B-C-N hybrid synthesis by high-temperature ion implantation

In order to synthesize B-C-N hybrid thin films, borazine (B3N3H6) ion plasma was implanted in graphite at room temperature (RT) and 600 °C. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study suggested that B atoms in the deposited films are in a wide variety of atomic environment such as BC3, BN3 and B-C-N hybrid. The ratios of these coordinations strongly depend on the temperature during the ion implantation. It was found that the B-C-N hybrid is predominantly synthesized by the implantation at 600 °C where the surface [B]/([B] + [C] + [N]) ratio ranges from 0.1 to 0.35. The results imply that it is possible to control the composition of B-C-N hybrid by changing the fluence of the ion plasma and the temperature of graphite during ion implantation.