Tuning Properties of Amorphous Boron Via Hydrogenation: An Ab Initio Study

Abstract

Ab initio simulations are employed to investigate the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of hydrogenated amorphous boron (a-B:H) across a range of hydrogen concentrations (approximate to 6-21 at.%). The results indicate that pentagonal-like boron clusters constitute the primary structural motifs. The bonding environment consists of both B-H terminal bonds and B-H-B bridging bonds, with the fraction of bridging bonds ranging from 10 % to 16 %. Increasing the hydrogen content leads to a reduction in density and bulk modulus, accompanied by a systematic widening of the electronic band gap. These results demonstrate that hydrogen incorporation profoundly modifies the atomic structure, softens the network, and enhances the semiconducting character of a-B:H, highlighting the tunability of properties in boron-based amorphous materials.