Structural and electronic evidence of boron atomic chains
Yuki Tsujikawa, Masafumi Horio, Xiaoni Zhang, Tomoaki Senoo, Takeru Nakashima, Yasunobu Ando, Taisuke Ozaki, Izumi Mochizuki, Ken Wada, Toshio Hyodo, Takushi Iimori, Fumio Komori, Takahiro Kondo, Iwao Matsuda
Abstract
The structure and chemical state of a boron chain, isoelectronic to polycumulene, were obtained with a combination of positron diffraction, photoelectron spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations. In the present work, an array of boron chains was found in a copper boride layer on a metal crystal substrate. The band structure of this material was determined to be electronically doped and hybridized by neighboring copper atoms. These boron atom chains exhibit a unique electrophilic character that is specific to the element. The properties of boron chains in the copper boride layer and the substrate effect are systematically investigated together.