Chemical vapor deposition of highly conductive boron-doped graphite from triphenyl boron

Thermal decomposition of triphenyl boron vapor at 800°C produced boron-carbon thin films of composition C16-18B. The room-temperature resistivity of this material was 1.8 × 10-4 Ω· cm, considerably lower than pyrolytic carbons produced at similar temperatures. This resistivity remained unchanged as the temperature was lowered to 5 K, indicating fine-grain, metallic-like conductivity. Material composition was determined using Auger electron spectroscopy. X-ray and electron diffraction studies show that the films had a layered structure similar to turbostatic graphite and ESCA experiments indicate that the boron is bonded to carbon and is not present as a second phase. © 1994.