Orientation-controlled growth of hexagonal boron nitride monolayers templated from graphene edges

Abstract

The crystal orientation of epitaxially grown hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) monolayers from graphene edges was investigated. Low-energy electron microscopy observations reveal that the orientation of individual hBN grains is dependent on the direction of the templated zigzag edges of graphene. Furthermore, the triangular atomic defects in hBN were used to confirm the orientation of epitaxial hBN through high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations. The results indicate that the orientation of epitaxially grown hBN is determined by the formation of carbon–boron bonds at the graphene/hBN interface, which provides a promising way of producing uniform interface structures and orientation-controlled hBN grains.