Skip to content

Breakthrough for protons (News & Views)

Evidence and attribution

Authority of statements

This page is a Nature News & Views commentary (doi), not the primary research Letter. Experimental claims about proton transport should be traced to Hu et al. (10.1038/nature14015), cited by this piece.

Summary

News & Views commentary on the observation that monolayer graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) can conduct protons despite gas impermeability of graphene, contrasting MoS\(_2\) behavior (no proton current in the summarized experiments) and discussing multilayer effects—for example bilayer graphene blocking protons while certain hBN stacks still transmit reduced currents versus monolayer hBN. Karnik connects findings to membrane and fuel-cell contexts and summarizes temperature-dependent trends and catalyst decoration effects as presented in the associated Hu et al. Letter. This PDF is not primary research; scientific claims trace to Hu et al. (10.1038/nature14015).

Methods

Literature scope and comparison protocol (review / commentary; checklist D)

  • Source type: Nature News & Views commentary (DOI 10.1038/nature14074); this PDF contains no independent experimental section—Karnik summarizes the Hu et al. Letter (10.1038/nature14015) and related context.
  • Evidence chain: quantitative conductances, layer counts, and temperature trends should be verified in Hu et al.; the extract normalized/extracts/2014nature-venue-paper_p1-2.txt captures Karnik’s high-level description of polymer-sandwich electrical measurements with acid controls and 2D flake materials (graphene, hBN, MoS₂).
  • What this commentary does not provide: full experimental timetables, instrument models, or raw I–V datasets—those reside in the primary Letter and its SI, not in Karnik’s piece.

Findings

Karnik summarizes Hu et al. as showing proton current through micrometre flakes of graphene and hBN, but not MoS\(_2\), using a hydrated proton-conducting polymer sandwich (and an HCl(aq) control). Monolayer hBN shows higher current than monolayer graphene; bilayer graphene blocks protons while bi- and trilayer hBN still conduct (reduced vs monolayer). Arrhenius temperature dependence is interpreted as barrier-limited transport. A discontinuous Pt coating can enhance conductivity (more than tenfold in places in the commentary’s framing). The piece contrasts electrically conductive proton transport in graphene versus insulating hBN and discusses PEM-relevant conductance targets and membrane engineering outlooks—all as secondary reporting of Hu et al.

Limitations

Secondary source; partial PDF extract in corpus—use publisher PDF for exact wording. Do not cite this commentary page as independent experimental evidence for transport coefficients.

Relevance to group

2D materials transport context for the knowledge base; no van Duin authorship.

Citations and evidence anchors

  • https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14074 — Karnik News & Views.
  • https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14015 — Hu et al. Letter (“Proton transport through one-atom-thick crystals”).

Reader notes (navigation)

Use Hu et al. (10.1038/nature14015) for conductance values and measurement schematics; use Karnik’s News & Views (10.1038/nature14074) only as secondary commentary when explaining 2D proton transport to non-specialist readers. Layer-count trends summarized here track Hu et al., not independent measurements by Karnik.