MEPhI scientists figured out how to stabilize porous materials based on graphene and borophene heterostructures. In their opinion, new materials can be used as anodes and cathodes in batteries, and membranes made from it will become the basis for high-performance efficient filters. The results of the study were published in the highly rated Materials Today Nano journal.

Graphene is a two-dimensional material, the crystal of which is formed by a monolayer of carbon atoms. Graphene's analogue, borophene, is also a two-dimensional material built entirely from boron atoms. Growing together with each other through a strong covalent interaction, two sheets of these materials, each one atom thick, form a composite or bilayer, said Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor of the Institute of Nanoengineering in Electronics, Spintronics and Photonics of MEPhI Mikhail Maslov.

“If holes-pores are created in such a bilayer, then the resulting material will have enormous prospects for applications related to energy or osmosis. It can be used as anodes and cathodes in batteries, and membranes made from it with high selectivity and permeability to certain particles will become the basis for high-performance efficient filters,” the researcher said.

The authors count on the practical implementation of this porous material within the next 5-6 years, since the borophene-graphene composite has already been synthesized, and pores can be created in it using modern nanotechnologies.