Synthesis and radiation response of BCON: A graphene oxide and hexagonal boron nitride hybrid

Since graphene, there has been a focus on several two-dimensional material systems (e.g. boron nitride, borocarbon nitride (BCN), transition-metal dichalcogenides) that provide an even wider array of unique chemistries and properties to explore future applications. Specifically, tailoring graphene/boron nitride heterostructures-which can theoretically retain the character of a single-atom thick sheet, withstand large physical strains, are easily functionalized, and have entirely different optical and mechanical properties compared to graphene-can provide the foundation for entirely new research avenues. In recent years, it has been shown that because of the similar crystal structure, carbon, boron, and nitrogen can co-exist as atomic sheets in a layered structure. We have developed a facile method of integrating boron nitride (hBN) and graphene oxide (GO) via chemical exfoliation which we refer to as BCON. The study of the stability of this material at different pH conditions indicates a stable and a uniform solution is achievable at pH 4-8. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy helped to identify the new bonds which indicated the formation of BCON linkage. Further, an in situ XPS technique was used to understand the chemical changes while exposing it to ionization radiation specially focusing on the C/O ratio. It was observed that even with a very low energy source, this material is highly sensitive to ionizing radiation, such as neutron, alpha and beta particles.