EPJ ST Collection: Boron Nitride: Materials, Physics, and Applications

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Published on 12 February 2026

Guest Editor: Wei Zheng

In the wave of contemporary materials science and interdisciplinary research, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is gradually emerging as a "bridge material" connecting multiple research fields, thanks to its unique physicochemical properties. As a wide-bandgap semiconductor with a graphene-like layered structure, hBN not only exhibits excellent chemical stability, high thermal conductivity, and superior insulating performance but also demonstrates irreplaceable advantages in terms of atomic-level flatness and surface defect regulation. These characteristics enable it to perfectly meet the requirements for constructing low-dimensional material systems, providing an ideal experimental platform for exploring cutting-edge scientific issues in quantum physics, optoelectronics, and other fields. Consequently, hBN has become a highly regarded and excellent carrier in interdisciplinary research.

Currently, the research upsurge surrounding hBN has swept across the fields of semiconductor science and low-dimensional materials, attracting extensive attention from scientists worldwide. Against the backdrop of the semiconductor industry facing the bottleneck of Moore's Law, hBN, as a potential two-dimensional insulating layer, substrate material, or encapsulation layer, offers new solutions for breaking through the performance limits of traditional devices. Its application potential in ultra-large-scale integrated circuits, high-frequency devices, and other fields has garnered dual attention from both industry and academia. Meanwhile, for scientists specializing in low-dimensional materials, the heterostructured integration systems of hBN with other two-dimensional materials such as graphene and transition metal chalcogenides have become excellent models for studying interlayer interactions and quantum regulation effects, driving frontier explorations in low-dimensional condensed matter physics.

Systematic research on hBN has comprehensively covered multiple dimensions, including material growth, physical mechanism analysis, and application technology development, achieving a series of breakthrough progress. In terms of material growth, the optimization of techniques such as chemical vapor deposition and molecular beam epitaxy has enabled the controllable preparation of large-area, high-quality hBN films, laying a solid material foundation for subsequent research. In the field of physical science, researchers have continuously refreshed the understanding of physical laws in low-dimensional systems through in-depth studies on phenomena such as exciton behavior and phonon transport in hBN. At the application level, the successful demonstration of prototype devices such as hBN-based light-emitting devices and thermal management materials has further clarified the practical application prospects of this "star material," continuously promoting innovation and development in interdisciplinary research.

Entitled "Boron Nitride: Materials, Physics, and Applications", this special issue provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements and various scientific or technological challenges encountered in the field of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) research. Spanning materials science, condensed matter physics, and semiconductor engineering, this special issue brings together cutting-edge research to delve into the fundamental properties of hBN, covering everything from atomic-scale structure regulation to the complex mechanisms governing its optical, electronic, and thermal behaviors. It is expected to promote interdisciplinary collaboration to overcome remaining challenges and unlock the full potential of this versatile material in fields such as quantum science and optoelectronics.

Articles should be submitted to the Editorial Office of EPJ ST via the submission system, and should be clearly identified as intended for the topical issue “Boron Nitride: Materials, Physics, and Applications”.

More detailed author information including paper types can be found in the Submission Guidelines. For the preparation of the manuscripts a special latex template (preferably single-column layout) is available here.

Guest Editor:

Prof. Wei Zheng, School of Materials, Sun Yat-Sen University, China, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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