Improvement of morphology and electrical properties of boron-doped diamond films via seeding with HPHT nanodiamonds synthesized from 9-borabicyclononane

Abstract

Boron-doped diamond (BDD) films are becoming increasingly popular as electrode materials due to their broad potential window and stability in harsh conditions and environments. Therefore, optimizing the crystal quality and minimizing defect density to maximize electronic properties (e.g. conductivity) of BDD is of great importance. This study investigates the influence of different hydrogenated nanodiamond (H-ND) seeding layers on the growth and properties of BDD films. Three types of seeding H-NDs were examined: detonation (H-DND) and top-down high-pressure high-temperature NDs (TD_HPHT H-ND), and boron-doped NDs (H-BND) newly synthesized at high-pressure high-temperature from an organic precursor. Purified and oxidized BND (O-BND) samples yielded clear, blue, and stable colloidal dispersions. Subsequent thermal hydrogenation reversed their zeta potential from – 32 mV to +44 mV and promoted the seeding of negatively charged surfaces. All three H-ND types formed dense seeding layers on SiO₂ and Si/SiO_x substrates, which enabled the growth of BDD films by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Despite variations in initial surface coverage among the seeding layers (13–25 %), all NDs facilitated the growth of fully closed BDD films approximately 1 μm thick. Significant differences in film morphology and electrical properties were observed. H-BND nucleation yielded the BDD films with the largest crystals (up to 1000 nm) and lowest sheet resistance (400 Ω/sq). This superior performance is attributed to the uniform particle shape and monocrystalline character of H-BND, as corroborated by FTIR, TEM, and SAXS measurements. These findings highlight the critical role of seeding layer properties in determining consequent diamond film evolution and establish H-BNDs as promising seeding material for the growth of high-quality BDD films suitable for electronic and electrochemical applications.