Weak morphology dependent valence band structure of boron nitride

Abstract

We report a hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HX-PES) investigation on valence band structure of Boron Nitrides (BN) having different morphologies, including nanosheets, nanotubes, and micro-sized particles. Very weak morphology/valence band structure dependence was observed. For each case, the B-N π-band overlapping with σ-band between 0 to -12.5 eV and the s-band below -15 eV were identified. No obvious morphology-induced band shifts and intensity variations were observed. First-principles calculations based on density functional theory were performed and the results were compared with the experimental data. This theoretical analysis well explains the weak morphology dependent valence band spectra of BN nanomaterials obtained during HX-PES measurements. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.