Experimental realization of graphene-like borophene

TL;DR

This paper reports the successful synthesis and characterization of a graphene-like honeycomb borophene on Al(111), demonstrating stable structure through charge transfer, with potential for lattice manipulation via substrate interactions.

Contribution

It presents the first experimental realization of a stable, graphene-like borophene on Al(111) with detailed structural and electronic analysis.

Findings

Perfect monolayer honeycomb borophene observed via STM

Charge transfer from Al(111) stabilizes the borophene structure

Theoretical calculations confirm energetic stability of the lattice

Abstract

We report a successful preparation of a purely honeycomb, graphene-like borophene, by using an Al(111) surface as the substrate and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth in ultrahigh vacuum. Our scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) reveals perfect monolayer borophene with planar, non-buckled honeycomb lattice similar as graphene. Theoretical calculations show that the honeycomb borophene on Al(111) is energetically stable. Remarkably, nearly one electron charge is transferred to each boron atom from the Al(111) substrate and stabilizes the honeycomb borophene structure, in contrast to the little charge transfer in borophene/Ag(111) case. This work demonstrates that the borophene lattice can be manipulated by controlling the charge transfer between the substrate and the borophene film.