Formation of a monolayer h-BN nanomesh on Rh (111) studied using in-situ STM

As a member of the 2D family of materials, h-BN is an intrinsic insulator and could be employed as a dielectric or insulating inter-layer in ultra-thin devices. Monolayer h-BN can be synthesized on Rh (111) surfaces using borazine as a precursor. Using in-situ variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we directly observed the formation of h in real-time. By analyzing the deposition under variable substrate temperatures and the filling rate of the h-BN overlayer vacant hollows during growth, we studied the growth kinetics of how the borazine molecules construct the h-BN overlayer grown on the Rh surface.