In-vacuum thermolysis of ethane 1,2-diamineborane for the synthesis of ternary borocarbonitrides

High-temperature (1000°C) thermolytic decomposition of ethane 1,2-diamineborane (BH3NH2CH2CH2NH2BH3) deposited onto a Cu foil has been performed in an ultra-highvacuum environment. A combined thermolytic, structural (x-ray diffraction), microscopic (scanning electron microscopy) and spectroscopic (Raman, x-ray photoemission spectroscopy) analysis, has identified a ternary borocarbonitride (BCN) compound as a result of the process. The obtained BCN compound is nanocrystalline, surrounded by crystallites of ammonium hydroxide borate hydrate. The ternary compound presents a 0.2:0.6:0.2 B:C:N composition in the bulk and 0.11:0.76:0.13 stoichiometry at the very surface, richer in C–C networks with respect to the bulk. Furthermore, the resulting BCN compound does not show oxidation at the surface due to the in-vacuum thermolysis of the single precursor.