Synthesis of cubic boron nitride with boron nitride powder formed from triammoniadecaborane

Cubic BN was synthesized under high temperature and pressure conditions from BN powder formed by reaction of triammoniadecaborane (TAD) with ammonia. The BN powder formed from TAD and ammonia had a low degree of ordering. The crystal lattice of the BN powder increased in regularity with increasing synthesis temperature and time for the reaction of TAD with ammonia. The conversion yield of cubic BN at 1300 °C and 6.5 GPa in the presence of AIN increased with decreasing of reaction temperature of TAD and ammonia from 1000–700 °C. Cubic BN decreased in yield with increasing reaction time of TAD and ammonia at 800 °C. BN powder pre-heat treated at 1550 °C had a crystallite size,L_c, of 22 nm, and was converted to cubic BN in a 43% yield at 1300 °C and 6.5 GPa for 10 min. The activation energy for cubic BN synthesis from BN powder-20 mol% AIN was 97 kJ mol^–1, when the starting BN was synthesized at 800 °C. The conversion yield of cubic BN from the disordered BN-20 mol% AIN was 100% after heat treatment at 1300 °C and 6.5 GPa for 20 min.