From 2-D to 0-D Boron Nitride Materials, The Next Challenge

The discovery of graphene has paved the way for intense research into 2D materials which is expected to have a tremendous impact on our knowledge of material properties in small dimensions. Among other materials, boron nitride (BN) nanomaterials have shown remarkable features with the possibility of being used in a large variety of devices. Photonics, aerospace, and medicine are just some of the possible fields where BN has been successfully employed. Poor scalability represents, however, a primary limit of boron nitride. Techniques to limit the number of defects, obtaining large area sheets and the production of significant amounts of homogenous 2D materials are still at an early stage. In most cases, the synthesis process governs defect formation. It is of utmost importance, therefore, to achieve a deep understanding of the mechanism behind the creation of these defects. We reviewed some of the most recent studies on 2D and 0D boron nitride materials. Starting with the theoretical works which describe the correlations between structure and defects, we critically described the main BN synthesis routes and the properties of the final materials. The main results are summarized to present a general outlook on the current state of the art in this field.