Studies in Graphite and Related Compounds III: Electronic Band Structure in Boron Nitride

An analysis is made of the distribution of π-electrons in the crystal of boron nitride. The insulating character of this substance is shown by the fact that these electrons completely occupy one band, of width approximately 2.4 eV, separated from the next higher band by a gap of about 4.6 eV. The density of states in the band is calculated, accurately for a single layer plane, and approximately for the three-dimensional crystal. Until the energies of the σ-electrons are better known, further progress in understanding this substance will be difficult