Hexagonal Boron Nitride: The Thinnest Insulating Barrier to Microbial Corrosion.

We report the use of a single layer of two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (SL-hBN) as the thinnest insulating barrier to microbial corrosion induced by the sulfate-reducing bacteria Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20. We used electrochemical methods to assess the corrosion resistance of SL-hBN on copper against the effects of both the planktonic and sessile forms of the sulfate-reducing bacteria. Cyclic voltammetry results show that SL-hBN-Cu is effective in suppressing corrosion effects of the planktonic cells at potentials as high as 0.