Move Over Graphene, Borophene Is Now The New ‘In’ Thing

Image credit – Jurii @ Wikipedia Commons

For years, many had hailed graphene as the new wonder material that everyone was excited to work with. One of the reasons is because unlike other materials, graphene is light and strong where we have seen some applications like a bulletproof suit. We’ve also seen it discussed as a potential replacement to lithium batteries.

However, as is the case with science, it looks like graphene is no longer the cool kid in school and has since been replaced with a new wonder material in the form of borophene. The concept of borophene has been theorized about back in the 1990s, but it was only until 2015 that scientists managed to synthesize it.

What makes borophene more exciting than graphene is how it has been found to be stronger than graphene and also more flexible. It also makes for a great conductor of heat and electricity, and researchers and envisioning how borophene could be used to store metal ions in batteries. It can also store over 15% of its weight in hydrogen, making it a better storage material compared to others.

Unfortunately, it might be a while before we start seeing borophene batteries. This is due the fact that scientists need to figure out a way to make the material in large quantities, and also its reactivity means that working with it can be difficult.

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