Synthesis and characterization of boron nitride sponges as a novel support for metal nanoparticles

This paper describes a simple synthetic route for the synthesis of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) powders with high specific surface area, in which BBr3, NH4Cl and Al powders are used as starting materials. The structure and composition of the powders were characterized by electron diffraction, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in the selected area. X-ray diffraction shows wide peaks of crystalline h-BN with the particle size on the nanometer scale, and transmission electron microscopy reveals that the products have a novel spongy morphology. Silver nanoparticles loaded h-BN sponges were prepared via a one-step synthesis method. Different reaction conditions for the formation of h-BN sponges were also investigated.