Boron nitride hollow nanospheres: Synthesis, formation mechanism and dielectric property

• BN hollow nanospheres are fabricated in large scale via a new CVD method.
• Morphology and structure are elucidated by complementary analytical techniques.
• Formation mechanism is proposed based on experimental observations.
• Dielectric properties are investigated in the X-band microwave frequencies.
• BN hollow nanospheres show lower dielectric loss than regular BN powders.

Boron nitride (BN) hollow nanospheres have been successfully fabricated by pyrolyzing vapors decomposed from ammonia borane (NH3BH3) at 1300 °C. The final products have been extensively characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The BN hollow nanospheres were ranging from 100 to 300 nm in diameter and around 30–100 nm in thickness. The internal structure of the products was found dependent on the reaction temperatures. A possible formation mechanism of the BN hollow nanospheres was proposed on the basis of the experimental observations. Dielectric measurements in the X-band microwave frequencies (8–12 GHz) showed that the dielectric loss of the paraffin filled by the BN hollow nanospheres was lower than that filled by regular BN powders, which indicated that the BN hollow nanospheres could be potentially used as low-density fillers for microwave radomes.

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