Congratulations to James Surjadi, postdoctoral associate in the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE), on being awarded first place in the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s NanoInFocus image contest!
This is a three-dimensional sample of hexagonal boron nitride visualized by scanning electron microscopy. Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is an electrically insulating nanomaterial with high mechanical strength, piezoelectric properties, and resistance to high temperatures. These properties make it an interesting material for ultrasensitive sensors for space explorations, microelectronics insulation, and lightweight, impact-resistant coatings, among other applications. Researchers created a hollow 3D hBN structure that is 100 times lighter than water and fully recovers from 90% compression. Their synthesis method can be scaled to produce centimeter-sized samples while preserving the nanoscale features critical for maintaining hBN’s unique properties.
Surjadi’s image—Three-Dimensional Nanoarchitected Hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN)—depicts a 3D hollow hBN architecture with nanometer-thin shells using a 3D printed carbon scaffold and chemical vapor deposition, followed by scaffold removal. Surjadi provided a description of his image: “Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a critical nanomaterial for electronics, thermal management, and extreme conditions due to its high-temperature resistance, electrical insulation, piezoelectric properties, and high mechanical strength. However, most studies have focused on its two-dimensional (2D) form, with challenges in scaling it to three dimensions (3D) due to brittleness and microstructural changes. To overcome this, we created a 3D hollow hBN architecture (this image) with nanometer-thin shells using a 3D printed carbon scaffold and chemical vapor deposition, followed by scaffold removal. This architecture is 100 times lighter than water and fully recovers from 90% compression. This method can be scaled to 3D centimeter-sized samples while preserving the nanoscale features critical for maintaining hBN’s unique properties for applications such as ultrasensitive piezoelectric sensors for space explorations, microelectronics insulation, and lightweight, impact-resistant coatings.”
Surjadi is a postdoc in MechE Assistant Professor Carlos Portela’s lab, and this image comes from collaborative work with Luiz Acauan and Shaan Jagani from MIT Aero/Astro Professor Brian Wardle’s team. This work was done, in part, using MIT.nano’s facilities!