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from the stronger,-but-is-it-SPACE-ELEVATOR-stronger? dept.
Borophene, a single-atom material similar to graphene, but comprised instead of boron atoms, has researchers excited because of
the extraordinary range of applications that borophene looks good for. Electrochemists think borophene could become the anode material in a new generation of more powerful lithium-ion batteries. Chemists are entranced by its catalytic capabilities. And physicists are testing its abilities as a sensor
Originally theorized in the 1990s, borophene was first successfully synthesized in 2015 using vapor deposition on a silver substrate.
Borophene turns out to be stronger than graphene, and more flexible. It a good conductor of both electricity and heat, and it also superconducts. These properties vary depending on the material’s orientation and the arrangement of vacancies. This makes it “tunable,” at least in principle. That’s one reason chemists are so excited.
it is a promising material for anodes in Li, Na, and Mg ion batteries due to "high theoretical specific capacities, excellent electronic conductivity and outstanding ion transport properties”
Hydrogen atoms also stick easily to borophene’s single-layer structure, and this adsorption property, combined with the huge surface area of atomic layers, makes borophene a promising material for hydrogen storage. Theoretical studies suggest borophene could store over 15% of its weight in hydrogen, significantly outperforming other materials.
There is also
borophene’s ability to catalyze the breakdown of molecular hydrogen into hydrogen ions, and water into hydrogen and oxygen ions. “Outstanding catalytic performances of borophene have been found in hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen reduction reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, and CO2 electroreduction reaction,” say the team. That could usher in a new era of water-based energy cycles.
There are multiple challenges however. First the stuff is hard to make in any quantity. Similar to difficulties seen with graphene early on. Also it is reactive and subject to oxidation, so it is hard to handle.
Look forward in the coming months for the inevitable 'Borophene (is there anything it can't do)' articles coming to a news site near you as researchers explore and periodically share their findings on this amazing new material.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by HiThere on Monday April 08 2019, @06:27PM (5 children)
Graphene isn't quite strong enough to make a space elevator possible on Earth (it would work on Mars). Is Borophene enough stronger?
That said, since the stuff is still quite difficult to make, it would be a long time until "the Vanilla Needle" or some equivalent was built. And space would need lots more commerce to justify it, even if it were easy. So I'm really more hoping for a "pinwheel" style skyhook, which would be relatively cheap and easy. Also relatively safer.
Another question would be the limits on its superconductivity. Since that was just mentioned I'm assuming it requires both a very low temperature and pressure. If that's not true, that could also be interesting.
Still, this sounds like it's 10-15 years from ANY application, so just "interesting".
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(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday April 08 2019, @06:31PM (1 child)
wikip sez:
Graphene is supposedly in use nowadays [wikipedia.org].
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday April 08 2019, @07:33PM
"Comparable strength" probably isn't sufficient for a space elevator (on Earth). But perhaps stronger forms can be created. (Not the way I'd bet, but a possibility.)
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 08 2019, @06:42PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QLOAQmZbZs [youtube.com]
(Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Monday April 08 2019, @09:43PM (1 child)
The only actual tensile strength comparison I came across is here, but it reads like apples and oranges comparison (A, B, Biaxial vs. Zigzag and Armchair)
https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1602/1602.00456.pdf [arxiv.org]
Maybe someone else can make more sense of a comparison.
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(Score: 3, Interesting) by HiThere on Tuesday April 09 2019, @12:48AM
To the extent that I understand that paper (not much) it doesn't look promising. In at least one place it's talking about "theoretic strength". It also says that how strong it is depends strongly on which direction you are pulling (I'm presuming this is WRT the crystal lattice.) and that in the b direction it was the weakest of all 2-D materials studied. That's not, in and of itself, a killer, but it does make one wary.
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