Emerging Applications of Boron Nitride Nanostructures for Advanced Electronics and Biomedicine

The electrically insulating and optically transparent hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanostructures are not applicable as the transport channel of electronic and energy devices. Recent advancements in controlled synthesis of high-purity boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) ^1-3 and h-BN nanosheets have enabled unique applications in advanced electronics and bio-imaging. For example, we reported using BNNTs as the one-dimensional templates for room-temperature single-electron transistors (SETs)⁴, and two-dimensional gold quantum dots with tunable optical bandgap⁵. We also reported field-effect transistors (FETs) by van der Waals Tellurium (Te) atomic chains encapsulated inside BNNTs ⁶. Last but not least, we have demonstrated high-brightness fluorophores for immunophenotyping of antigens by flow cytometry.⁷ In my talk, I will discuss these emerging applications,^{8, 9}, and the latest use of h-BN nanostructures as high-brightness probes (HBPs) for gene and troponin protein detection.

We acknowledge the support from the National Science Foundation (Award numbers 1738466, 2034693, and 2329746).

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