Hexagonal boron nitride as a two-dimensional surfactant: low-density flame-resistant composites based on boron nitride exfoliated by an interface trapping technique

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a two-dimensional material isoelectric to graphene. It has a hexagonal structure with alternating boron and nitrogen atoms and is electrically insulating, thermally conductive, and chemically inert. However, like graphene, its use as a functional nanofiller requires exfoliation. Here, we present a method for exfoliating and dispersing hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) sheets within a polymer matrix. This is achieved by a solvent interface trapping method (SITM), where hBN exfoliates and spreads at a high-energy oil/water interface, separating the two phases and lowering the system's free energy. hBN thus acts as a surfactant, allowing us to form stable water-in-oil emulsions stabilized by films of overlapping hBN sheets. Polymerizing the continuous oil phase results in polymerized high internal phase emulsions (polyHIPE) with the foam cells lined with hBN. In the investigation presented here, we use acoustic spectroscopy, optical and electron microscopy, and image analysis to study emulsion and polyHIPE formation mechanisms. We find that the amount of hBN used, the flake size of the hBN, the mixing time, the type of initiator used, and the oil-to-water ratio all play a role in the morphology of the final polyHIPE. Lastly, we demonstrate the flame-retardant properties of the hBN polyHIPEs and show that at 1 % loadings, the presence of hBN prevents dripping and relighting of the composites, even when the material is heated to a red glow.