Low temperature synthesis of polycrystalline explosion phase boron nitride submicron-powders

High purity quasi-octahedral polycrystalline explosion phase boron nitride (e-BN) submicron-powders were synthesized in an autoclave at 600 °C for 6 h using Mg, FeB1.3 and NH4Cl as the raw materials. Samples were characterized by SEM, FSEM, EDX, TEM, HRTEM, SAED, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The as-synthesized e-BN powders demonstrated a face-centered cubic structure with lattice parameter of 8.300 Å. Besides the e-BN samples presented a quasi-octahedral morphology with an average diameter of 0.8 μm. The effects of time, temperature, raw materials and possible catalytic reaction mechanism of the growth of quasi-octahedral polycrystalline e-BN were also discussed.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► The explosion phase boron nitride powders (e-BN) were synthesized in an autoclave. ► The e-BN submicron-powders present a quasi-octahedral polycrystalline structure. ► The effects of time, temperature and raw materials were discussed. ► The possible catalytic reaction mechanism was also discussed. ► This study provides direct new evidences to interpret the fcc structure of e-BN.