Two-dimensional materials like graphene show fascinating properties such as superconductivity, extraordinary strength and exotic quantum phenomena. Scientists at Forschungszentrum Jülich, together with partners from the Indian Institute of Technology in Patna and the Australian University of Newcastle, have now created a special material of this kind that exhibits a metallic character. It consists of just one atomic layer of molybdenum atoms and is also referred to as "molybdenene."
The scientists succeeded in producing a thin sheet of the metal molybdenum, which is just one atomic layer thick. The new material is thus similarly thin as graphene, probably the best-known 2D material. The latter consists of carbon and was first isolated in 2004. The discovery aroused great attention because graphene conducts electricity and heat far better than copper and is a hundred times more stable than steel.
At the same time, it is exceptionally light and flexible. Due to its special 2D structure, graphene also exhibits some unusual electromagnetic effects that could enable groundbreaking innovations in the field of quantum technology.
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