Anisotropic Etching of Hexagonal Boron Nitride and Graphene: Question of Edge Terminations
Abstract
Here, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been established as the most effective way to grow large area two-dimensional materials. Direct study of the etching process can reveal subtleties of this competing with the growth reaction and thus provide the necessary details of the overall growth mechanism. Here we investigate hydrogen-induced etching of hBN and graphene and compare the results with the classical kinetic Wulff construction model. Formation of the anisotropically etched holes in the center of hBN and graphene single crystals was observed along with the changes in the crystals’ circumference. We show that the edges of triangular holes in hBN crystals formed at regular etching conditions are parallel to B-terminated zigzags, opposite to the N-terminated zigzag edges of hBN triangular crystals. The morphology of the etched hBN holes is affected by a disbalance of the B/N ratio upon etching and can be shifted toward the anticipated from the Wulff model N-terminated zigzag by etching in a nitrogen buffer gas instead of a typical argon. For graphene, etched hexagonal holes are terminated by zigzag, while the crystal circumference is gradually changing from a pure zigzag to a slanted angle resulting in dodecagons.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[1];
[2];
[4];
[1]
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures and Transport Center (FIRST); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1411140
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1413614
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-4A00-70577
Journal ID: ISSN 1530-6984; TRN: US1800178
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308; AC05-00OR22725
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nano Letters
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 17; Journal Issue: 12; Journal ID: ISSN 1530-6984
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 2D materials; APCVD; boron nitride; edge termination; graphene; hBN; hydrogen etching
Citation Formats
Stehle, Yijing Y., Sang, Xiahan, Unocic, Raymond R., Voylov, Dmitry, Jackson, Roderick K., Smirnov, Sergei, and Vlassiouk, Ivan. Anisotropic Etching of Hexagonal Boron Nitride and Graphene: Question of Edge Terminations. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b02841.
Stehle, Yijing Y., Sang, Xiahan, Unocic, Raymond R., Voylov, Dmitry, Jackson, Roderick K., Smirnov, Sergei, & Vlassiouk, Ivan. Anisotropic Etching of Hexagonal Boron Nitride and Graphene: Question of Edge Terminations. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b02841
Stehle, Yijing Y., Sang, Xiahan, Unocic, Raymond R., Voylov, Dmitry, Jackson, Roderick K., Smirnov, Sergei, and Vlassiouk, Ivan. Tue .
"Anisotropic Etching of Hexagonal Boron Nitride and Graphene: Question of Edge Terminations". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b02841. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1411140.
@article{osti_1411140,
title = {Anisotropic Etching of Hexagonal Boron Nitride and Graphene: Question of Edge Terminations},
author = {Stehle, Yijing Y. and Sang, Xiahan and Unocic, Raymond R. and Voylov, Dmitry and Jackson, Roderick K. and Smirnov, Sergei and Vlassiouk, Ivan},
abstractNote = {Here, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been established as the most effective way to grow large area two-dimensional materials. Direct study of the etching process can reveal subtleties of this competing with the growth reaction and thus provide the necessary details of the overall growth mechanism. Here we investigate hydrogen-induced etching of hBN and graphene and compare the results with the classical kinetic Wulff construction model. Formation of the anisotropically etched holes in the center of hBN and graphene single crystals was observed along with the changes in the crystals’ circumference. We show that the edges of triangular holes in hBN crystals formed at regular etching conditions are parallel to B-terminated zigzags, opposite to the N-terminated zigzag edges of hBN triangular crystals. The morphology of the etched hBN holes is affected by a disbalance of the B/N ratio upon etching and can be shifted toward the anticipated from the Wulff model N-terminated zigzag by etching in a nitrogen buffer gas instead of a typical argon. For graphene, etched hexagonal holes are terminated by zigzag, while the crystal circumference is gradually changing from a pure zigzag to a slanted angle resulting in dodecagons.},
doi = {10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b02841},
journal = {Nano Letters},
number = 12,
volume = 17,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Nov 14 00:00:00 EST 2017},
month = {Tue Nov 14 00:00:00 EST 2017}
}
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