  Stacking mismatches in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanostructures affect
their photonic, mechanical, and thermal properties. To access information about
the stacked configuration of layered ensembles, highly sophisticated techniques
like X-ray photoemission spectroscopy or electron microscopy are necessary.
Here, instead, by taking advantage of the geometrical and chemical nature of
h-BN, we show how simple structural models, based on shortened interplanar
distances, can produce effective charge densities. Accounting these in the
non-analytical part of the lattice dynamical description makes it possible to
access information about the composition of differently stacked variants in
experimental samples characterized by infrared spectroscopy. The results are
obtained by density functional theory and confirmed by various functionals and
pseudopotential approximations. Even though the method is shown on h-BN, the
conclusions are more general and show how effective dielectric models can be
considered as valuable theoretical pathways for the vibrational structure of
any layered material.
