Two dimensional films of sp2 van der waals materials such as graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) have been investigated extensively due to their unique properties including high mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, stability, and interesting electronic properties. Understanding atomic scale defects in these materials is important because they can significantly affect the physical properties of these materials. Prior Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) work has resolved the atomic structure of grain boundaries in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesized graphene, but the structure of grain boundaries and many other defects in CVD h-BN are still not understood. We have synthesized h-BN using low pressure chemical vapor deposition from borazine. Defects including grain boundaries in monolayer regions of h-BN were imaged using ultra-high resolution aberration corrected transmission electron microscopy. Using a heating stage, we were able to identify the structure and dynamics of defects in h-BN at atomic resolution during in situ heating to over 400 C.

Synthesis and atomic scale transmission electron microscopy of hexagonal boron nitride

248th National Meeting (2014)

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