Bonding distances as Exact Sums of the Radii of the Constituent Atoms in Nanomaterials - Boron Nitride and Coronene

Abstract

This paper presents for the first time the exact structures at the atomic level of two important nanomaterials, boron nitride and coronene. Both these compounds are hexagonal layer structures similar to graphene in two dimensions and to graphite in three-dimensions. However, they have very different properties: whereas graphene is a conductor, h-BN is an electrical insulator and coronene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon of cosmological interest. The atomic structures presented here for boron nitride, coronene and graphene have been drawn to scale based on bond lengths as sums of the atomic radii.