Boron Carbon Nitride Nanostructures from Salt Melts: Tunable Water-Soluble Phosphors

A simple, high yield, chemical process is developed to fabricate layered h-BN nanosheets and BCNO nanoparticles with a diameter of ca. 5 nm at 700 °C. The use of the eutectic LiCl/KCl salt melt medium enhances the kinetics of the reaction between sodium borohydride and urea or guanidine as well as the dispersion of the nanoparticles in water. The carbon content can be tuned from 0 to 50 mol % by adjusting the reactant ratio, thus providing precise control of the light emission of the particles in the range 440–528 nm while reaching a quantum yield of 26%. Because of their green synthesis, low toxicity, small size, and stability against aggregation in water, the as-obtained photoluminescent BCNO nanoparticles show promise for diagnostics and optoelectronics.