Freestanding Borophene and Its Hybrids

Application of borophene as catechol sensor: a computational study

The efficacy of borophene (BP) as catechol (CC) sensor was explored using density functional theory (DFT) method. All calculations were performed at B3LYP level of theory and 6-31 + G(d) basis set employing the dispersion correction term of Grimme to consider dispersion interactions. The CC molecule is adsorbed on top of BP horizontally with the adsorption energy (E_ads) of about - 13.5 kcal·mol^-1. The HOMO and LUMO levels of nanosheet destabilize by about 0.36 and 0.14 eV, respectively, going from bare BP to BP-CC complex. Therefore, the E_g value decreases by about 10.5% upon adsorption process, which is a reasonable energy gap change for detection of CC. The negligible difference between the work function values (Φ, defined as the minimum amount of the energy needed to remove an electron from a solid to a point in the vacuum immediately outside the solid surface) of BP and its complex with CC indicates that the BP sheet is not an appropriate Φ-type sensor (in these sensors, adsorption of a chemical changes the gate voltage and produces an electrical signal that leads to the detection of chemical agent) for CC detection. The electrical conductivity of BP becomes 72 times higher after CC adsorption. The time needed for CC desorption from BP sheet is 7.6 ns, based on conventional transition state theory, showing that BP benefits from a short recovery time. The effect of CC concentration was explored by adsorption of 2 and 3 CC molecules on top of BP nanosheet and the results showed that the sensor response does not change by increasing the CC concentration. Also, the effect of lateral dimensions of BP on the adsorption energy was explored and it was shown that E_ads increases by enlargement of the nanosheet.

Two-Dimensional Boron-Rich Monolayer BxN as High Capacity for Lithium-Ion Batteries: A First-Principles Study

Owing to lightweight, abundant reserves, low cost, and nontoxicity, B-based two-dimensional (2D) materials, e.g., borophene, exhibit great potential as new anode materials with higher energy density for Li-ion batteries (LIBs). However, exfoliation of borophene from the Ag substrate remains the most daunting challenge due to their strong interfacial interactions, significantly restricting its practical applications. In this study, through first-principles swarm-intelligence structure calculations, we have found several Boron-rich boron nitride B_xN materials (x = 2, 3, 4, and 5) with increased stability and weakened interactions with the Ag(111) substrate compared with δ6-borophene. A high cohesive energy and superior dynamical, thermodynamic, and mechanical stability provide strong feasibility for their experimental synthesis. The obtained B_xN materials exhibit a high mechanical strength (94-226 N/m) and low interfacial bonding with the Ag substrate, from -0.043 to -0.054 eV Å^-2, significantly smaller than that of δ6-borophene. Among them, B₃N and B₅N exhibit not only a remarkably high storage capacity of 1805-3153 mAh/g but also a low barrier energy and open-circuit voltage. Moreover, B₂N showed a cross-sheet motion with a low barrier of 0.24 eV, which is unique compared with the in-plane diffusion in most other 2D electrode materials restricted by their quasi-flat geometry. B_xN also exhibits excellent cyclability with improved metallic conductivity upon Li-ion intercalation, showing great potential in LIB applications. This study opens up a new avenue to explore B-rich 2D electrode materials in energy applications and provide instructive insights into borophene functionalization and exfoliation.

Borophene via Micromechanical Exfoliation

Borophene, the lightest among all Xenes, possesses extreme electronic mobility along with high carrier density and high Young's modulus. To accomplish device-quality borophene, novel approaches of realization of monolayers need to be urgently explored. In this work, micromechanical exfoliation is discovered to result in mono- and few-layered borophene of device quality. Borophene sheets are successfully fabricated down to monolayer thickness. Distinct crystallographic phases of borophene viz. XRD study reveals crystallographic phase transition from rhombohedral to several other eigen phases of borophene. The role of the destination substrates is held crucial in determining the final phase of the transferred sheet. The exfoliation energy is calculated by density functional theory. Molecular dynamics simulations are used to simulate the exfoliation process. Heterolayers of borophene, with black phosphorene (BP) or with molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂ ) atomic sheets, are found to result in photoexcited coupling quantum states. Gold-coated borophene bestows promising anchoring capability for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Successful demonstration of the electronic behavior of micromechanically exfoliated borophene and excitonic behavior of borophene-based heterolayers will guide future generation devices not only in electronics and excitonics, but also in thermal management, electronic packaging, hydrogen storage, hybrid energy storage, and clean energy solutions.

Electronic and optical properties of boron-based hybrid monolayers

Anisotropic 2D Dirac cone materials are important for the fabrication of nanodevices having direction-dependent characteristics since the anisotropic Dirac cones lead to different values of Fermi velocities yielding variable carrier concentrations. In this work, the feasibility of the B-based hybrid monolayers BX (X = As, Sb, and Bi), as anisotropic Dirac cone materials is investigated. Calculations based on density functional theory and molecular dynamics method find the stability of these monolayers exhibiting unique electronic properties. For example, the BAs monolayer possesses a robust self-doping feature, whereas the BSb monolayer carries the intrinsic charge carrier concentration of the order of 10¹²cm^-2which is comparable to that of graphene. Moreover, the direction-dependent optical response is predicted in these B-based monolayers; a high IR response in thex-direction is accompanied with that in the visible region along they-direction. The results are, therefore, expected to help in realizing the B-based devices for nanoscale applications.

van der Waals Epitaxial Growth of Borophene on a Mica Substrate toward a High-Performance Photodetector

The emergence of borophene has triggered soaring interest in the investigation of its superior structural anisotropy, a novel photoelectronic property for diverse potential applications. However, the structural instability and need of a metal substrate for depositing borophene restrict its large-scale applications toward high-performance electronic and optoelectric devices. van der Waals epitaxy is regarded as an efficient technique for growing superb two-dimensional materials onto extensive functional substrates, but the preparation of stable and controllable borophene on nonmetallic substrates is still not reported. Here, we demonstrate that borophene films can be synthesized onto a mica substrate by van der Waals epitaxy, where hydrogen and NaBH₄ are respectively used as the carrier gas and the boron source. The lattice structure of the as-synthesized borophene coincides with the predicted α'-boron sheet. The borophene-based photodetector shows an excellent photoresponsivity of 1.04 A W^-1 and a specific detectivity of 1.27 × 10¹¹ Jones at a reversed bias of 4 V under illumination of a 625 nm light-emitting diode, which are remarkably superior to those of reported boron nanosheets. This work facilitates further studies of borophene toward its attractive properties and applications in novel optoelectronic devices and integrated circuits.

Robust Topological Nodal-Line Semimetals from Periodic Vacancies in Two-Dimensional Materials

A nodal-line semimetal (NLSM) is suppressed in the presence of spin-orbit coupling unless it is protected by a nonsymmorphic symmetry. We show that two-dimensional (2D) materials can realize robust NLSMs when vacancies are introduced on the lattice. As a case study we investigate borophene, a boron honeycomb-like sheet. While the Dirac cones of pristine borophene are shown to be gapped out by spin-orbit coupling and by magnetic exchange, robust nodal lines (NLs) emerge in the spectrum when selected atoms are removed. We propose an effective 2D model and a symmetry analysis to demonstrate that these NLs are topological and protected by a nonsymmorphic glide plane. Our findings offer a paradigm shift to the design of NLSMs: instead of searching for nonsymmorphic materials, robust NLSMs may be realized simply by removing atoms from ordinary symmorphic crystals.

2D materials as a diagnostic platform for the detection and sensing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus: a bird's-eye view

Worldwide infections and fatalities caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants responsible for COVID-19 have significantly impeded the economic growth of many nations. People in many nations have lost their livelihoods, it has severely impacted international relations and, most importantly, health infrastructures across the world have been tormented. This pandemic has already left footprints on human psychology, traits, and priorities and is certainly going to lead towards a new world order in the future. As always, science and technology have come to the rescue of the human race. The prevention of infection by instant and repeated cleaning of surfaces that are most likely to be touched in daily life and sanitization drives using medically prescribed sanitizers and UV irradiation of textiles are the first steps to breaking the chain of transmission. However, the real challenge is to develop and uplift medical infrastructure, such as diagnostic tools capable of prompt diagnosis and instant and economic medical treatment that is available to the masses. Two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene, are atomic sheets that have been in the news for quite some time due to their unprecedented electronic mobilities, high thermal conductivity, appreciable thermal stability, excellent anchoring capabilities, optical transparency, mechanical flexibility, and a unique capability to integrate with arbitrary surfaces. These attributes of 2D materials make them lucrative for use as an active material platform for authentic and prompt (within minutes) disease diagnosis via electrical or optical diagnostic tools or via electrochemical diagnosis. We present the opportunities provided by 2D materials as a platform for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis.

The Emergence and Evolution of Borophene

Neighboring carbon and sandwiched between non-metals and metals in the periodic table of the elements, boron is one of the most chemically and physically versatile elements, and can be manipulated to form dimensionally low planar structures (borophene) with intriguing properties. Herein, the theoretical research and experimental developments in the synthesis of borophene, as well as its excellent properties and application in many fields, are reviewed. The decade-long effort toward understanding the size-dependent structures of boron clusters and the theory-directed synthesis of borophene, including bottom-up approaches based on different foundations, as well as up-down approaches with different exfoliation modes, and the key factors influencing the synthetic effects, are comprehensively summarized. Owing to its excellent chemical, electronic, mechanical, and thermal properties, borophene has shown great promise in supercapacitor, battery, hydrogen-storage, and biomedical applications. Furthermore, borophene nanoplatforms used in various biomedical applications, such as bioimaging, drug delivery, and photonic therapy, are highlighted. Finally, research progress, challenges, and perspectives for the future development of borophene in large-scale production and other prospective applications are discussed.

Supercapacitive brophene-graphene aerogel as elastic-electrochemical dielectric layer for sensitive pressure sensors

A sensitive pressure sensor based on ultralight and superelastic supercapacitive borophene-graphene aerogel as dielectric layer is reported. The borophene-graphene aerogel not only combines large specific surface area of reduced graphene oxide and high conductivity of borophene, but also exhibits rich porous structure. The strong synergy and intercalation between two different two-dimensional materials benefit electron transfer and electrolyte ion diffusion. On the one hand, the aerogel exhibits greater mass specific capacitance of 330 F g^-1 than pure graphene aerogel. More importantly, serving as dielectric layer for pressure sensors with a symmetrical structure, the sensor represents ultra-high sensitivity (0.90 KPa^-1) in the pressure range (<3 KPa), ultra-rapid response time (~110 ms), ultra-low detection limit as 8.7 Pa and excellent working stability after 1000 cycles. In practical application, the sensor demonstrates great performance in monitoring human physiological signals, and agricultural applications.

Adsorption of toxic gases on borophene: surface deformation links to chemisorptions

β₁₂ borophene has received great attention because of its intriguing mechanical and electronic properties. One of the possible applications of borophene is gas sensing. However, the interaction between common gases and β₁₂ borophene remains to be clarified. In this work, we study the interactions of β₁₂ borophene towards five hazardous gases, namely, CO, NO, NH₃, NO₂, and CO₂ using various non-empirical van der Waals density functionals and provide an insight into the adsorption behavior of borophene. The adsorption mechanism and molecular vibrations are discussed in great detail. Among the gases considered, CO₂ is physisorbed while other gases are chemically bonded to β₁₂ borophene. We also demonstrate that the deformation at the ridge of borophene enables its active p_z orbital to strongly hybridize with frontier orbitals of the studied polar gases. Consequently, borophene is predicted to interact strongly with CO, NO, NH₃, and especially NO₂, making it a sensitive sensing material for toxic gases.

β₁₂ borophene has received great attention because of its intriguing mechanical and electronic properties. One of the possible applications of borophene is gas sensing.

First-principles study of pristine and Li-doped borophene as a candidate to detect and scavenge SO2gas

In this research, the potential application of borophene as gas sensor device is explored. The first-principles theory is employed to investigate the sensing performance of pristine and Li-doped borophene for SO₂and five main atmospheric gases (including CH₄, CO₂, N₂, CO and H₂). All gases are found to be adsorbed weakly on pristine borophene, which shows weak physical interaction between the pristine borophene and gases. The gas adsorption performance of borophene is improved by the doping of Li atom. The results of adsorption energy suggest that Li-borophene exhibits high selectivity to SO₂molecule. Moreover, analyses of the charge transfer, density of states and work function also confirm the introduction of Li adatom on borophene significantly enhances the selectivity and sensitivity to SO₂. In addition, desorption time of gas from pristine and Li doped borophene indicates the Li-borophene has good desorption characteristics for SO₂molecule at high temperatures. This research would be helpful for understanding the influence of Li doping on borophene and presents the potential application of Li-borophene as a SO₂gas sensor or scavenger.

Tailoring anisotropic absorption in a borophene-based structure via critical coupling

The research of two-dimensional (2D) materials with atomic-scale thicknesses and unique optical properties has become a frontier in photonics and electronics. Borophene, a newly reported 2D material, provides a novel building block for nanoscale materials and devices. We present a simple borophene-based absorption structure to boost the light-borophene interaction via critical coupling in the visible wavelengths. The proposed structure consists of borophene monolayer deposited on a photonic crystal slab backed with a metallic mirror. The numerical simulations and theoretical analysis show that the light absorption of the structure can be remarkably enhanced as high as 99.80% via critical coupling mechanism with guided resonance, and the polarization-dependent absorption behaviors are demonstrated due to the strong anisotropy of borophene. We also examine the tunability of the absorption behaviors by adjusting carrier density and lifetime of borophene, air hole radius in the slab, the incident angle and polarization angle. The proposed absorption structure provides novel access to the flexible and effective manipulation of light-borophene interactions in the visible and shows a good prospect for the future borophene-based electronic and photonic devices.

Scalable Production of Boron Quantum Dots for Broadband Ultrafast Nonlinear Optical Performance

A simple and effective approach based on the liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) method has been put forward for synthesizing boron quantum dots (BQDs). By adjusting the interactions between bulk boron and various solvents, the average diameter of produced BQDs is about 7 nm. The nonlinear absorption (NLA) responses of as-prepared BQDs have been systematically studied at 515 nm and 1030 nm. Experimental results prove that BQDs possess broadband saturable absorption (SA) and good third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility, which are comparable to graphene. The fast relaxation time and slow relaxation time of BQDs at 515 nm and 1030 nm are about 0.394–5.34 ps and 4.45–115 ps, respectively. The significant ultrafast nonlinear optical properties can be used in optical devices. Here, we successfully demonstrate all-optical diode application based on BQDs/ReS₂ tandem structure. The findings are essential for understanding the nonlinear optical properties in BQDs and open a new pathway for their applications in optical devices.

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Two-Dimensional Boron Sheets by Thermal Decomposition of Diborane

Two-dimensional (2D) boron sheets (borophenes) are promising materials for the next generation of electronic devices because of their metallic conductivity. Molecular beam epitaxy has remained the main approach for the growth of borophene, which considerably restricts large-scale production of 2D boron sheets. The high melting point of boron and the growth of borophenes at moderate temperatures posed a significant challenge for the synthesis of borophenes. Employing diborane (B₂H₆) pyrolysis as a pure boron source, we report, for the first time, the growth of atomic-thickness borophene sheets by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). A methodical study on the effect of temperature, deposition rate, and pressure on the growth of 2D boron sheets is provided and detailed analyses about the morphology and crystalline phase of borophene sheets are presented. The CVD-borophene layers display an average thickness of 4.2 Å, χ₃ crystalline structure, and metallic conductivity. We also present experimental evidence supporting the formation of stacked bilayer and trilayer borophene sheets. Our method paves the way for empirical investigations on borophenes.

Anisotropic and gate-tunable valley filtering based on 8-Pmmn borophene

We propose a valley filter based on 8-Pmmn borophene which hosts two tilted Dirac cones. It is found that the application of a magnetic-electric barrier provided by a single ferromagnetic gate is sufficient to create valley-polarized current in 8-Pmmn borophene. The valley polarization of output current depends on the barrier orientation. Due to an intrinsic symmetry, it vanishes when the barrier orientation is along the tilted direction of Dirac cones. For the barrier orientation perpendicular to the tilted direction, the valley polarization for a realistic magnetic barrier can approach nearly 100% at proper Fermi energy and gate voltage. The remarkable valley contrast of conductance in this case is attributed to a new transmission resonance. The tilting of Dirac cones is essential for the predicted valley filtering. Our findings are helpful for valleytronic applications of two-dimensional materials with tilted Dirac cones.

Prediction of superconductivity in bilayer borophenes

Borophenes and related two-dimensional materials have exhibited many exotic properties, especially for superconductivity, although the superconductivity of single-layer borophene is suppressed by the strains or doping from its substrates. Intriguingly, bilayer (BL) borophenes can be stabilized by appropriate pillar density and hexagonal holes density, rather than being supported by Ag(111) or Cu(111) substrates. Thus, we studied the two most stable structures, namely BL-B8 and BL-B30, stabilized by the above-mentioned two methods. Within density functional theory and Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory framework, their stability, electron structures, and phonon properties, as well as possible superconductivity are systematically scrutinized. The metallic BL-B8 and BL-B30 exhibit intrinsic superconducting features with superconductivity transition temperatures (T_c) of 11.9 and 4.9 K, respectively. The low frequency (below 400 cm⁻¹) consisting of out-of-plane vibrations of boron atoms plays crucial rule in their superconductivity. In particular, a Kohn anomaly appears at the Γ point in BL-B8, leading to substantial electron–phonon coupling. Here, our findings will provide instructive clues for experimentally determining the superconductivity of borophene and will broaden the two-dimensional superconductor family.

Bilayer borophene B8 and B30 are BCS-superconductors with T_c of 11.9 and 4.9 K, respectively.

Integrated Plasmonics: Broadband Dirac Plasmons in Borophene

The past decade has witnessed numerous discoveries of two-dimensional (2D) semimetals and insulators, whereas 2D metals were rarely identified. Borophene, a monolayer boron sheet, has recently emerged as a perfect 2D metal with unique electronic properties. Here we study collective excitations in borophene, which exhibit two major plasmon modes with low damping rates extending from the infrared to ultraviolet regime. The anisotropic 1D plasmon originates from electronic transitions of tilted Dirac cones in borophene, analogous to that in extreme doped graphene. These features enable borophene as an integrated platform of 1D, 2D, and Dirac plasmons, promising for directional polariton transport and broadband optical communication in next-generation optoelectronic devices.

Interfacial nanoarchitectonics for responsive cellular biosystems

The living cell can be regarded as an ideal functional material system in which many functional systems are working together with high efficiency and specificity mostly under mild ambient conditions. Fabrication of living cell-like functional materials is regarded as one of the final goals of the nanoarchitectonics approach. In this short review article, material-based approaches for regulation of living cell behaviors by external stimuli are discussed. Nanoarchitectonics strategies on cell regulation by various external inputs are first exemplified. Recent approaches on cell regulation with interfacial nanoarchitectonics are also discussed in two extreme cases using a very hard interface with nanoarchitected carbon arrays and a fluidic interface of the liquid-liquid interface. Importance of interfacial nanoarchitectonics in controlling living cells by mechanical and supramolecular stimuli from the interfaces is demonstrated.

Processable dispersions of photocatalytically active nanosheets derived from titanium diboride: self assembly into hydrogels and paper-like macrostructures

Titanium diboride (TiB₂), a layered ceramic material, is well-known for its ultrahigh strength, wear resistance, and chemical inertness. In this work, we present a simple one-pot chemical approach that yields sheet-like nanostructures from TiB₂. We serendipitously found that TiB₂ crystals can undergo complete dissolution in a mild aqueous solution of H₂O₂ under ambient conditions. This unexpected dissolution of TiB₂ is followed by non-classical recrystallization that results in nanostructures with sheet-like morphology exhibiting Ti-O and B-O functional groups. We show that this pathway can be used to obtain an aqueous dispersion of nanosheets with concentrations ≥3 mg mL^-1. Interestingly, these nanosheets tend to transform into a hydrogel without the need of any additives. We found that the degree of gelation depends on the ratio of TiB₂ to H₂O₂, which can be tuned to achieve gels with a shear modulus of 0.35 kPa. We also show this aqueous dispersion of nanosheets is processable and forms hierarchical paper-like macrostructures upon vacuum filtration. Such an ability to assemble into free-standing 3D structures would enable a leap to practical applications. We also show that the high surface area and presence of oxy-functional groups on these nanosheets endow them a superior photocatalytic activity to degrade organic pollutants. This exemplifies the rich potential that TiB₂ offers upon nanoscaling. The results presented here not only add a novel material to the 2D flatland but also urge the scientific community to revisit the chemistry of metal borides, that have been traditionally considered as relatively inert ceramics.

Borophene and Boron Fullerene Materials in Hydrogen Storage: Opportunities and Challenges

Two-dimensional materials have led to a leap forward in materials science research, especially in the fields of energy conversion and storage. Borophene and its spherical counterpart boron fullerene represent emerging materials that have attracted much attention in the whole area of advanced energy materials and technologies. Owing to their prominent features, such as electronic environment and geometry, borophene and boron fullerene have been used in versatile applications, such as supercapacitors, superconductors, anode materials for photochemical water splitting, and biosensors. Herein, one of the most promising applications/areas of hydrogen storage is discussed. Boron fullerenes have been considered and discussed for hydrogen-storage applications, and recently borophene was also included in the list of materials with promising hydrogen-storage properties. Studies focus mainly on doped borophene systems over pristine borophene due to enhanced features available upon decoration with metal atoms. This Review introduces very recent progress and novel paradigms with respect to both borophene derivatives and boron fullerene based systems reported for hydrogen storage, with a focus on the synthesis, physiochemical properties, hydrogen-storage mechanism, and practical applications.

Borophene: New Sensation in Flatland

Borophene, a 2D allotrope of boron and the lightest elemental Dirac material, is the latest very promising 2D material owing to its unique structural and electronic characteristics of the X₃ and β₁₂ phases. The high atomic density on ridgelines of the β₁₂ phase of borophene provides a substantial orbital overlap, which leads to an excellent electron density in the conduction level and thus to a highly metallic behavior. These unique structural characteristics and electronic properties of borophene attract significant scientific interest. Herein, approaches for crystal growth/synthesis of these unique nanostructures and their potential technological applications are discussed. Various substrate-supported ultrahigh-vacuum growth techniques for borophene, such as molecular beam epitaxy, atomic layer deposition, and chemical vapor deposition, along with their challenges, are also summarized. The sonochemical exfoliation and modified Hummer's technique for the synthesis of free-standing borophene are also discussed. Solution-phase exfoliation seems to address the scalability issues and expands the applications of these unique materials to various fields, including renewable energy devices and ultrafast sensors. Furthermore, the electronic, optical, thermal, and elastic properties of borophene are thoroughly discussed and are compared with those of graphene and its "cousins." Numerous frontline applications are envisaged and an outlook is presented.

Few-layer and large flake size borophene: preparation with solvothermal-assisted liquid phase exfoliation

The preparation of two-dimensional boron (B) nanosheets, especially for borophene, is still a challenge because of its unique structure and complex B-B bonds in bulk boron. In the present work, a novel preparation technology for borophene with only a few layers and large flake sizes is developed by a solvothermal-assisted liquid phase exfoliation process, consisting of ball milling-thinning, solvothermal swelling, and probe ultrasonic delamination. The exfoliation effect of the bulk B precursors is related to the surface tension and Hildebrand parameter of the selected solvents such as acetone, N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF), acetonitrile, ethanol, and N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP), and a relative small surface tension when using solvents is favorable for the exfoliation of bulk B. Four-layer thick borophene and an average lateral size of 5.05 μm can be obtained in acetone as the exfoliating solvent. The surface composition of the exfoliated few-layer borophene with large flake size hardly changes, while the chemical state of B changes to some extent because they are partly oxidized on the surface by contaminates before and after exfoliation. This acetone solvothermal-assisted liquid phase exfoliation technique can be used to prepare high quality borophene with large horizontal sizes, and it will provide the basis to study few-layer borophene with large sizes further.

Photomodulation of Charge Transport in All-Semiconducting 2D-1D van der Waals Heterostructures with Suppressed Persistent Photoconductivity Effect

Van der Waals heterostructures (VDWHs), obtained via the controlled assembly of 2D atomically thin crystals, exhibit unique physicochemical properties, rendering them prototypical building blocks to explore new physics and for applications in optoelectronics. As the emerging alternatives to graphene, monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides and bottom-up synthesized graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are promising candidates for overcoming the shortcomings of graphene, such as the absence of a bandgap in its electronic structure, which is essential in optoelectronics. Herein, VDWHs comprising GNRs onto monolayer MoS₂ are fabricated. Field-effect transistors (FETs) based on such VDWHs show an efficient suppression of the persistent photoconductivity typical of MoS₂ , resulting from the interfacial charge transfer process. The MoS₂ -GNR FETs exhibit drastically reduced hysteresis and more stable behavior in the transfer characteristics, which is a prerequisite for the further photomodulation of charge transport behavior within the MoS₂ -GNR VDWHs. The physisorption of photochromic molecules onto the MoS₂ -GNR VDWHs enables reversible light-driven control over charge transport. In particular, the drain current of the MoS₂ -GNR FET can be photomodulated by 52%, without displaying significant fatigue over at least 10 cycles. Moreover, four distinguishable output current levels can be achieved, demonstrating the great potential of MoS₂ -GNR VDWHs for multilevel memory devices.

Emerging pnictogen-based 2D semiconductors: sensing and electronic devices

Pnictogens are an intensively studied group of monoelemental two-dimensional materials. This group of elements consists of phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth. In this group, the elements adopt two different layered structural allotropes, orthorhombic structure with true van der Waals layered interactions and rhombohedral structure, where covalent interactions between layers are also present. The orthorhombic structure is well known for phosphorus and arsenic, and the rhombohedral structure is the most thermodynamically stable allotropic modification of arsenic, antimony, and bismuth. Due to the electronic structure of pnictogen layers and their semiconducting character, these materials have huge application potential for electronic devices such as transistors and sensors including photosensitive devices as well as gas and electrochemical sensors. While photodetection and gas sensing applications are often related to lithography processed materials, chemical sensing proceeds in a liquid environment (either aqueous or non-aqueous) and can be influenced by surface oxidation of these materials. In this review, we explore the current state of pnictogen applications in sensing and electronic devices including transistors, photodetectors, gas sensors, and chemical/electrochemical sensors.

Microscopic Theory of Plasmons in Substrate-Supported Borophene

We compute the dielectric properties of freestanding and metal-supported borophene from first-principles time-dependent density functional theory. We find that both the low- and high-energy plasmons of borophene are fully quenched by the presence of a metallic substrate at borophene-metal distances smaller than ≃9 Å. Based on these findings, we derive an electrodynamic model of the interacting, momentum-dependent polarizability for a two-dimensional metal on a model metallic substrate, which quantitatively captures the evolution of the dielectric properties of borophene as a function of metal-borophene distance. Applying this model to a series of metallic substrates, we show that maximizing the plasmon energy detuning between borophene and substrate is the key material descriptor for plasmonic performance.

Ultrathin boron nanosheets as an emerging two-dimensional photoluminescence material for bioimaging

Two-dimensional (2D) metal-free sheets with atomic thickness have been highly considered as promising candidates for fluorescent probes, due to their intriguing characteristics. In this work, 2D ultrathin boron nanosheets (B NSs) with a surface defect nanolayer can be effectively prepared by modified liquid phase exfoliation. The as-prepared ultrathin B NSs show blue fluorescence characteristics even with a quantum yield efficiency of up to 10.6%. Such luminescent behavior originates from the quantum confinement effect and the existence of a surface defect layer. In light of the advantages of being environmentally friendly, having high photostability and good biocompatibility, for the first time we have shown that ultrathin B NSs can be used as an emerging fluorescent probe for application in cellular bioimaging. It is believed that this work will open new avenues for ultrathin B NSs in biomedical fields, and it will also inspire the development of other elemental 2D nanomaterials.

Multiscale Plasma-Catalytic On-Surface Assembly

Controlled modification of surfaces is one of the key pursuits of the nanoscience and nanotechnology fields, allowing for the fabrication of bespoke materials with targeted functionalities. However, many surface modifications currently require painstakingly precise and/or energy intensive processing to implement, and are thus limited in scope and scale. Here, a concept which can enhance the capacity for control of surfaces is introduced: plasma-assisted nucleation and self-assembly at atomic to nanoscales, scalable at atmospheric pressures.

Two-Dimensional Borophene: Properties, Fabrication, and Promising Applications

Monoelemental two-dimensional (2D) materials (Xenes) aroused a tremendous attention in 2D science owing to their unique properties and extensive applications. Borophene, one emerging and typical Xene, has been regarded as a promising agent for energy, sensor, and biomedical applications. However, the production of borophene is still a challenge because bulk boron has rather intricate spatial structures and multiple chemical properties. In this review, we describe its excellent properties including the optical, electronic, metallic, semiconducting, photoacoustic, and photothermal properties. The fabrication methods of borophene are also presented including the bottom-up fabrication and the top-down fabrication. In the end, the challenges of borophene in the latest applications are presented and perspectives are discussed.

Probing Spatial Phonon Correlation Length in Post-Transition Metal Monochalcogenide GaS Using Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

The knowledge of the phonon coherence length is of great importance for two-dimensional-based materials since phonons can limit the lifetime of charge carriers and heat dissipation. Here we use tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) to measure the spatial correlation length L_c of the A_1g¹ and A_1g² phonons of monolayer and few-layer gallium sulfide (GaS). The differences in L_c values are responsible for different enhancements of the A_1g modes, with A_1g¹ always enhancing more than the A_1g², independently of the number of GaS layers. For five layers, the results show an L_c of 64 and 47 nm for A_1g¹ and A_1g², respectively, and the coherence lengths decrease when decreasing the number of layers, indicating that scattering with the surface roughness plays an important role.

Stretchable MoS2 Electromechanical Sensors with Ultrahigh Sensitivity and Large Detection Range for Skin-on Monitoring

Although two-dimensional (2D) layered molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) has widespread electrical applications in catalysis, energy storage, display, and photodetection, very few reports are available to achieve MoS₂ for electromechanical sensing. Here, we report a novel solution-processed MoS₂ strain sensor by constructing nanojunctions between layered MoS₂ nanosheets and high-conductivity silver nanofibers (AgNFs) inside an elastic film. Benefiting from the outstanding lubrication property of layered MoS₂ nanosheets, these nanojunctions can be easily separated by strains, giving rise to excellent electromechanical response. The resulting MoS₂ strain sensor for the first time exhibits ultrahigh sensitivity with a gauge factor of 3,300 in a large detection range over 10%. The pronounced strain-sensing ability, combined with fast response speed and good operational stability, enables the MoS₂ sensor for real-time and skin-on monitorings of various physiological signals such as finger movements, pulse, and breath. Our results may pave the way to extend 2D materials in novel applications such as soft robotics and human-machine interfaces.

Electronic stripes and transport properties in borophene heterostructures

We performed a theoretical investigation of the structural and electronic properties of (i) pristine and (ii) superlattice structures of borophene. In (i), by combining first-principles calculations, based on the density functional theory (DFT), and simulations of the X-ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure (XANES) spectra we present a comprehensive picture connecting the atomic arrangement of borophene and the X-ray absorption spectra. Once we characterized the electronic properties of the pristine systems, we next examined the electronic confinement effects in 2D borophene superlattices (BSLs) [(ii)]. Here, the BSL structures were made by attaching laterally two different structural phases of borophene. The energetic stability and the electronic properties of these BSLs were examined based on total energy DFT calculations. We find a highly anisotropic electronic structure, characterized by the electronic confinement effects, giving rise to "electronic stripes", and metallic channels ruled by the superlattices. Combining DFT and the Landauer-Büttiker formalism, we investigated the electronic transport properties in BSLs. Our results of the transmission probability reveal that the electronic transport is ruled by π or a combination of π and σ transmission channels, depending on the atomic arrangement and periodicity of the superlattices. Finally, we show that there is a huge magnification of the directional dependence of the electronic transport properties in BSLs, in comparison with the pristine borophene phase. These findings indicate that BSLs are quite interesting systems in order to design conductive nanoribbons on a 2D platform.