Three-Dimensional Nanoarchitected Hexagonal Boron Nitride wins NanoInFocus image contest

James Surjadi of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has won the NanoInFocus image contest for his entry, Three-Dimensional Nanoarchitected Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

A total of 1,279 people voted in the public voting period Oct. 9–16. Surjadi’s image received 299 votes. The competition is sponsored by the American Chemical Society; the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office on behalf of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI); and the University of California San Diego’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. Surjadi will receive a $1,000 award for his first-place submission.

Caleb DeWitt of Augustana University came in second place, garnering 167 votes for his entry, Micro-Broccoli; third place goes to Matthew Hershey of Northwestern University, who received 161 votes for his Landscape of Nanospheres. They will be awarded $500 and $250, respectively.

Surjadi, DeWitt, and Hershey were 3 of 10 finalists whose photos were selected by a panel of judges for the public to then vote for a winner. The other 7 were submitted by Joshua Ballard of Zyvex, Tyler Jaynes of Northwestern University, Lauren Micklow of Smart Material Solutions, Natalie Nicolas of MIT, Tarek Rahman of Pennsylvania State University, Yael Tsarfati of Stanford University, and Percy Zahl of Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Panel judges described Surjadi’s image as a “scientifically interesting project and material” and a “fantastic image matched by a great explanation of why it’s important, what it is, and how you came to create it. . . .”

Surjadi provided a description of his image: “Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a critical nanomaterial for electronics, thermal management, and extreme conditions due to its high-temperature resistance, electrical insulation, piezoelectric properties, and high mechanical strength. However, most studies have focused on its two-dimensional (2D) form, with challenges in scaling it to three dimensions (3D) due to brittleness and microstructural changes. To overcome this, we created a 3D hollow hBN architecture (this image) with nanometer-thin shells using a 3D printed carbon scaffold and chemical vapor deposition, followed by scaffold removal. This architecture is 100 times lighter than water and fully recovers from 90% compression. This method can be scaled to 3D centimeter-sized samples while preserving the nanoscale features critical for maintaining hBN’s unique properties for applications such as ultrasensitive piezoelectric sensors for space explorations, microelectronics insulation, and lightweight, impact-resistant coatings.”

You can read more about the winning image and other submissions at nano.gov/nanoinfocusimages.