Large-scale fabrication of boron nitride nanosheets and their utilization in polymeric composites with improved thermal and mechanical properties

Abstract

A study was conducted to demonstrate the fabrication of large-scale 2D boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) and the production of their polymeric composites. Detailed morphological and structural microscopic investigations were carried out and detailed property investigations of the new composite materials were performed. Polymeric composites containing BNNSs exhibited considerable reduction of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and possessed enhanced elastic modulus and strength. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to analyze the BNNS structures, revealing that they were entirely transparent to an electron beam due to their thin shapes. It was also found that BNNSs were able to display all the advantages of the (002) crystal faces of a graphitic structure, such as high mechanical strength, elasticity, and high thermal conductivity as compared with other 2D materials.