By means of first-principles computation, metal (Cu, Ag, Au, Pt, Rh, Pd, Fe, Co, and Ir) doped hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNSs) have been systematically investigated. The strong interaction between the metal atoms and defect sites in h-BNNS, such as the boron vacancy and nitrogen edge, suggests that metal doped h-BN nanosheets (M-BNNSs) should be stable under high temperatures. The catalytic activity of Co doped h-BNNS is also investigated by using CO oxidation as a probe, and the calculated low barrier suggests that the Co-BNNS is a viable catalyst for CO oxidation. Based on electronic structure analysis, the catalytic capacity of Co-BNNS is attributed to the strong mixing between the cobalt 3d orbitals and oxygen 2p orbitals, which activates the adsorbed molecular or atomic oxygen.

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets, a promising layered material, have drawn more and more attention in recent years. In this study, a simple method has been developed to prepare stable colloidal h-BN nanosheet dispersion with high concentration in ethylene glycol based on the matching of the surface energies of h-BN and the surface tension of the solvent. It is found that bulk h-BN can be directly exfoliated and dispersed in ethylene glycol solvent with the assistance of sonication to form stable h-BN nanosheets with a few layers. Furthermore, the stable colloidal h-BN nanosheets have been demonstrated to be good carriers to support and disperse noble metal nanoparticles such as Ag, Au, and Pt with high catalytic activity for the reduction of p-nitrophenol. Our results suggest that stable colloidal h-BN dispersion with high concentration in ethylene glycol could open the way to a range of important applications of h-BN based materials.

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