Zielinkiewicz Klaudia, Baranowska Daria, Mijowska Ewa
Department of Nanomaterials Physicochemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology Piastow Ave. 42 71-065 Szczecin Poland
RSC Adv. 2023 Jun 5;13(25):16907-16914. doi: 10.1039/d3ra02400h.
To fill the knowledge gap for borophene, as the youngest member of the two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials family, a facile, cost effective, scalable and reproducible fabrication route is still strongly required. Among so far studied techniques the potential of pure mechanical processes such as ball milling is not explored yet. Therefore, in this contribution, we explore the efficiency to exfoliate bulk boron into a few-layered borophene induced by mechanical energy in the planetary ball mill. It was revealed that the resulting flakes thickness and distribution can be controlled by (i) rotation speed (250-650 rpm), (ii) time of ball-milling (1-12 hours), and mass loading of bulk boron (1-3 g). Furthermore, the optimal conditions for the ball-milling process to induce efficient mechanical exfoliation of boron were determined to be 450 rpm, 6 hours, and 1 g (450 rpm_6 h_1 g), which resulted in the fabrication of regular and thin few-layered borophene flakes (∼5.5 nm). What is more, the mechanical energy induced during ball-milling, and the heat generated inside, affected the structure of borophene resulting in different crystalline phases. Besides being an additional and interesting discovery, it will also open up opportunities to investigate the relevance between the properties and the emerging phase. Structures labeled as β-rhombohedral, γ-orthorhombic, τ-B and the conditions under which they appear, have been described. Therefore, in our study, we open a new door to obtain a bulk quantity of few-layered borophene for further fundamental studies and practical potential assessment.
作为二维（2D）纳米材料家族中最年轻的成员，为填补硼烯方面的知识空白，目前仍迫切需要一种简便、经济高效、可扩展且可重复的制备方法。在迄今为止所研究的技术中，诸如球磨等纯机械工艺的潜力尚未得到探索。因此，在本论文中，我们探索了在行星式球磨机中通过机械能将块状硼剥离成几层硼烯的效率。结果表明，所得薄片的厚度和分布可通过以下因素控制：（i）转速（250 - 650转/分钟）、（ii）球磨时间（1 - 12小时）以及块状硼的质量负载（1 - 3克）。此外，确定球磨过程中诱导硼有效机械剥离的最佳条件为450转/分钟、6小时和1克（450转/分钟_6小时_1克），这使得能够制备出规则且薄的几层硼烯薄片（约5.5纳米）。更重要的是，球磨过程中产生的机械能以及内部产生的热量影响了硼烯的结构，导致形成不同的晶相。这不仅是一个额外且有趣的发现，还将为研究性能与新兴相之间的相关性提供机会。文中描述了标记为β - 菱面体、γ - 正交晶系、τ - B的结构以及它们出现的条件。因此，在我们的研究中，我们开启了一扇新的大门，以获取大量的几层硼烯用于进一步的基础研究和实际潜力评估。
