Pressure-Induced Quenchable Superhard Tetrahedral Amorphous Phase of BC4N

Abstract

The high-pressure behavior of an amorphous boron carbon nitride (BC4N) composition is investigated using constant-pressure ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. A first-order phase transformation into a tetrahedral amorphous phase with a high fraction of sp3 bonding is observed. This tetrahedral phase is quenchable and exhibits ultra-high incompressibility and a high Vickers hardness (46 GPa), placing it firmly in the category of superhard materials, comparable to tetrahedral amorphous carbon. Tetrahedral amorphous BC4N demonstrates semiconducting behavior with a narrow bandgap of 0.4 eV, making it suitable for applications requiring both mechanical robustness and moderate electronic conductivity. Thermodynamic analyses confirm the likelihood of a first-order sp2-to-sp3 transition, suggesting that such a transformation could occur around 29 GPa under experimental conditions.