| Boron-rich boron carbide from soot: a low-temperature green synthesis approach |
| M. S. Swapna, H. V. Saritha Devi, S. Sankararaman |
| Department of Optoelectronics, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, Kerala 695581, India |
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Received: April 3, 2020; Revised: July 1, 2020 Accepted: July 13, 2020. Published online: November 30, 2020. |
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| ABSTRACT |
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Boron carbide is a promising super-hard semiconducting material for refractory applications ranging from the nuclear industry to spacecraft. The present work is the fi rst report of not only turning futile soot, containing carbon allotropes in varying composition, into boron-rich boron carbide (BC), but also developing it by a low-cost, low-temperature, and green synthesis method. The BC synthesised from gingelly oil soot is subjected to structural, morphological, and optical characterisations. The fi eld emission scanning electron microscope shows beautiful fl ower-like morphology, and the thermogravimetric analysis reveals the high-temperature stability of the sample synthesised. The Tauc plot of the sample indicates a 2.38 eV direct bandgap. The formation of BC and boron-rich carbide evidenced by X-ray diff raction studies is confi rmed through Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic signatures of B–C and C–B–C bonds. The fl uorescence, power spectrum, and CIE analyses carried out suggest the blue light emission for excitation at 350 nm. |
| Key words:
Boron carbide · Soot · Carbon nanoparticle · Refractory · Allotropes · Green synthesis |
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