An investigation of vapor deposited boron rich carbon – a novel graphite-like material – part I: the structure of BCx (C6B) thin films Original Research Article

A black reflective solid containing boron and carbon was produced via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at 700°C. The boron concentration in these films was determined to be 17 at.%. X-ray diffraction has shown the interlayer spacing of this novel compound to be similar to that of graphite (d002=0.3384 nm). Identification of 00l and hk0 reflections have also been made using electron diffraction. The BCx films have a microstructure consisting of regions of textured hexagonal platelets with a diameter (La) of ∼25 nm. BCx has no ABAB layer plane registration. This material is identified as pseudo-hexagonal due to the lack of hkl reflections. Modeling of boron rich carbon was undertaken in order to define the nature of defects in these solids. This solid structure is more accurately defined by the stoichiometry – C6B.