
Fluorine lends white graphene new qualities
July 14 (UPI) -- With just a bit of fluorine, white graphene becomes a wide-bandgap semiconductor with magnetic properties. The new material could be used in electronics designed to perform under extreme conditions.White graphene is a two-dimensional atomic sheet of hexagonal boron nitride. Its hexagonal structure is similar to that of regular graphene, but the atomic layer is made up of boron nitride, a combination of boron and nitrogen atoms, instead of carbon.Although graphene is more chemically and electrically stable than graphene, allowing it to function under more extreme circumstances, like in space.But the material is typically employed as an insulator, not a semi-conductor."Boron nitride is a stable insulator and commercially very useful as a protective coating, even in cosmetics...