Hexagonal Boron Nitride (BN)
Hexagonal boron nitride is a non-oxide engineering ceramic. It can have a moderately low density among the non-oxide engineering ceramics in the database.
The properties of hexagonal boron nitride include four common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare hexagonal boron nitride to other non-oxide engineering ceramics (top) and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Thermal Properties
Maximum Temperature: Corrosion
1140 to 2800 °C 2080 to 5070 °F
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
1030 to 2350 °C 1880 to 4260 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
840 to 1610 J/kg-K 0.2 to 0.38 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
29 to 96 W/m-K 17 to 56 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
0.54 to 18 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Dielectric Constant (Relative Permittivity) At 1 MHz
4.0 to 4.4
Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential)
61 to 200 kV/mm 2.4 to 7.8 V/mil
Electrical Dissipation At 1 Hz
0.0017
Electrical Dissipation At 1 MHz
0.00075 to 0.0018
Electrical Resistivity Order of Magnitude
13 to 15 10x Ω-m
Other Material Properties
Compressive (Crushing) Strength
21 to 250 MPa 3.0 to 37 x 103 psi
Density
1.9 to 2.1 g/cm3 120 to 130 lb/ft3
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
14 to 60 GPa 2.0 to 8.8 x 106 psi
Flexural Strength
18 to 140 MPa 2.5 to 20 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.11
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
4.1 to 18 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
42 to 69 points
Thermal Diffusivity
9.9 to 34 mm2/s
Followup Questions
Further Reading
Handbook of Refractory Carbides and Nitrides: Properties, Characteristics, Processing and Applications, Hugh O. Pierson, 1996
Ceramics and Composites: Processing Methods, Narottam P. Bansal and Aldo R. Boccaccini (editors), 2012
IEC 60672-3: Ceramic and glass-insulating materials - Part 3: Specifications for individual materials
Springer Handbook of Condensed Matter and Materials Data, W. Martienssen and H. Warlimont (editors), 2005
Sintering of Advanced Materials: Fundamentals and Processes, Zhigang Zak Fang (editor), 2010