Graphite is a soft greasy substance. It is greyish-black in appearance. The lead used for the writing pencils is made of this material. It is otherwise known as black lead or plumbago. Graphite is a material form of crystallized carbon. It has the same carbon atoms but it is the crystal pattern of structure that differs in a diamond. Graphite, though found naturally, can be synthesized using hard coal or coke with the help of an electric furnace. Graphite has a carbon atoms structure arranged in flat planes of hexagonal rings simply stacked on each other.
Boron nitride is a composition of equal numbers of nitrogen and boron atoms. It is a chemical compound having the chemical formula BN. If you look into the atomic structure of the same it highly resembles with that of carbon lattice. It can be found in many crystalline forms. Among BN polymorphs, the hexagonal form of graphite is the softest and stable form. It can be used in the additive to cosmetic products as a lubricant. The cubic atomic structure of analogous to diamond is called c-BN. Though in terms of hardness it is inferior only to diamond, however, it has a greater chemical and thermal stability.
Boron nitride is a man-made synthetic substance of boric acid and boron trioxide, not found naturally. Cubical BN can be used for the purpose of mechanical applications. It has the unique feature of outstanding thermal and chemical stability. Boron nitride ceramics are useful in the application of producing spare parts of high-temperature equipment. In the field of nanotechnology, boron nitride has a significant role.
These graphite and hexagonal boron nitride belongs to the two prominent members of the layered materials family which have a hexagonal lattice structure. Graphite possesses a nonpolar homonuclear intralayer of bonds, while on the other hand hexagonal boron nitride resulting in different optimal stacking modes of both the materials in a large volume. The Layered materials are responsible for playing a vital role in a variety of key scientific fields, which includes nano-scale materials science, molecular electronics, condensed matter physics, tribology, spintronics, and chemistry. In the levels of while their intralayer interactions they are frequently well featured and subjected by covalent bonding.
These interlayer interactions are highly influenced through a delicate equilibrium between electrostatic interactions, dispersion forces, and Pauli repulsions. Thus to have a clear cut idea about the interactions to the interlayer binding of each of these essential for the characterization of their electronic, mechanical, and electro-mechanical aspect and intended for the design of new materials with customized functionality. The modern day’s most significant member of the layered family materials is known as graphene. It serves as building block few-layered graphite along with for single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes.
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