Scalable synthesis of quasi-monodispersed BN colloidal nanocrystals by solvent cutting and their anti-electrochemical corrosion coating

Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs), which show outstanding thermal conductivity and chemical stability, have drawn more and more attention in recent years. However, the limited yield, dispersivity and the polydispersed size of the exfoliated ones hinder their further application. Here, we present a method of effective and scalable synthesis of quasi-monodispersed BN colloidal nanocrystals by solid-state synthesis combined with solvent cutting technique. The key of the technique is the imperfect nitridation of the BO species, which yield the boron oxides and amorphous BN that coexist with the well crystallized BN domains. As the impurities that separate the well crystallized BN domains are removed, the BN skeleton with better crystallinity is remained. The BN colloidal nanocrystals are obtained when the solvents cut the weak grain boundary in BN skeleton. The lateral size of as-prepared BN colloidal nanocrystals could be well controlled for 3 nm, 10 nm and 20 nm. The zeta potentials of colloid are below -30 mV in a pH range of 5-12. That means the BN colloid can keep high colloidal stability over a wide pH range. As an exemplary application of colloidal BN nanocrystals, the BN film is coated on the copper foil by a simple dip-coating method. The coated copper foil shows remarkable anti-electrochemical corrosion property. This study not only paves a way for the synthesis of colloidal BN nanocrystals, but also gives an alternative choice for a facile and low cost protective BN coating.