Borophene: Current Status, Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Borophenes (2D boron sheets) have triggered a surge of interest both theoretically and experimentally because of its distinct structural, optical and electronic properties for extensive potential applications. Although theoretical efforts have guided the research directions of borophene, only few synthetic borophene sheets have been demonstrated experimentally. Borophene sheets have been successfully synthesized experimentally on metal substrates until 2015. Afterwards, more efforts were put on the controlled synthesis of crystalline and semiconducting borophene sheets as well as on the investigation of their novel and fascinating physical properties. This report provides a brief review on theoretical and experimental progress in borophene research. Some typical structures and properties of borophenes have been reviewed. The focus is laid on summarizing the experimental synthesis of borophene in recent years, and on showing some ultrastable and semiconducting borophenes which have been applied in electronic information devices. Finally, the future challenges and opportunities regarding experimental realization and practical applications of borophenes are presented.

Bonding, structure, and mechanical stability of 2D materials: the predictive power of the periodic table

“…22,26 A recent progress report covers the experimental synthesis of metallic and also semiconducting borophene sheets, e.g., on metal substrates by CVD and MBE, and discusses relevant stability issues, which are a prerequisite for practical applications in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. 45…”

Structural Evolution of Boron Clusters on Ag(111) Surfaces – From Atomic Chains to Triangular Sheets with Hexagonal Holes

“…Of which, fifteen B N clusters (N = 4, 7,9,11,13,15,17,18,20,23,26,28,30,32,34) have negative Δ 2 E (inset in Figure 7c), showing that they are much more energetically stable. In particular, four clusters of B 7 , B 13 , B 23 and B 32 have ultra-small Δ 2 E,~À 1.0 eV or even lower, which can be served as alternate building blocks for extended 2D boron sheet.…”

“…So far, plenty of low‐lying free‐standing borophene isomers have been theoretically explored [11–27] . Early in 2007, Lau et al [13] .…”

“…So far, plenty of low-lying free-standing borophene isomers have been theoretically explored. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Early in 2007, Lau et al [13] pointed out that the ground state of the triangular boron lattice is buckled and, in the same year, the highly stable α borophene with 1/9 B atoms in the triangular lattice missing was proposed by Tang et al, [14,15] which stability is originated from the competition between two-centered and three-centered chemical bonds in boron materials. Later, a number of borophene isomers, e. g. g 1/8 -(α 1 -and β 1 -) and g 2/15 -B sheets having 1/8 and 2/15 missing atoms, respectively, are energetically more stable than α borophene.…”

2D boron nanosheet architectonics: opening new territories by smart functionalization

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Although still in its infancy, the research on 2D boron has attracted tremendous interests recently. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Compared with graphene, TMDs and other 2D materials, 2D boron stands out because of its unique physical and chemical properties. (i) Boron is the lightest metalloid which allows for light-weight nano-devices.…”