Breaking the Graphene Barrier: Borophene’s Unprecedented Biological Applications in Nanotechnology

In a recent study, researchers at Penn State discovered that borophene, a two-dimensional material made of boron, has properties that surpass graphene, the 2D version of carbon. Borophene is more conductive, thinner, lighter, stronger, and more flexible than graphene. The team led by Dipanjan Pan published their groundbreaking work in ACS Nano.

The study is the first to investigate the biological interactions of borophene and the first to introduce chirality to borophene structures. Chirality involves the physical property of mirroring like the difference between left and right hands. In molecules, chirality can result in biological or chemical units existing in two non-identical versions. While these versions can mirror each other exactly, a left mitten will never fit the right hand as well as it fits the left hand. This study sheds light on the potential applications and interactions of borophene in the field of nanotechnology and biomaterials.