Metals can only be squeezed into some atoms thick sheets

Metal sheets can be thickened by squashing melted drops under large pressure between two atoms. Researchers developing this process say that abnormal materials may be applicable in industrial chemistry, optics and computers.

Last year, scientists made a gold sheet which was one Single atom thickWhich he dubbed “Golden” after graphine, which was a material made of the same layer of carbon atoms. Such materials are described as two-dimensional, as they are chemically as possible as possible.

But it was not possible to make other 2D metals yet. New technology developed by Luozun Do Among the Chinese Academy and their colleagues, Bismaths, Gallium, Indium, Tin, and lead can form 2D sheets that allow their atomic bonds.

To squeeze the metal, the researchers used two extremely flat sapphire crystals with a thin layer of molybdenum dysulfide (moss₂) As a jaw of a vice. They placed the powder metal between these jaws, heated to 400 ° C until it forms a drop, then crushed it under heavy pressure up to 200 megapascals. The metal was compressed until it was some atomic thick – or, in the case of Bismath, only two – allowed to cool again. When the pressure was removed, 2D metal was sandwich between moss₂ The sheets, which then slipped away from the sapphire.

Du says that this process was conceived eight years ago, but recently bore fruits when the team found that Moss₂ The layers kept the thin metal sheets stable. “A single layer of free stand metal atoms is unstable from a thermodynamic point of view. Therefore, we (had to develop completely new techniques), ”is called Du. “The process looks simple, but it works.”

Along with creating extremely thin layers of atoms, researchers were able to fix the pressure to squeeze and the metal plates could thicken three, four or more atoms with accurates.

2D metals can have abnormal properties that help scientists to detect macroscopic quantum phenomena and superconductity, say DU, and ultra-Lo power transistor, transparent displays for computers and extremely efficient catalysts for chemical reactions.

One issue is that MOS₂ Encouraging the metal sheet cannot be easily removed. DU says it may be problematic for some applications, but experiments show that they do not affect electrical conductivity, so they will not stop the 2D metal being used in electronic devices.