CSIR-NEIST researchers’ insightful work on the synthesis of novel Borophene based Nanomaterials highlighted in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces and Chemical Communications

Borophene, composed of a single layer of boron atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice structure, similar to graphene, has risen as a new exciting two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterial having extraordinary properties, including anisotropic metallic behavior and flexible (orientation-dependent) mechanical and optical properties. The discovery of borophene was first reported in 2015 by a team led by Prof. Mark Hersam at Northwestern University, USA. Borphene exhibits several intriguing properties that make it potentially useful for various applications in electronic circuits, solar cells, energy storage, biomedical, catalysis, chemical processes, transistor components, optoelectronics, etc. Borphene's unique atomic structure gives it properties that differ from graphene and other two-dimensional materials. However, despite of its promising properties, borophene is still in the early stages of research, and many of its potential applications remain speculative. Inspired by the advantages and wide applications of borophene nanomaterials, researchers at CSIR-NEIST synthesized novel Borophene Quantum Dots (BQD) and 2D Borophene Nanosheets (BNS) adopting hydrothermal liquid exfoliation technique using water medium. They have applied the BQD and BNS nanomaterials for the colorimetric sensing of analytes like antibiotics and biomolecules. The research work has been published recently in two high impact journals - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, and Chemical Communications.

Inspired by the advantages and wide applications of Borophene Nanomaterials, researchers at CSIR-NEIST, Dr Manash R. Das research group demonstrated Borophene Quantum Dots (BQD) and 2D Borophene Nanosheets (BNS) demosntrated as Nanozymatic properties for the colorimetric sensing of analytes like antibiotics and biomolecules. The research work has been published recently in two high impact journals - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, and Chemical Communications.

Scheme 1: Illustration of the synthesis of Borophene QDs and their application in colorimetric sensing of antibiotics.

(DOI: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.3c12108)

Scheme 2: Illustration of the synthesis of 2D Borophene nanosheets and their application in colorimetric sensing of biomolecules.

(DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D3CC06326G )