Alcoholysis-Assisted Exfoliation of Boron Nitride Nanosheets from Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) are attractive 2-dimensional nanomaterials with excellent thermal conductivity, mechanical properties, and thermal stability. It is therefore significant to develop new simple methods to produce BNNSs. In this study, BNNSs with nanometer thicknesses and diameters of several hundreds of nanometers were produced by alcoholysis-assisted exfoliation from hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) through sonication of h-BN in primary alcohols such as butanol and hexanol. Atomic force microscopy images of the BNNSs revealed that the morphologies were dependent on alcohol species and preparation methods. Infrared absorption spectra of the BNNSs suggested that alcoholysis of B–N bonds in primary alcohols during sonication processes was essential for BNNS production.