First-Principles Investigation of Borophene as a Monolayer Transparent Conductor

Two-dimensional boron is promising as a tunable monolayer metal for nano-optoelectronics. We study the optoelectronic properties of two likely allotropes of two-dimensional boron, beta(12) and delta(6), using first-principles density functional theory and many-body perturbation theory. We find that both systems are anisotropic metals, with strong energy- and thickness-dependent optical transparency and a weak (<1%) absorbance in the visible range. Additionally, using state-of-the-art methods for the description of the electron-phonon and electron-electron interactions, we show that the electrical conductivity is limited by electron-phonon interactions. Our results indicate that both structures are suitable as a transparent electrode.