Poster ID: EPSCOR0014 - Mesoscopic Structures

Boron Doped Carbon: A Tunable Morphology

Aaron J. Austin, Dept. of Physics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK. Faculty Advisor, Dr. David McIlroy, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK.

ABSTRACT

Our group has successfully synthesized a new mesoscopic material via an Atmospheric Chemical Vapor Deposition (APCVD) technique in an attempt to dope boron on a form of Pseudo-Graphite known as GUITAR. By adding a boron precursor into the solution, we discovered new mesoscopic structures that have formed with varying tubular morphologies. We call these novel structures BOD (Boron Orthocarborane Doped) Carbon and intend to explore their growth characteristics and possible applications. Some of these applications include hydrogen storage and improved battery technologies.

We grow this material by utilizing a process called Atmospheric Chemical Vapor Deposition (APCVD). Through this method we flow nitrogen into a flask that is heated on a hotplate. The vapor is then carried through a tube furnace at 900 °C where the structures are then grown for various times. We have found that by manipulating time of the reaction and amount of boron in our mixture as well as cooling rate we can create different morphologies.

Due to the nature of the materials growth we hypothesize that it is possible to tune the structures to vary in their application. For instance, an important aspect of improving Li-Ion batteries is surface area of the electrode material. Naturally, BOD Carbon has a high surface area due to the tubular structure increasing the storage capacity and performance of Li-Ion batteries. This could indeed contribute to storage of other elements, such as hydrogen, as well.

By further exploring the potential of this material to cater to different applications we open the door to a variety of innovations. In the future, we plan to tune the structure and growth of this material in order to better understand the influence of outside elements in the reaction, such as utilizing nitrogen. Future measurements including cyclic voltammetry and hydrogen adsorption will help elucidate the materials usefulness for batteries electrodes and hydrogen storage potential. Further cataloging and control of the morphological changes BOD Carbon offers will reveal prospective applications, subsequently allowing us to engineer them accordingly.