Order–disorder transition in a two-dimensional boron–carbon–nitride alloy

Jiong Lu, Kai Zhang, Xin Feng Liu, Han Zhang, Tze Chien Sum, Antonio H. Castro Neto and Kian Ping Loh ()
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Jiong Lu: National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3
Kai Zhang: National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3
Xin Feng Liu: School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link
Han Zhang: National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3
Tze Chien Sum: School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link
Antonio H. Castro Neto: Graphene Research Centre, National University of Singapore, 6 Science Drive 2
Kian Ping Loh: National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Two-dimensional boron–carbon–nitride materials exhibit a spectrum of electronic properties ranging from insulating to semimetallic, depending on their composition and geometry. Detailed experimental insights into the phase separation and ordering in such alloy are currently lacking. Here we report the mixing and demixing of boron–nitrogen and carbon phases on ruthenium (0001) and found that energetics for such processes are modified by the metal substrate. The brick-and-mortar patchwork observed of stoichiometrically percolated hexagonal boron–carbon–nitride domains surrounded by a network of segregated graphene nanoribbons can be described within the Blume–Emery–Griffiths model applied to a honeycomb lattice. The isostructural boron nitride and graphene assumes remarkable fluidity and can be exchanged entirely into one another by a catalytically assistant substitution. Visualizing the dynamics of phase separation at the atomic level provides the premise for enabling structural control in a two-dimensional network for broad nanotechnology applications.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3681

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