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Abstract
The metal borides are well known for their high melting points, strength and hardness which make them useful for high performance applications. Conversely, the metal fluorides are renowned for their stability, transparency and ability to host other cations for a range of imaging and biomedical applications. Excitedly, we have developed two different synthetic methods for nanostructuring the metal borides and metal fluorides. Herein, we discuss our efforts at synthesizing different nanomorphologies of these materials. Chapter II details how we can synthesize nanoparticles of SrB6 using a novel top-down ion incorporation technique. Chapters III discusses similar synthetic strategies for producing nanosheets of LaB6. Chapter IV outlines top-down efforts made at forming nanostructured CeB6, CaB6 and SmB6. Chapter V discusses the synthesis of AlB2 nanosjeets using a top-down exfoliation technique. Finally, Chapter VI details the bottom-up formation of CaF2 nanosheets and nanostructured lanthanide fluorides using the CaF2 nanosheets as a template.