Boron nitride colloidal solutions, ultralight aerogels and freestanding membranes through one-step exfoliation and functionalization.

ABSTRACT: Manufacturing of aerogels and membranes from hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is much more difficult than from graphene or graphene oxides because of the poor dispersibility of h-BN in water, which limits its exfoliation and preparation of colloidal solutions. Here, a simple, one-step mechano-chemical process to exfoliate and functionalize h-BN into highly water-dispersible, few-layer h-BN containing amino groups is presented. The colloidal solutions of few-layer h-BN can have unprecedentedly high concentrations, up to 30?mg?ml(-1), and are stable for up to several months. They can be used to produce ultralight aerogels with a density of 1.4?mg?cm(-3), which is ?1,500 times less than bulk h-BN, and freestanding membranes simply by cryodrying and filtration, respectively. The material shows strong blue light emission under ultraviolet excitation, in both dispersed and dry state.

SUBMITTER: Lei W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4674780 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature