Published February 21, 2024 | Version v1
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Twisted-layer boron nitride ceramic with high deformability and strength

Description

Moiré superlattices formed by twisted stacking in van der Waals materials have emerged as a new platform for exploring the physics of strongly correlated materials and other emergent phenomena. However, there remains a lack of research on the mechanical properties of twisted-layer van der Waals materials, owing to a lack of suitable strategies for making three-dimensional bulk materials. Here we report the successful synthesis of a polycrystalline boron nitride bulk ceramic with high room-temperature deformability and strength. This ceramic, synthesized from an onion-like boron nitride nanoprecursor with conventional spark plasma sintering and hot-pressing sintering, consists of interlocked laminated nanoplates in which parallel laminae are stacked with varying twist angles. The compressive strain of this bulk ceramic can reach 14% before fracture, about one order of magnitude higher compared with traditional ceramics (less than 1% in general), whereas the compressive strength is about six times that of ordinary hexagonal boron nitride layered ceramics. The exceptional mechanical properties are due to a combination of the elevated intrinsic deformability of the twisted layering in the nanoplates and the three-dimensional interlocked architecture that restricts deformation from propagating across individual nanoplates. The advent of this twisted-layer boron nitride bulk ceramic opens a gate to the fabrication of highly deformable bulk ceramics.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available within this article and its Supplementary Information. Further data are available from the corresponding authors upon request.

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Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1038/s41586-024-07036-5
Other
oai:uchicago.tind.io:11130

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China
52288102
National Natural Science Foundation of China
91963203
National Natural Science Foundation of China
52325203
National Natural Science Foundation of China
52202071
National Natural Science Foundation of China
52090020
National Natural Science Foundation of China
U20A20238
National Natural Science Foundation of China
52073245
National Key R&D Program of China
2018YFA0305900
China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
2023M741879
National Funded Postdoctoral Researcher Program
GZB20230320
Talent research project in Hebei Province
2020HBQZYC003
Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province
E2023203256
Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province
E2022203109
Science Research Project of Hebei Education Department
JZX2024022
Postdoctoral Science Preferential Funding of Hebei Province
B2022003021
U.S. National Science Foundation
EAR-1361276

UChicago Information

Division(s)
Physical Sciences Division
Center(s) or Institute(s)
Center for Advanced Radiation Sources