The emergence of two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are only one atom or one structural unit cell thick, has stimulated an enormous range of research effort. The well-known example is graphene – a zero band gap semiconductor, which exhibits outstanding charge carrier mobility. However, the absence of a band gap is a major hindrance in implementing graphene in 2D electronics. The question arises whether other graphenic systems of mono-atomic thickness, with useful electronic properties, can be realized. Nebraska MRSEC researchers have demonstrated that a ternary network of boron (B), carbon (C), and nitrogen (N) atoms that occupy the graphenic sites in a 2D sheet can produce the required electronic properties. They synthesized a BCN monolayer on the iridium (Ir) surface, modelled its atomic structure, and characterized its electronic properties. Thus, long predicted, the BCN material has been finally realized showing a new route to implementing 2D electronics. (S. Beniwal et al., ACS Nano 11, 2486 (2017)
