Structure analysis of B-C-N hybrid thin films by inner-shell excitation spectroscopy

Shimoyama, Iwao   ; Uddin, M. N.*; Baba, Yuji  ; Sekiguchi, Tetsuhiro  ; Nagano, Masamitsu*

B-C-N hybrids have been expected to be used for an alternative catalysis for Pt. Since most products have complex structure including various unknown chemical bonding states, the local structures have not been clarified yet. In order to clarify the chemical bonding states of this material, we measured near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) of B-C-N hybrid thin films. B-C-N hybrid thin films were synthesized by ion beam deposition of borazine on a graphite substrate. Some * peaks were observed in B and N K-edge NEXAFS spectra, and these peaks showed different polarization dependences. This suggests that buckled structures were formed with graphite-like planner structures. Heat of formation is calculated for some model clusters which consist of a pentagon and hexagons, and compared with that for planner clusters with same compositions. From the comparison, we propose that substitution of B and N atoms for C atoms in graphite can induce fullerene-like structure.