Precisely controlled catalytic synthesis of main group BN-polymers

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Posted on Tuesday 7 July 2026

BN-polymers are potential pre-ceramic precursors for producing technologically important shaped boron-nitride materials. A new report now unlocks their precisely tuneable synthesis, on scale and with very small amounts of catalyst, all enabled through a detailed understanding of the catalytic mechanism.

In a collaborative paper led by the Weller group, a highly efficient, and precisely controllable method for synthesising BN-polymers has been reported. This new approach transforms the simple and widely available feedstock methylamine-borane into the BN-polymer N-methyl polyaminoborane (Me-PAB) using very small amounts of an iridium pre-catalyst.

By tracking the reaction in real time, the researchers mapped the underlying kinetics and catalyst speciation that provides detailed mechanistic insight, allowing the process to be made robust and precisely controllable.

Boron Nitride is a technologically important ceramic material that has the unique properties of being mechanically strong, chemically robust, oxidation resistant, a wide-band gap insulator, and an excellent thermal conductor.

York PhD student and first author Chloe van Beek said: “By delivering such a reliable, scalable, and selective pathway to synthesise polymeric Me-PAB without the need for meticulously purified starting materials, this innovation positions Me-PAB as a highly viable, practical pre-ceramic precursor for producing shaped hexagonal Boron Nitride with uses in a wide range of applications.”

This work has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Notes to editors:

This work has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.