title: Controlling Catalyst Bulk Reservoir Effects for Monolayer Hexagonal Boron Nitride CVD.
abstract: Highly controlled Fe-catalyzed growth of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films is demonstrated by the dissolution of nitrogen into the catalyst bulk via NH3 exposure prior to the actual growth step. This "pre-filling" of the catalyst bulk reservoir allows us to control and limit the uptake of B and N species during borazine exposure and thereby to control the incubation time and h-BN growth kinetics while also limiting the contribution of uncontrolled precipitation-driven h-BN growth during cooling. Using in situ X-ray diffraction and in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy combined with systematic growth calibrations, we develop an understanding and framework for engineering the catalyst bulk reservoir to optimize the growth process, which is also relevant to other 2D materials and their heterostructures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , JJ Thomson Avenue, CB3 0FA Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sabina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caneva
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , JJ Thomson Avenue, CB3 0FA Cambridge, United Kingdom.|Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Weatherup
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , JJ Thomson Avenue, CB3 0FA Cambridge, United Kingdom.|Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna , Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Bernhard C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Bayer
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialen und Energie , D-12489 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Raoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Blume
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , JJ Thomson Avenue, CB3 0FA Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cabrero-Vilatela
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , JJ Thomson Avenue, CB3 0FA Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Braeuninger-Weimer
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , JJ Thomson Avenue, CB3 0FA Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Marie-Blandine
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , JJ Thomson Avenue, CB3 0FA Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ruizhi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf , 01314 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baehtz
authors.affiliation: Fritz Haber Institute , D-14195 Berlin-Dahlem, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schloegl
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna , Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Jannik C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , JJ Thomson Avenue, CB3 0FA Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hofmann
mesh_terms: D064751:Ammonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry; D007700:Kinetics; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D064751:Ammonium Compounds; D001896:Boron Compounds; C017282:boron nitride; D007501:Iron; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: ammonia (NH3); borazine (HBNH)3; chemical vapor deposition (CVD); hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN); iron (Fe)