Boron radicals drive BN catalysis

Catalysis![Figure][1] BN nanosheets (like BNNS-OH, shown in a scanning electron micrograph) can function as nonmetal catalysts. IMAGE: LIU ET AL., ACS NANO. 10.1021/ACSNANO.8B06978 (2019). Recent studies have shown that various morphologies of boron nitride (BN) can initiate or catalyze a number of reactions, including acetylene hydrochlorination and propane dehydrogenation, through formation of some radical species. Liu et al. performed density functional calculations indicating that boron radicals form at edge sites. They used electron spin resonance as well as vibrational and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy to follow the quenching of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals on BN nanosheets. By varying the dimensions of the nanosheets to change the number of edge sites decorated with OH or NH groups, they eliminated formation of O or N radicals as the source of reactivity. The boron radicals could generate OH radicals from H2O2 to perform an organic oxidation reaction. ACS Nano. 10.1021/acsnano.8b06978 (2019). [1]: pending:yes