Large-Scale Growth of Hexagonal Boron Nitride for Anticorrosion

Corrosion of metals has always been one of the most challenging industrial problems. Protection of copper foil from the corrosion of water, chloride ions, sulfate ions, hydroxide ions, and oxygen is crucial. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with an atomic thickness is an excellent inert two-dimensional material, which is a promising candidate for ultrathin protective coatings in tough environments such as high temperatures and humidity. However, the large-scale growth of h-BN with high quality is still challenging. In this work, we designed an efficient chemical vapor deposition method to grow highly crystalline h-BN films on copper foil substrates on a large scale and investigated the corresponding performances as a protective coating against oxidation and corrosion. Compared to bare copper foil, the copper foil with h-BN film exhibits excellent oxidation resistance even at 300 °C in an ambient atmosphere. The corrosion current in an aqueous electrolyte is obviously depressed by the h-BN coating layer, which can be attributed to the introduction of a hydrophobic surface and larger impedance value. The results demonstrated that the confined large-scale growth of h-BN films can be realized by stacking Cu foils. It can promote the application of h-BN for anticorrosion and oxidation resistance of copper foil.