Enhanced superconductivity of hydrogenated $\beta_{12}$ borophene

TL;DR

This study uses ab initio methods to show that hydrogenation enhances the stability and superconducting properties of $eta_{12}$ borophene, with critical temperatures reaching up to 29 K, paving the way for its use in superconducting electronics.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates that hydrogenation significantly improves the stability and superconductivity of $eta_{12}$ borophene, and explores strain and doping effects on its critical temperature.

Findings

Hydrogenation enhances borophene's stability and superconductivity.

Critical temperature can reach up to 29 K with strain and doping.

Hydrogenated borophene is promising for low-dimensional superconducting devices.

Abstract

Borophene stands out among elemental two-dimensional materials due to its extraordinary physical properties, including structural polymorphism, strong anisotropy, metallicity, and the potential for phonon-mediated superconductivity. However, confirming superconductivity in borophene experimentally has been evasive to date, mainly due to the detrimental effects of metallic substrates and its susceptibility to oxidation. In this study, we present an \textit{ab initio} analysis of superconductivity in the experimentally synthesized hydrogenated $\beta_{12}$ borophene, which has been proven to be less prone to oxidation. Our findings demonstrate that hydrogenation significantly enhances both the stability and superconducting properties of $\beta_{12}$ borophene. Furthermore, we reveal that tensile strain and hole doping, achievable through various experimental methods, significantly enhance the critical temperature, reaching up to 29 K. These findings not only promote further fundamental research on superconducting borophene and its heterostructures, but also position hydrogenated borophene as a versatile platform for low-dimensional superconducting electronics.