title: Synthesis of large and few atomic layers of hexagonal boron nitride on melted copper.
abstract: Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNS) have been proposed as an ideal substrate for graphene-based electronic devices, but the synthesis of large and homogeneous h-BNNS is still challenging. In this contribution, we report a facile synthesis of few-layer h-BNNS on melted copper via an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition process. Comparative studies confirm the advantage of using melted copper over solid copper as a catalyst substrate. The former leads to the formation of single crystalline h-BNNS that is several microns in size and mostly in mono- and bi-layer forms, in contrast to the polycrystalline and mixed multiple layers (1-10) yielded by the latter. This difference is likely to be due to the significantly reduced and uniformly distributed nucleation sites on the smooth melted surface, in contrast to the large amounts of unevenly distributed nucleation sites that are associated with grain boundaries and other defects on the solid surface. This synthesis is expected to contribute to the development of large-scale manufacturing of h-BNNS/graphene-based electronics.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia.
authors.forename: Majharul Haque
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia.
authors.forename: Zhenguo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy Center, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia.
authors.forename: Gilberto
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Casillas
authors.affiliation: Bluescope Steel Metallurgical Center, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia.
authors.forename: Zhixin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Intelligent Polymer Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Molino
authors.affiliation: Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia.
authors.forename: Hua Kun
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Liu