Engineers create double layer of borophene for first time

For the first time, engineers at Northwestern University have created a double layer of atomically flat borophene, a feat that defies the natural tendency of boron to form non-planar clusters beyond the single-atomic-layer limit. Although known for its promising electronic properties, borophene -- a single-atom-layer-thick sheet of boron -- is challenging to synthesize. Unlike its analog two-dimensional material graphene, which can be peeled away from innately layered graphite using something as simple as scotch tape, borophene cannot merely be peeled away from bulk boron. Instead, borophene must be grown directly onto a substrate.