properties and its biocompatibility. To improve the devices' stability and pH sensitivity, different sets of dielectric passivation layers composed of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride with and without aluminum oxide layers were evaluated. Non-linearities of the pH response were observed. Heterostructure FETs were derived from subtractive manufacturing of commercially transferred two-dimensional materials on four-inch SiO2/Si wafers via stainless steel and polypropylene masking. Phosphate solutions (10 mM) of varying pH were incubated on bare devices, whereby liquid-gating elucidated linear changes in the Dirac voltage of hBN/graphene (−40 mV/pH) that was smaller than a device consisting only of monolayer graphene (−47 mV/pH). Graphene-based FETs were passivated with aluminum oxide nanofilms via electron beam or atomic layer deposition and were observed to have distinct Raman spectral properties and atomic force microscopy topologies corroborating the hypothesis that morphological differences of the deposited aluminum oxide influence the pH-dependent electrical properties. Atomic layer deposition of aluminum oxide on the 2D sensing areas resulted in non-linear shifting of the Dirac voltage with respect to pH that evolved as a function of deposition thickness and was distinct between graphene with and without hexagonal boron nitride as a capping monolayer. The non-linear response of varying thickness of AlxOy on graphene-based FETs was progressively reduced upon basic wet etching of the AlxOy. Overall, passivated graphene-based transistors exhibit deposition-dependent pH responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The limited improvement in discharge energy density (Ue) of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanocomposites filled with low-dielectric-constant (εr) nanosheets has been addressed by using a superspreading layering strategy. The integration of highly aligned boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) and well-dispersed BaTiO3@PEG (BT@PEG) nanoparticles into the PVDF matrix results in a significant enhancement, increasing Eb and εr by 52% and 64%, respectively, and achieving an Ue of up to 20.12 J cm−3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human urine phosphorus (existing in the form of phosphate) is a biomarker for the diagnosis of several diseases such as kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, and rickets. Therefore, the selective detection of phosphate in urine samples is crucial in the field of clinical diagnosis. Herein, we reported the phosphatase-like catalytic activity of few-layered h-BNNS for the first time. As the phosphatase-like activity of few-layered h-BNNS could be effectively inhibited by phosphate, a selective fluorescent method for the detection of phosphate was proposed. The linear range for phosphate detection is 0.5–10 µM with a detection limit of 0.33 µM. The fluorescent method was then explored for the detection of human urine phosphorus in real samples. The results obtained by the proposed method were consistent with those of the traditional method, indicating that the present method has potential application for urine phosphorus detection in clinical disease diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are gaining interest for high temperature applications due to their thermal stability at elevated temperatures. Although BNNT temperature limits are well studied, there remains a gap in quantifying the high temperature failure mechanisms and oxidation kinetics. This study characterizes the oxidation mechanisms and kinetics of BNNTs and Al 2 O 3 -coated BNNTs, via atomic layer deposition (ALD), at temperatures between 850 and 1000 °C. ALD Al 2 O 3 surface coatings improved BNNT oxidation resistance by over an order of magnitude for coating thicknesses between 7 and 56 nm. However, the improved oxidation resistance of Al 2 O 3 -coated BNNTs decayed after prolonged exposure to oxygen at elevated temperatures, gradually reaching the same extent of oxidation as uncoated BNNTs after approximately 200 min at 900 °C. This behavior is attributed to the crystallization of as-deposited amorphous Al 2 O 3 coatings at elevated temperatures leading to densification, cracking, and exposure of BNNTs to the oxidizing environment. While Al 2 O 3 coatings did not completely prevent oxidation, a significant improvement in oxidation resistance was observed, extending the thermal stability of BNNTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous miniaturization and highly integrated development of modern electronics, thermal management materials with high thermal conductivity, good electrical insulating and flexibility are highly desired for the effective heat dissipation to maintain the reliable operations of electronic devices. However, enhancing thermal conductivity generally causes the deterioration of their mechanical properties and electrical insulation. Herein, combining the deformability of Galinstan-based liquid metal (LM) and good film-forming property of bacterial cellulose (BC), a series of thin and flexible boron nitride-based composite (BC/BNNS-LM) films was prepared via a facile vacuum-assisted filtration route. Benefiting from the directional arrangement of BNNS nanosheets, as well as gap-filling and bridging effects of deformable LM droplets, the resultant BC/BNNS-LM ternary nanocomposite film not only presents a high in-plane thermal conductivity of 66.1 W/m·K but also achieves excellent mechanical strength, flexibility and good dielectric property. These desirable properties confirm that the fabricated nanocomposite films have significant potential for effective heat dissipation in high-power-density electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There exists more than one-third of the stock of buildings that do not meet energy-saving building standards, so there is an urgent need for breakthroughs in the field of green buildings. Herein, we successfully prepared boron nitride (BN) fiber aerogels by sol-gel, freeze-drying and high-temperature pyrolysis. When the molar ratio of C 3 N 6 H 6 to H 3 BO 3 was 1:2 and the roasting temperature was 1000 °C, the BN fiber aerogel was produced with high specific surface area (257.690 m2/g) and high porosity (99 %). BN fiber aerogels, with their low thermal conductivity (0.043 W/(m·K)) and stable mechanical properties (no change after 45 cycles at 30 % strain), offered possibilities for thermal insulation in green buildings. Its hydrophobic properties protect the wall from the natural environment. In particular, it had a solar reflectivity of 98.6 %, which exceeds most reflective coating materials, enabling the cooling of green construction on hot summer days. The high-temperature resistance of BN fiber aerogels could be applied in special environments such as blast furnace plants and thermoelectric power plants. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daytime radiative cooling material provides a low‐energy way of cooling because it can reflect sunlight and radiate heat without consuming any energy. However, there are still great difficulties in manufacturing low‐cost, high‐efficiency, sustainable, and biodegradable daytime radiative cooling materials. In this paper, poly (vinyl alcohol)/boron nitride (PVA/BN) composite aerogels were prepared by freeze‐drying technology. By adjusting the PVA concentration and BN content, the aerogel can achieve high sunlight reflectivity (96%), high mid‐infrared emissivity (96%) and good thermal insulation performance. Therefore, the temperature of the aerogel can be reduced to 12.5°C lower than the ambient temperature at night, and 5.5°C lower than the ambient temperature under the direct sunlight of 900 W/m2. This aerogel opens an environmentally sustainable pathway for radiative cooling applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium dioxide (TiO 2) is commonly used additive to improve the strength, hardness and coefficient of expansion properties of vitrified bonds. In this work, TiO 2 nanobelts were prepared through hydrothermal method, and the effect of TiO 2 nanobelts content on the microstructure and physical properties of vitrified bonds and vitrified bond CBN composites were systematically investigated. When the content of 0.2 wt% TiO 2 nanobelts and sintered at 660 °C, as-prepared nano-vitrified bonds exhibited the beneficial performance improvement. Specifically, the obtained coefficient of thermal expansion, flexural strength, microindentation hardness, and mobility are 5.37 × 10−6 °C−1, 85.96 MPa, 853.19 MPa, and 140.6 %, respectively. Moreover, the vitrified bonds with 0.2 wt% TiO 2 nanobelts addition is further used to optimize the performance of cubic boron nitride (CBN) composites. When sintered at 720 °C, the CBN composite samples depicted the excellent flexural strength, rockwell, porosity, and grinding ratio of 63.27 MPa, 61.5 HRB, 48.9 %, and 22.3, respectively. It can be attributed to the positive contribution of nano-vitrified bonds on the physical properties of CBN composites. This work is expected to contribute to the research on improving the performance of vitrified bonds with nano additives, and further obtain excellent performance nano-vitrified bond materials for the design and manufacturing of high-performance superhard abrasive tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the adsorption and dissociation of H2Segas on pristine and transition metal (TM) atoms doped nanosheets have been investigated theoretically using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. To understand the adsorption mechanics, we have examined the adsorption energy, the charge transfer between the adsorbent and adsorbate, the band structure, the density of states (DoS), as well as the optical properties. The structural stability of TM atoms (Fe, Mn)‐ doped BN nanosheets have been verified by finding the cohesive energy. The adsorption energies of H2Se on pristine BN, Fe–BN, and Mn–BN sheets are −0.012, −7.627, and −10.001 eV, respectively; that is, the H2Se gas get dissociated when interacted with the Fe–BN and Mn–BN nanosheets. The relaxed geometrical structures of complexes and electron density difference (EDD) map analysis displayed that the H2Se gas makes bond with TM‐doped nanosheets, that is, dissociated. Furthermore, we viewed the optical properties of the pure, TM‐doped nanosheets as well as the gas‐adsorbed complex structure to demonstrate the adsorption behavior. Therefore, our obtained results demonstrated that the Fe‐ and Mn‐doped BN sheets are good candidates for adsorption and dissociation of H2Se gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effect of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) addition at different weight ratios to thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPEE) reinforced with three different fiber types, namely carbon fiber (CF), glass fiber (GF) and basalt fiber (BF), on the mechanical, tribological and thermal properties of the composites was investigated. Adhesive wear test for tribological analysis, tensile and three-point bending tests for mechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses for thermal investigation and scanning electron microscopy analysis for morphological evaluation were applied. The results showed that the addition of hBN to fiber-reinforced TPEE composites, regardless of the fiber type, and the increasing weight ratio of hBN improved the wear, mechanical and thermal properties of the composites. However, when comparing the synergistic effect of hBN when used simultaneously with fiber reinforcement on the basis of fiber type, CF was found to outperform GF and BF fiber types and hybrid reinforced composites containing 10 wt% hBN and CF to exhibit superior tribological, mechanical and thermal properties. It is also concluded that BF performs at a comparable level to GF and therefore can be used instead of GF in some applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'gas‒liquid‒solid' mechanism annealing method was used to create a superhydrophobic boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) stainless steel mesh in a tube furnace at 1250 °C in an NH3 environment. Fe powder was used as a catalyst, and B:B2O3 = 4:1 was used as the raw material. The water droplets on the surface of the superhydrophobic material had a contact angle of approximately 150° and a slide angle of approximately 3°. By using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation technology, a three-dimensional braided physical model of nanodroplets and superhydrophobic BNNT mesh surfaces with the same contact angle and rolling angle was prepared via the function weaving method. The Weber number (We) was used as the entrance point to establish the relationship between macroscale experimental studies and nanoscale MD simulation analysis on the basis of these efforts. A study was conducted on the dynamic behaviour of droplets impacting a superhydrophobic BNNT filter surface. We suggest that the wettability, substrate structure, and impact velocity are connected to the impact dynamic behaviour of droplets on the basis of the data obtained at various scales. The findings demonstrate that when the droplet impact velocity increases, several droplet phenomena—such as impact–rebound, impact–spread–rebound, and impact–spread–breaking–polymerisation–spatter—appear on the substrate surface sequentially. The mechanism of impact behaviour at various scales is explained in light of these events. Furthermore, a better theoretical model is proposed to assess the droplet wetting transition at the nanoscale. This model accurately predicts the boundary Weber number that starts the wetting transition. Moreover, the connections among the impact velocity, spreading diameter, and contact time (or We) are examined. The tendencies found via MD simulations match the outcomes of the experiments. Our discoveries and outcomes broaden our understanding of how droplet impact affects the dynamic behaviour of superhydrophobic surfaces. A scientific foundation for examining the dynamic behaviour of droplets is provided by combining simulations and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urea (NH2CONH2) production by electrosynthesis at mild conditions has been hampered due to the lack of systematic evaluation of pathways in effectively activating inert N2 and CO2 molecules and facilitating the formation of C−N bonds. In this work, we evaluated 16 transition metal (M) atoms anchored on carbon nitride nanosheet with boron (B) doping (M−B@C2N) for boosting urea production by theoretical calculations. All possible urea synthesis pathways, (i) CO2 pathway, (ii) OCOH pathway, (iii) CO pathway, and (iv) NCON pathway, were comparatively studied on Cu, Fe, Co, Ni−B@C2N. This systematic calculation identified that the first reduction of *N2 is the key step for urea synthesis. We found that the bond index of *N2 shows a strong correlation with ΔG*N2→*NNH, so they are promising descriptors for screening. Through the screening, we found that Nb‐ and Mo−B@C2N show a low limiting potential of −0.56 and −0.53 V. Although previous studies found that spin could promote C−C bond formation on M−B@C2N, we found that for C−N coupling, such effects by spin were only active for Nb−B@C2N. Combining boron and early transition metal atoms allows for neighboring reaction sites that simultaneously donate electrons to activate inert N2 and CO2 for efficient urea synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN) nanomaterials, e.g., nanosheets and nanotubes, have been predicted to be effective materials for reversible gas adsorption with high selectivity once charged. However, despite the encouraging theoretical predictions, sensing with h‐BN is difficult to realize experimentally due to its electrically insulating nature stemming from its large band gap. In this research, the controlled synthesis of high surface area hybrid h‐BN/graphene aerogel is reported, using high‐quality graphene as a template, and its application for selective gas sensing. It is discovered for the first time in this system that the difficulty of conversion in template synthesis of h‐BN is positively correlated with the quality of the carbon template, an observation that is verified on both graphene nanosheets and carbon nanotubes. The application of this hybrid material for gas sensing yields ppb level of detection limit and high selectivity for NH3. Through density functional theory calculations, the adsorption energy and charge transfer between NH3 molecules and aerogel are greatly enhanced. Therefore, this innovative approach promises new possibilities for the application of h‐BN in gas sensing, with the potential to play a significant role in gas capture, environmental monitoring, and other related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boron nitride has attracted scientific interest in recent years due to its potential use in electronics, both as hexagonal (hBN) and cubic (cBN) phases. While both are successfully realized through chemical vapor deposition, the heteroepitaxial growth of cBN on another iconic semiconductor, diamond is plagued with mixed‐phase formation. Employing first‐principles computations and a nanoreactor approach, the BN phase preferences are explored on diamond (001) controlled—as it is discovered—by the hydrogen gas concentration. In a limited‐hydrogen environment, the initial BN‐island expands along the diamond surface, forming a 3D metastable cubic phase that grows in the direction normal to the basal plane through kinetically‐limited nucleation, thus overcoming the thermodynamic preference toward the hBN phase. Comparatively, the amorphous phase is favored in the absence of hydrogen, while the hexagonal phase dominates at its high levels, elucidating numerous experimental observations. A obtained kinetic phase diagram connects the phase with hydrogen chemical potential to facilitate targeted phase selection. The results suggest that gas‐mediated nucleation kinetics provide feasible control for the precise synthesis. It also offers valuable guidance for the controllable synthesis of desired BN phases and advances research toward potential BN electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights Maintaining uniform dispersion of nano filler under high content is critical for fabricating polymer‐based composites with great mechanical and thermally conductive properties. In this work, BNNS/PA12T nanocomposite with the highest boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS) content of 23.1 wt% was successfully prepared by the aqueous solution‐assisted in‐situ polymerization method. Results demonstrate that the BNNS can be uniformly dispersed in the composite due to the low viscosity during the polymerization process. As a result, when the content of BNNS is 23.1 wt%, the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of BNNS/PA12T nanocomposite are 62 MPa and 1.55 W/(m·K). Furthermore, the composites also possess excellent high‐temperature resistance with the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of 60 ppm/°C, about one third of pure PA12T, and the thermal deformation temperature also reaches 139.4°C. Therefore, the fabricated BNNS/PA12T nanocomposite can be effectively applied as thermal management and packaging materials for electronic devices. BNNS/PA12T nanocomposites were prepared by aqueous solution‐assisted method. BNNS can be uniformly dispersed at the filling content up to 23 wt%. The thermal conductivity of BNNS/PA12T nanocomposite can reach 1.55 W/(m·K). Possessing excellent mechanical properties and dimensional stability. The nanocomposite can be effectively applied for thermal management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel lactate biosensor based on a yttrium oxide/boron nitride (Y 2 O 3 /BN) nanocomposite modified electrode was developed. The BN nanosheets provided a supporting matrix for the Y 2 O 3 nanoparticles, combining their synergistic properties for electrochemical biosensing. The Y 2 O 3 /BN nanocomposite provided high surface area and excellent electrocatalytic effects, promoting the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide generated from lactate oxidase catalyzed lactate oxidation. The Y 2 O 3 /BN modified biosensor showed wide linear range from 0.005 to 500 μM, low detection limit of 2 nM, high sensitivity of 1.23 μA/μM, good reproducibility with 3.2 % RSD, and long-term stability over 56 days. The biosensor could detect lactate levels in athlete sweat samples with high accuracy and correlation to standard methods, distinguishing changes in sweat lactate corresponding to different exercise intensities. The nanocomposite modified biosensor showed potential for non-invasive, real-time monitoring of exercise levels and fatigue status based on sweat lactate detection in athletic training applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polypropylene (PP) has the advantages of corrosion resistance, easy processing, and low dielectric loss, but its low thermal conductivity limits the application of its composites in fields such as electronic packaging. To solve this problem, in this work, composite microspheres with the segregated structure were prepared by coating boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) on the PP surface by Pickering‐like emulsion method, and BNNSs@PP composites with three‐dimensional thermal conductivity network were obtained after molding. Due to the high thermal conductivity of BNNSs and the formation of perfect thermal conduction pathways, the thermal conductivity of the composites reached 1.71 W m−1 K−1 when the content of BNNSs was 10.1 wt%, which was a 713% increase in thermal conductivity for that of pure PP. At the same time, the mechanical properties of the composites were ensured. This method provides a simple and effective technique to improve the thermal conductivity of PP‐based thermally conductive composites, which has a wide application potential in electronic packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urea (NH2CONH2) production by electrosynthesis at mild conditions has been hampered due to the lack of systematic evaluation of pathways in effectively activating inert N2 and CO2 molecules and facilitating the formation of C−N bonds. In this work, we evaluated 16 transition metal (M) atoms anchored on carbon nitride nanosheet with boron (B) doping (M−B@C2N) for boosting urea production by theoretical calculations. All possible urea synthesis pathways, (i) CO2 pathway, (ii) OCOH pathway, (iii) CO pathway, and (iv) NCON pathway, were comparatively studied on Cu, Fe, Co, Ni−B@C2N. This systematic calculation identified that the first reduction of *N2 is the key step for urea synthesis. We found that the bond index of *N2 shows a strong correlation with ΔG*N2→*NNH, so they are promising descriptors for screening. Through the screening, we found that Nb‐ and Mo−B@C2N show a low limiting potential of −0.56 and −0.53 V. Although previous studies found that spin could promote C−C bond formation on M−B@C2N, we found that for C−N coupling, such effects by spin were only active for Nb−B@C2N. Combining boron and early transition metal atoms allows for neighboring reaction sites that simultaneously donate electrons to activate inert N2 and CO2 for efficient urea synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counterintuitive temperature dependence of isospin flavor polarization has recently been found in twisted bilayer graphene, where unpolarized electrons in a Fermi liquid become a spin–valley polarized insulator upon heating. So far, the effect has been limited to v = +/−1 (one electron/hole per superlattice cell), leaving open questions such as whether it is a general property of symmetry-breaking electronic phases. Here, by studying a rhombohedral trilayer graphene/boron nitride moiré superlattice, we report that at v = −3 a resistive peak emerges at elevated temperatures or in parallel magnetic fields. Concomitantly, the Hall carrier density tends to reset at the integer filling, signaling spin–valley flavor symmetry breaking. These phenomena can also be observed at v = −1 and −2 when the displacement field is large enough to suppress correlated insulators at low temperatures. Our results greatly expand the scope for observing the counterintuitive temperature dependence of flavor polarization, i.e., the regimes proximal to symmetry-breaking phases where the flavor polarization order strongly fluctuates, encouraging more experimental and theoretical exploration of isospin flavor polarization dynamics in flat-band moiré systems. In moiré superlattices of rhombohedral trilayer graphene aligned on boron nitride, heating may counterintuitively promote spin–valley polarization, transforming metallic ground states into insulators at high temperatures, which deepens the understanding of isospin flavor polarization in correlated electronic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defect-engineered and even amorphous two-dimensional (2D) materials have recently gained interest due to properties that differ from their pristine counterparts. Since these properties are highly sensitive to the exact atomic structure, it is crucial to be able to characterize them at atomic resolution over large areas. This is only possible when the imaging process is automated to reduce the time spent on manual imaging, which at the same time reduces the observer bias in selecting the imaged areas. Since the necessary datasets include at least hundreds if not thousands of images, the analysis process similarly needs to be automated. Here, we introduce disorder into graphene and monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) using low-energy argon ion irradiation, and characterize the resulting disordered structures using automated scanning transmission electron microscopy annular dark field imaging combined with convolutional neural network-based analysis techniques. We show that disorder manifests in these materials in a markedly different way, where graphene accommodates vacancy-type defects by transforming hexagonal carbon rings into other polygonal shapes, whereas in hBN the disorder is observed simply as vacant lattice sites with very little rearrangement of the remaining atoms. Correspondingly, in the case of graphene, the highest introduced disorder leads to an amorphous membrane, whereas in hBN, the highly defective lattice contains a large number of vacancies and small pores with no indication of amorphisation. Overall, our study demonstrates that combining automated imaging and image analysis is a powerful way to characterize the structure of disordered and amorphous 2D materials, while also illustrating some of the remaining shortcomings with this methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the polycrystalline cubic boron nitride tool has the characteristics of high hardness, brittleness, etc., it is easy to break the tool or produce defects in the laser cutting process, which affects the cutting performance of the tool. Traditional defect detection methods can no longer meet the needs of modern manufacturing. Aiming at the problems of low accuracy and poor real-time detection of surface defects on laser-cutting polycrystalline cubic boron nitride tools, this study proposes the surface defect detection model of laser cutting polycrystalline cubic boron nitride tool based on asymptotic fusion strategy, which fills the gap in the field. In the backbone network, the C3SE module is constructed by modeling the correlation between feature channels to improve the model's focus on key features in order to enhance the feature extraction and processing capability of the backbone network; In the neck network, adaptive spatial fusion operation and direct interaction of non-adjacent layers are utilized for multi-scale information fusion, and the asymptotic feature pyramid network for object detection (AFPN) is used instead of the FPN structure to improve the detection performance; In the head network, a soft suppression mechanism is introduced to reduce the overlapping frame score using a decay function, thus improving the detection accuracy. The experimental results based on the self-constructed laser-cutting polycrystalline cubic boron nitride tool surface defects dataset show that the average accuracy of the AFFS-YOLO model is improved by 5.6% compared with that of the YOLOv5 model, reaching 86.1%, and the detection effect is better than that of the original network and other classical target detection networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hexagonal boron nitride exhibits two types of defects with great potential for quantum information technologies: single-photon emitters (SPEs) and one-dimensional grain boundaries hosting topologically-protected phonons, termed as topologically-protected phonon lines (TPL). Here, by means of a simple effective model and density functional theory calculations, we show that it is possible to use these phonons for the transmission of information. Particularly, a single SPE can be used to induce single-, two- and qubit-phonon states in the one-dimensional channel, and (ii) two distant SPEs can be coupled by the TPL that acts as a waveguide, thus exhibiting strong quantum correlations. We highlight the possibilities offered by this material-built-in nano-architecture as a phononic device for quantum information technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boron nitride exhibits various crystal structures. The subgroup of layered boron nitrides includes several polytypes such as hexagonal (hBN), Bernal (bBN), and rhombohedral (rBN) BN. The latter two are non-centrosymmetric, potentially leading to piezoelectric or ferroelectric properties. A key challenge related to the polytypism of sp2-bonded BN is distinguishing between these polytypes. We demonstrate that the optical response of the 4.1-eV defect can be used to differentiate hBN from rBN. Photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence measurements on samples grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) show a zero-phonon line at 4.096 eV for hBN and 4.143 eV for rBN. Our calculations confirm that the photoluminescence originates from a carbon dimer, CBCN (C2), which is sensitive to the local environments of different polytypes. We demonstrate that different polytypic compositions of hBN and rBN can be achieved by MOVPE, which could pave the way for future applications in large-area van der Waals heterostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN) thin films are grown on a‐plane sapphire substrates at different temperatures, Tg, by low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition with BCl3 and NH3 as boron and nitrogen sources, respectively, and their crystallographic and luminescence properties are compared with those grown on c‐plane sapphire. A notable difference from the c‐plane sapphire is that the substrate surface is significantly nitrided during film growth at Tg higher than 1200 °C, whereas no such nitridation is observed up to 1500 °C for the growth on c‐plane sapphire. The nitridation of the substrate surface is found to cause the degradation of the film quality. However, the properties of the films grown on a‐plane sapphire at Tg lower than 1200 °C are comparable to or better than those grown on c‐plane sapphire. The h‐BN epitaxial film is grown at 1150 °C epitaxially on the a‐plane sapphire substrate with the out‐of‐plane and in‐plane relationships, {0001}$\left{\right. 0001 \left.\right}$h‐BN//{112¯0}$\left{\right. 11 \bar{2} 0 \left.\right}$sapphire and {112¯0}$\textrm{ } \left{\right. 11 \bar{2} 0 \left.\right}$h‐BN//{101¯0}$\left{\right. 10 \bar{1} 0 \left.\right}$sapphire, respectively. This study suggests that a‐plane sapphire is suitable for growing high‐quality h‐BN films at relatively low Tg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the growth of AlBN/β‐Nb2N nitride epitaxial heterostructures in which the AlBN is ferroelectric, and β‐Nb2N with metallic resistivity ≈40 μΩ cm$$ \text{μΩ\hspace{0.17em}cm}$$ at 300 K becomes superconducting below TC ≈ 0.5 K. Using nitrogen plasma molecular beam epitaxy, we grow hexagonal β‐Nb2N films on c‐plane Al2O3 substrates, followed by wurtzite AlBN. The AlBN is in epitaxial registry and rotationally aligned with the β‐Nb2N, and the hexagonal lattices of both nitride layers make angles of 30° with the hexagonal lattice of the Al2O3 substrate. The B composition of the AlBN layer is varied from 0 to 14.7%. It is found to depend weakly on the B flux, but increases strongly with decreasing growth temperature, indicating a reaction rate‐controlled growth. The increase in B content causes a non‐monotonic change in the a‐lattice constant and a monotonic decrease in the c‐lattice constant of AlBN. Sharp, abrupt epitaxial AlBN/β‐Nb2N/Al2O3 heterojunction interfaces and close symmetry matching are observed by transmission electron microscopy. The observation of ferroelectricity and superconductivity in epitaxial nitride heterostructures opens avenues for novel electronic and quantum devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explore the role of nanotechnology in addressing water scarcity through water desalination. The scope of nanotechnology in water treatment is discussed, emphasizing the potential of 2D nanomaterials such as hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), graphene, and quantum dots in revolutionizing desalination technologies. Various water desalination techniques, including membrane distillation (MD), solar-powered multi-stage flash distillation (MSF), and multi-effect distillation (MED), are analyzed in the context of nanomaterial applications. The review highlights the energy-intensive nature of conventional water treatment methods and underscores nanomaterials' potential to enhance efficiency and sustainability in water desalination processes. Challenges facing desalination, such as scalability and environmental impact, are acknowledged, setting the stage for future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1D nanomaterials feature distinct physical properties owing to their characteristic anisotropy and size‐induced quantization; yet, creating an ordered ensemble of the nanomaterials is nontrivial, marking it as a grand challenge in materials science. Herein, the spontaneous alignment of a model 1D nanomaterial, boron nitride nanotube (BNNT), into a highly ordered multidomain film is presented. A conventional, benchtop gravity filtration is employed, during which thickening of the BNNT dispersion leads to a formation of the liquid crystal (LC) phase that is readily isolatable. The spontaneity of the phase separation excludes notoriously persisting synthetic impurities to a degree >99%, from ≈50% of the initial material purity. The LC‐based thin film features an aligned multidomain with an exceptionally low angular deviation of <2.5° and a domain size of >50 μm. A piezoelectric nanogenerator based on the thin film records a 1000‐fold increase in the piezocurrent compared to its random analog. This work demonstrates the first example of the spontaneous alignment of an unconventional nanotube system and the realization of the macroscopic properties therefrom, which can be readily expanded to 1D materials in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piezoelectric nanostructures have attracted significant attention owing to their capacity for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, enabling applications in biomedical fields, actuators, and energy harvesting devices. Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) exhibit unique properties that make them attractive candidates for piezoelectric applications. However, the influence of BNNT chiralities on their piezoelectric behavior has not been thoroughly explored. In this study, we investigated the piezoelectric effect of zigzag and armchair chiralities of BNNT structures, aiming to elucidate the relationship between chirality and piezoelectric response by discovering a novel protocol for simulating the electrical behavior of BNNTs at the nanoscale level. We employed a computational method to examine the piezoelectric potential of BNNT structures. First, we established an equivalent-sized three-dimensional (3D) model of zigzag and armchair BNNT structures using nanotube modeler software. The obtained models were then subjected to mesh analysis to generate finite element method simulations. The simulations were finally performed to analyze the electrical response of the BNNT structures under external mechanical forces. We observed that the electrical responses of zigzag BNNT were 1.6 times greater than armchair one. In conclusion, our study sheds light on the piezoelectric potential of zigzag and armchair chiralities of BNNT structures. Furthermore, our findings contribute to the understanding of the electrical properties of BNNTs and their potential for various medical and industrial applications. The knowledge gained from this study provides a foundation for further research and development in the field of piezoelectric nanostructures, paving the way for innovative advancements in nanotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the electronic industry develops rapidly, the miniaturisation, integration and multifunctionality of electronic devices have resulted in a dramatic increase in power density, and the heat dispersal of electronic devices has attracted much attention. In this work, hydroxylated hexagonal boron nitride (BN-H) was obtained by hot alkali treatment, and boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) with a thickness of about 4 nm were obtained by boric acid-assisted ball milling stripping. The effects of different types of fillers as well as filler contents on the thermally conductive and mechanical performance of organosilicon composites were also compared. Notably, when BN-H and BNNS thermally conductive fillers were added at 12 wt%, the thermally conductive coefficients of the composites were 0.4831 W·m−1·K−1 and 0.7131 W·m−1 K−1, respectively, which were 183% and 318% of higher than that for the pure silicone rubber (SR, with a thermally conductive coefficient of 0.1706 W·m−1·K−1). In addition, in respect of mechanical performance, the tensile strengths of SR/BN-H and SR/BNNS composites with a filling level of 12 wt% were 3.59 MPa and 3.89 MPa, respectively, and the storage moduli were 4501 MPa and 4583 MPa, respectively, which were improved to a certain extent compared with pure SR. The present work provides an effective way to develop organosilicone rubber composites with good thermal conductivity and mechanical properties by boric acid assisted ball milling to strip boron nitride in the field of electronics packages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a profile of Jinfa Chang, a new editorial board member of Frontier Reporters for the Chinese Journal of Chemistry. Chang is a professor at Northeast Normal University in China and has a background in chemistry, with a focus on electrocatalytic hydrogen energy-electric energy conversion. Chang's research aims to design and develop cost-effective, high-performance catalysts to accelerate the commercialization of hydrogen-related energy storage and conversion technologies. The lab pays particular attention to the electrocatalytic performance of electrode materials for fuel cells and water electrolysis under real-service conditions, with a specific interest in the reaction mechanism and structure-performance relationship. [Extracted from the article]

In this study, TiB 2 –TiC, TiB 2 –TiC-GNP, and TiB 2 -TiC-BN composites were produced via spark plasma sintering (SPS). The densification and sintering behavior, phase and Raman spectroscopy analyses, microstructural properties, Vickers microhardness, and wear behavior of the binary and ternary composites were investigated. The addition of various amounts of TiC to TiB 2 resulted in nearly complete densification. The TiB 2 –TiC-GNP specimens exhibited a relative density of more than 99 %; in contrast, the addition of BN did not contribute to the densification. The Vickers hardness of the GNP-added composites was ∼25 GPa, whereas hBN addition to the matrix decreased the hardness to ∼22 GPa (∼9 % decrease). According to the wear test, the addition of GNPs did not result in a significant change in the TiB 2 –TiC matrix; however, the addition of hBN increased the specific wear rate of the matrix by ∼100 %. The GNPs did not have a negative effect on the densification, microstructural, or mechanical properties, such as the Vickers hardness and wear resistance. Hence, they were determined to be a more suitable sintering aid for matrix composition than hBN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]