A research team at the University of Vienna led by physicist Jani Kotakoski demonstrates how the shape of nanopores in hexagonal boron nitride – the electrically insulating counterpart to graphene, also known as “white graphene” – can be precisely controlled at the atomic level. Electron irradiation in ultra-high vacuum creates circular pores, while adding small amounts of oxygen yields triangular pores. The nanopore engineering presented in the journal Nature Communications thus unlocks new applications in filtration, DNA sequencing, catalysis, and quantum technologies.
