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All of these properties are indicators of a deeper connection that has, thus far, been overlooked. Unlike graphene, which has been shown to be aromatic, it is not known if hBN is aromatic. In this density functional theory\u2010based work, we investigate the aromaticity (or lack thereof) of hBN. By employing the magnetic criterion, supported by group\u2010theoretic and energetic considerations, as well as a direct bonding\u2010pattern analysis, we show that hBN is indeed aromatic, even if weakly so, as compared to graphene. Since aromaticity is used to connect bonding with the stability of planar compounds, the picture developed in this work is important for bridging the gap between the physical and chemical understanding of hBN's\u00a0properties.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/chem.71707","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T04:47:13Z","timestamp":1790138833000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Hidden in Plain Sight: Aromaticity of Hexagonal Boron Nitride"],"prefix":"10.1002","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4983-3065","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Suryakanti","family":"Debata","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory for Physical Sciences Maryland Maryland USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1420-4488","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sai Krishna","family":"Narayanan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics University of Maryland Maryland Maryland USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6884-6737","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pratibha","family":"Dev","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory for Physical Sciences Maryland Maryland USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_7_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nphoton.2015.277"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nnano.2010.172"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1021\/nn402954e"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nnano.2015.242"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature26160"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1021\/acsabm.8b00145"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1021\/acsphotonics.0c00406"},{"issue":"5","key":"e_1_2_7_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3446","DOI":"10.1021\/acsanm.2c05233","article-title":"Substrate\u2010Induced Modulation of Quantum Emitter Properties in 2D Hexagonal Boron Nitride: Implications for Defect\u2010Based Single Photon Sources in 2D Layers","volume":"6","author":"Narayanan S. 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