Molecules of the year

Abstract

Borophene’s hydrogenated cousin, borophane Borophene, an atomically thin 2D form of boron, is chemically unstable. By adding dihydrogen to borophene in vacuum, researchers at Northwestern University converted borophene to the stabler borophane ( Science 2021, DOI: 10.1126/science.abg1874 ). The hydrogenated form is stable in air for about a week, and the hydrogenation is reversible, so borophane could serve as a way to protect the unstable borophene. Einsteinium forms a coordination complex After 6 years of planning, researchers finally made a coordination complex with einsteinium , the heaviest element stable enough for conventional chemistry experiments. To make the eight-coordinate complex, the researchers treated 254 Es with a hydroxypyridinone-based ligand ( Nature 2021, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03179-3 ). The complex will help chemists better understand trends across the actinide series of elements. Molecule goes to infinity and beyond Researchers at Nagoya University fused 12 benzene rings to make a molecule that loops like an