BCN: a graphene analogue with remarkable adsorptive properties.
A new analogue of graphene containing boron, carbon and nitrogen (BCN) has been obtained by the reaction of high-surface-area activated charcoal with a mixture of boric acid and urea at 900 degrees C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy reveal the composition to be close to BCN. The X-ray diffraction pattern, high-resolution electron microscopy images and Raman spectrum indicate the presence of graphite-type layers with low sheet-to-sheet registry. Atomic force microscopy reveals the sample to consist of two to three layers of BCN, as in a few-layer graphene. BCN exhibits more electrical resistivity than graphene, but weaker magnetic features. BCN exhibits a surface area of 2911 m(2) g(-1), which is the highest value known for a B(x)C(y)N(z) composition. It exhibits high propensity for adsorbing CO(2) ( approximately 100 wt %) at 195 K and a hydrogen uptake of 2.6 wt % at 77 K. A first-principles pseudopotential-based DFT study shows the stable structure to consist of BN(3) and NB(3) motifs. The calculations also suggest the strongest CO(2) adsorption to occur with a binding energy of 3.7 kJ mol(-1) compared with 2.0 kJ mol(-1) on graphene.
Raidongia
Kalyan
K
Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit, International Centre for Materials Science, Theoretical Sciences Unit and CSIR Centre of Excellence in Chemistry, Jawaharlal, Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur P.O., Bangalore 560064, India.
Nag
Angshuman
A
Hembram
K P S S
KP
Waghmare
Umesh V
UV
Datta
Ranjan
R
Rao
C N R
CN