A theoretical insight into a feasible strategy for the fabrication of borophane

Abstract

Borophane, hydrogenated borophene, is an ideal material for nanoelectronic applications because of its high stability and its excellent mechanical and electronic properties. However, the fabrication of borophane has not been realized. Through a comprehensive density functional theoretical study, we propose a novel and feasible strategy for the fabrication of borophane, which is accomplished through an electrochemical method by modulating the charge that the borophene carries to activate hydrogen molecule decomposition on it. Our computational results show that by modulating the charge state of borophene, the energy barrier of H₂ dissociation on it can be dramatically reduced to 0.27 eV, and the reaction is exothermic by 2.08 eV. This study demonstrates that the reaction of hydrogen decomposition on charged borophene to produce borophane is kinetically and thermodynamically feasible. In addition, the modulation of the charge state of borophene is feasible and less energy consuming due to its metallic character.