High-Yield Preparation Of Edge-Functionalized And Water Dispersible Few-Layers Of Hexagonal Boron Nitride (Hbn) By Direct Wet Chemical Exfoliation

Owing to many fascinating properties including high thermal and chemical stability, excellent electrical insulation, fire-retardant and antibacterial properties, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has emerged as a prominent 2D material for broad applications. However, the production of high quality of hBN by chemical exfoliation from its precursor is still challenging. This paper presents a high-yield (+83%), low-cost and energy-efficient wet chemical exfoliation strategy, which produces few-layers (FL, 3-6 layers) of edge-functionalized (OH) hBN nanosheets with uniform size (486 +/- 51 nm). This optimized preparation is established based on a comprehensive investigation on the key exfoliation parameters such as exfoliation temperature, time and amount of the oxidant (potassium permanganate). High quality of FL-hBN was confirmed by various characterization techniques including scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray, transmission electron microscopy, Raman, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The outcome of this study paves a promising pathway to effectively produce hBN through a cost-efficient exfoliation approach, which has a significant impact on industrial applications.