Scalable exfoliation for few-layered hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) by microwave-assisted expansion and liquid nitrogen intercalation

• Published in: Chinese chemical letters Vol. 31; no. 7; pp. 1936 - 1940
• Main Authors: Ma, Zhansheng, Liu, Zan, Cheng, Zhilin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.07.2020; School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002, China
• Subjects: BNNSs; Exfoliation; Friction; Liquid nitrogen; Microwave; Microwave; BNNSs; Friction; Exfoliation; Liquid nitrogen
• ISSN: 1001-8417; 1878-5964
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cclet.2020.01.019

The reliable exfoliation for BNNSs nanosheets was successfully achieved, which adopted the combination of microwave-assisted expansion and liquid nitrogen intercalation. [Display omitted] The low cost and facile scalable exfoliation route for two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) was still indispensable for potential applications. In this work, we presented a convenient and scalable exfoliation for few-layer BNNSs. Taking advantage of the advantages of swift heating of microwave and ultra low temperature vaporization of liquid nitrogen, bulk h-BN was high-efficiently exfoliated into few-layer BNNSs. The as-exfoliated BNNSs had a 2−6 nm thickness and approximately 7.91% yield, exhibiting scalable, facile and environment-friendly features. Furthermore, the as-exfoliated BNNSs were applied as additive in oil for reducing friction of oil. The COF of the BNNSs-based grease reduced by 20.10% compared to grease, and the antiwear performance decreased by 55.8% and 45.1% relative to grease and h-BN-based grease.