Synthesis of boron-dispersed carbon by pressure pyrolysis of organoborane copolymer

Boron-dispersed carbon was synthesized by pressure pyrolysis of divinylbenzene-tris(allyl)-borane and styrene-tris(allyl)borane at 125 MPa below 650° C. Amorphous boron dispersed in a carbon matrix was oxidized easily to yield boric acid by heat treatment under air at 300° C. The BKα image of the product showed that boron was dispersed uniformly in a carbon matrix. Boron-dispersed carbon had the morphology of coalescing spherulite and polyhedra depending upon the concentration of boron in the parent copolymer. The grain size of carbon polyhedra decreased from 2.0μm to 0.2μm with an increase in the boron concentration from 1.3 to 5.7 wt%. The presence of 0.5 wt% boron in a carbon matrix enhanced the graphitization at 4.0 GPa and 1200° C, decreasing the lattice spacing with an increase in the crystallite size. The crystallite sizes were comparable to each other after heat treatment at 1100° C and 4.0 GPa when the specimen contained boron from 0.5 to 2.5 wt%. The lattice constant (c0) and crystallite size (Lc) of boron-dispersed carbon containing 2.5 wt% boron were 677.0 pm and 30 nm, respectively, after heat treatment at 1200° C and 4.0 GPa.