New two-dimensional 'borophene' sheet

(Phys.org)—Boron, the neighboring element to carbon on the periodic table, has chemical features that make it an enticing candidate for two-dimensional, conductive, atomically homogenous substrates similar to graphene. Three-dimensional bulk boron is non-metallic and is used in semiconductor chemistry. However, theoretical studies and prior work in trying to isolate two-dimensional boron show that two-dimensional boron should have metallic properties. To date, only one two-dimensional boro