Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a promising deep ultraviolet light emitter. Here we report the catalytic growth of hBN films by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD). The hBN films were first grown on Mo/Si substrate from a gas mixture of N-2, BF3, and H-2 and then annealed in nitrogen for 3 h at 900 degrees C. The Mo catalysts exhibit obvious catalyzing effects in improving the crystallinity of the hBN films during the growth and annealing processes. Well-crystallized hBN films with small Raman peak width of 9.3 cm(-1) and sharp photoluminescence emission peak at 293 nm were obtained. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.