An Efficient Template Synthesis of Aligned Boron Carbide Nanofibers Using a Single-Source Molecular Precursor

The synthesis of aligned, monodispersed boron carbide nanofibers has been achieved by the 1025 °C pyrolysis of the compound 6,6‘-(CH2)6(B10H13)2 absorbed into a porous alumina matrix, followed by dissolution of the alumina with aqueous HF. SEM studies show that the nanofibers are ∼45 μm in length with diameters of ∼250 nm. XRD and TEM studies demonstrated that fibers pyrolyzed at 1000 °C (3 h) are amorphous, but those heated at 1025 °C (3 h) showed onset of boron carbide crystallization.