Science Daily October 11, 2019
Integration of dissimilar 2D materials is essential for nanoelectronic applications. Compared to vertical stacking, covalent lateral stitching requires bottom-up synthesis, resulting in rare realizations of 2D lateral heterostructures. Because of its polymorphism and diverse bonding geometries, borophene is a promising candidate for 2D heterostructures, although suitable synthesis conditions have not yet been demonstrated. Researchers at Northwestern University report lateral and vertical integration of borophene with graphene. Topographic and spatially resolved spectroscopic measurements reveal nearly atomically sharp lateral interfaces despite imperfect crystallographic lattice and symmetry matching. Boron intercalation under graphene results in rotationally commensurate vertical heterostructures. The rich bonding configurations of boron suggest that borophene can be integrated into a diverse range of 2D heterostructures…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Graphene and borophene-graphene heterostructures on Ag(111). Credit: Science Advances 11 Oct 2019: Vol. 5, no. 10, eaax6444Â