Borophene: A very promising 2D material
Detail of a 2D borophene layer Hermann Sachdev / MPI-P
In the latest issue of Science, Hermann Sachdev, a researcher from Professor Müllen’s department at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz, Germany discusses the outlooks of borophene layers. Borophene – now experimentally proven to exist – consists of a two-dimensional layer of boron atoms and has a structure similar to graphene.
It shows electronic properties comparable with those of graphene. Its strongly bound atoms make it resistant to mechanical impact. With remarkable properties, this material will possibly play a key role in future 2D materials research and thin film technology.
In the periodic system, boron is located between metallic beryllium and nonmetallic carbon which classifies it as a semimetal. It displays a pronounced ability to form not only stable electron-deficient bonds, but also strong covalent bonds.
The latter are responsible for boron and borides being among the hardest materials known. The 2D borophene layers can be considered as an intermediate between fully covalently bound graphene and substrate stabilized 2D materials like silicene or germanene. The borophene band structure can be easily tuned by e.g. substrate interactions or surface modifications.
“With these properties, borophene could soon find its way into new applications – ranging for example from electronic sensors and semiconductors to tribological devices”, says Herman Sachdev.
It indeed looks like a very promising material yet its synthesis is currently more complicated than that of graphene and requires further investigation.
Borophene will not become the material of choice to replace graphene in bulk applications like batteries or inks. However it will definitely have its share in the semiconductor device technology and tribology, the science of surfaces interacting in motion.
http://www.mpip-mainz.mpg.de/Borophene_a_promising_material – Press release and original publication
http://www.mpip-mainz.mpg.de/home/en – Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Media Contact
All latest news from the category: Materials Sciences
Materials management deals with the research, development, manufacturing and processing of raw and industrial materials. Key aspects here are biological and medical issues, which play an increasingly important role in this field.
innovations-report offers in-depth articles related to the development and application of materials and the structure and properties of new materials.
Newest articles
First-of-its-kind study uses remote sensing to monitor plastic debris in rivers and lakes
Remote sensing creates a cost-effective solution to monitoring plastic pollution. A first-of-its-kind study from researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities shows how remote sensing can help monitor and…
Laser-based artificial neuron mimics nerve cell functions at lightning speed
With a processing speed a billion times faster than nature, chip-based laser neuron could help advance AI tasks such as pattern recognition and sequence prediction. Researchers have developed a laser-based…
Optimising the processing of plastic waste
Just one look in the yellow bin reveals a colourful jumble of different types of plastic. However, the purer and more uniform plastic waste is, the easier it is to…