Synthesis of B/C materials from boron-containing phenyl acetylides Original Research Article

This paper discusses the synthesis and graphitization of three boron-containing phenyl acetylides, with B/C ratios between 118 and 18. The experimental results show that the initial rate at which the graphitic structure develops is strongly related to the molecular structure of the phenyl acetylides. The formation of non-coplanar molecular structure in the stabilization reaction slows down the graphitization reaction. However, all three precursors show effective transformation reactions to produce the boron-substitutional graphitic (B/C) materials at relatively low temperature (2200 °C), despite the significant differences in boron concentration and chemical nature of the precursors. Relatively large crystallite size and small d-spacing between interlayers of B/C products were observed by X-ray diffraction. Clearly, boron is not only substitutionally incorporated in the graphitic structure but also enhances the graphitization reaction.