Two-dimensional materials such as graphene may only be one or two atoms thick but they are poised to power flexible electronics, revolutionise composites and even clean our water.
However, being this thin comes at a price: the functional properties we depend on will change if the material becomes contaminated.
Luckily, many 2-D materials exhibit the 'self-cleaning phenomenon', meaning when different 2-D materials are pressed together, stray molecules from the air and the lab are pushed out leaving large areas clear of impurities.
Since graphene's isolation in 2004 a whole host of other 2-D materials have been discovered each with a range of different properties.
When graphene and other 2-D materials are combined, the potential of these new materials comes alive.
Layering stacks of 2-D materials in a precisely chosen sequence can produce new materials called heterostructures that can be fine-tuned to achieve a specific purpose (from LEDs, to water purification, to high speed electronics).
These flat regions have yielded some of the most fascinating physics of our time. Now, the assumption that these areas are completely clean is under scrutiny.
Writing in Nano Letters a team of researchers at the National Graphene Institute at The University of Manchester have shown that even the gas within which the 2-D material stacks are assembled can affect the structure and properties of the materials.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-08-d-materials.html#jCp
Two-dimensional materials such as graphene may only be one or two atoms thick but they are poised to power flexible electronics, revolutionise composites and even clean our water.
However, being this thin comes at a price: the functional properties we depend on will change if the material becomes contaminated.
Luckily, many 2-D materials exhibit the 'self-cleaning phenomenon', meaning when different 2-D materials are pressed together, stray molecules from the air and the lab are pushed out leaving large areas clear of impurities.
Since graphene's isolation in2004 a whole host of other 2-D materials have been discovered each with a range of different properties.
When graphene and other 2-D materials are combined, the potential of these new materials comes alive.
Layering stacks of 2-D materials in a precisely chosen sequence can produce new materials called heterostructures that can be fine-tuned to achieve a specific purpose (fromLEDs, to water purification, to high speed electronics).
These flat regions have yielded some ofthe most fascinating physics of our time. Now, the assumption that these areas are completely clean is under scrutiny.
Writing in Nano Letters a team of researchers at the National Graphene Institute at The University of Manchester have shown that even the gas within which the 2-D material stacks are assembled can affect the structure and properties of the materials.