Initial stage of hexagonal boron nitride growth in diffusion and precipitation method

This study investigated the initial stage of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) formation on a Ni plate by the diffusion and precipitation method. Regular triangle-shaped domains with two orientations were observed on several Ni faces, as commonly observed in the chemical vapor deposition method. On (213) surfaces, strained triangle-shaped domains with unique orientation were observed, suggesting the possible formation of large single-crystalline domains. Moreover, stripe-shaped h-BN with lengths comparable to Ni grain size (∼100 µm) was formed along the direction on (111) surfaces. Our results show that boron stripes are first formed and the following nitridation converts them into h-BN stripes.