Graphene can come from graphite. But borophene? There's no such thing as borite.
Unlike its carbon cousin, two-dimensional borophene can't be reduced from a larger natural form. Bulk boron is usually only found in combination with other elements, and is certainly not layered, so borophene has to be made from the atoms up. Even then, the borophene you get may not be what you need.
For that reason, researchers at Rice and Northwestern universities have developed a method to view 2-D borophene crystals, which can have many lattice configurations—called polymorphs—that in turn determine their characteristics.
Knowing how to achieve specific polymorphs could help manufacturers incorporate borophene with desirable electronic, thermal, optical and other physical properties into products.
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