Synthesis, Structure, and Properties of Mesoporous B/C/N Microspheres

Reaction of low surface area carbon with a mixture of urea and boric acid at 930 °C yields a composition close to BC 4 N with a graphitic structure. BC 4 N was characterized by electron energy loss spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction. BC 4 N is a porous ceramic with a surface area of 428 m 2 · g –1 , and shows a CO 2 uptake of 40 wt‐%. The layered structure of BC 4 N involves a random distribution of boron, carbon, and nitrogen atoms and shows high thermal stability up to 1000 °C. A comparative analysis of the structure and properties of BC 4 N and graphene using first‐principles pseudopotential based density functional theoretical calculations is presented. The calculations predict it to be an insulator. The bulk modulus of BC 4 N exhibits an interesting dependence on the ordering of boron and nitrogen on the graphene lattice.