Researchers produced borophane, a 2D form of boron that is stable at standard temperatures and air pressures. Borophane could have applications for batteries, electronics, sensors, photovoltaics, and quantum computing. (Image Credit: Mark Hersam/Northwestern University)
For the first time, researchers at Northwestern University have produced borophane, a 2D form of boron that is stable at standard temperatures and air pressures. Borophane was created by bonding unstable borophene, the atom-thick layer of boron that is lighter, tougher, and more flexible than graphene, with atomic hydrogen.
While graphene’s atoms have a hexagonal lattice arrangement, the atoms in borophene are arranged in varying mixtures of hexagons and triangles, which can be fine-tuned depending on the application.
Researchers have been interested in borophene due to its strength, flexibility, and superconductivity. Those properties make it ideal for batteries, electronics, sensors, photovoltaics, and quantum computing. However, borophene quickly oxidizes once it’s removed from an ultrahigh vacuum chamber, causing it to lose conductive properties. As a result, scientists’ studies on borophene were severely limited.
“The problem is that if you take borophene out of the ultrahigh vacuum and into air, it immediately oxidizes,” said Mark C. Hersam, who led the research. “Once it oxidizes, it is no longer borophene and is no longer conductive. The field will continue to be hindered in exploring its real-world use unless borophene can be rendered stable outside an ultrahigh vacuum chamber.”
Hersam and his team placed atomic hydrogen onto the surface of borophene, which produced stable borophane. This process can also be reversed by applying heat to boraphane, which is achieved after coating an inert compound, to clear away the hydrogen. In turn, this yields a coated stable form of borophene that survives outside a vacuum.
“The boron atoms in borophene are highly susceptible to further chemical reactions,” Hersam said. “We found that once the boron atoms are bonded with hydrogen, they will no longer react with oxygen when in open air.”
Now that boraphane contains similar properties as borophene, it can be studied in the real world due to its stability outside of a vacuum. “Materials synthesis is a bit like baking,” Hersam said. “Once you know the recipe, it’s not hard to replicate. However, if your recipe is just a little off, then the final product can flop terribly. By sharing the optimal recipe for borophane with the world, we anticipate that its use will rapidly proliferate.”
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