Skip to content
6CCVD Research

Computational Predictions and Microwave Plasma Synthesis of Superhard Boron-Carbon Materials

At a Glance

Section titled ā€œAt a Glanceā€
MetadataDetails
Publication Date2018-07-25
JournalMaterials
AuthorsPaul A. Baker, Shane A. Catledge, Sumner B. Harris, Kathryn Ham, Wei-Chih Chen
InstitutionsUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham
Citations13

Abstract

Section titled ā€œAbstractā€

Superhard boron-carbon materials are of prime interest due to their non-oxidizing properties at high temperatures compared to diamond-based materials and their non-reactivity with ferrous metals under extreme conditions. In this work, evolutionary algorithms combined with density functional theory have been utilized to predict stable structures and properties for the boron-carbon system, including the elusive superhard BC5 compound. We report on the microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition on a silicon substrate of a series of composite materials containing amorphous boron-doped graphitic carbon, boron-doped diamond, and a cubic hard-phase with a boron-content as high as 7.7 at%. The nanoindentation hardness of these composite materials can be tailored from 8 GPa to as high as 62 GPa depending on the growth conditions. These materials have been characterized by electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and nanoindentation hardness, and the experimental results are compared with theoretical predictions. Our studies show that a significant amount of boron up to 7.7 at% can be accommodated in the cubic phase of diamond and its phonon modes and mechanical properties can be accurately modeled by theory. This cubic hard-phase can be incorporated into amorphous boron-carbon matrices to yield superhard materials with tunable hardness values.

Tech Support

Section titled ā€œTech Supportā€

Original Source

Section titled ā€œOriginal Sourceā€

References

Section titled ā€œReferencesā€
  1. 2009 - Ultimate Metastable Solubility of Boron in Diamond: Synthesis of Superhard Diamondlike BC5 [Crossref]
  2. 2008 - High-Tc Superconductivity in Superhard Diamondlike BC5 [Crossref]
  3. 2009 - Crystal and electronic structure of superhard BC5: First-principles structural optimizations [Crossref]
  4. 2009 - Superhard diamondlike BC5: A first-principles investigation [Crossref]
  5. 2009 - Mechanical properties of superhard BC5 [Crossref]
  6. 2010 - Superhard and superconducting structures of BC5 [Crossref]
  7. 2011 - Mechanical properties of superhard diamondlike BC5 [Crossref]
  8. 2013 - First-principle calculations on the structural stability and electronic properties of superhard BxCy compounds [Crossref]
  9. 2018 - Physical Properties of Superhard Diamond-Like BC5 from a First-Principles Study [Crossref]

Reads Similar to This

Effect of Bimodal cBN Particle Size Distribution on Thermal Conductivity of Al/cBN Composite Fabricated by SPS Analysis of Electrical Characteristics of Pd/n-Nanocarbon/p-Si Heterojunction Diodes - By C-V-f and G/w-V-f Laser-induced luminescence of boron-doped synthetic diamond at various laser pulse durations