2D materials

Researchers use graphene to develop protective layer for 2D quantum materials

Researchers at the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat, along with additional collaborators, have developed a graphene-based protective film that shields quantum semiconductor layers just one atom thick from environmental influences without compromising their quantum properties. This could advance the use of these delicate atomic layers in ultrathin electronic components.

A few years ago, scientists from the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat discovered that topological quantum materials such as indenene hold great promise for ultrafast, energy-efficient electronics. These extremely thin quantum semiconductors are composed of a single atom layer – in indenene’s case, indium atoms – and act as topological insulators, conducting electricity virtually without resistance along their edges. Experimental physicist Professor Ralph Claessen explained that producing such a single atomic layer requires sophisticated vacuum equipment and a specific substrate material. To utilize this two-dimensional material in electronic components, it would need to be removed from the vacuum environment. However, exposure to air, even briefly, leads to oxidation, destroying its revolutionary properties and rendering it useless.

Read the full story Posted: Mar 02,2024

Researchers develop adhesive tape that can transfer 2D materials like graphene in an easier, cheaper and less-damaging way

Researchers from Kyushu University, Nitto Denko Corporation, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Osaka University, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Samsung Electronics have developed a tape that can be used to stick 2D materials to many different surfaces, in an easy and user-friendly way. 

Transfer process of monolayer graphene from Cu(111)/sapphire to a SiO2/Si substrate using the UV tape. Image from Nature Electronics

“Transferring 2D materials is typically a very technical and complex process; the material can easily tear, or become contaminated, which significantly degrades its unique properties,” says lead author, Professor Hiroki Ago of Kyushu University's Global Innovation Center. “Our tape offers a quick and simple alternative, and reduces damage.”

Read the full story Posted: Feb 12,2024

Researchers examine brucite/graphene composites for improved electronics

Researchers at the University of Bologna have introduced and considered a single layer of brucite Mg(OH)2, a 2D material that can be easily produced by exfoliation (like graphene from graphite), for the creation of van der Waals composites (known as heterostructures, or heterojunctions), where two monolayers of different materials are stacked and held together by dispersive interactions. 

First principles simulations showed that brucite/graphene composites can modify the electronic properties (position of the Dirac cone with respect to the Fermi level and band gap) according to the crystallographic stacking and the presence of point defects. This could be meaningful for various applications, such as electronics. 

Read the full story Posted: Dec 31,2023

New 2DNEURALVISION project will develop low-power consumption, adverse weather, low light computer vision systems based on graphene and 2D materials

The Horizon Europe project 2DNEURALVISION kicked off on 9 – 10 October in Castelldefels, Barcelona. Funded with €5.5 Million from the European Commission, the initiative will seek to investigate the next generation of computer vision and, to develop enabling photonic and electronic integrated circuit components for a novel low-power consumption computer vision system that could be used under adverse weather and low light conditions, based on graphene and 2D materials.

The 2DNEURALVISION project will carry out leading-edge research in the field of 2D materials for wide-spectrum image sensing and vision systems. Its scientific achievements will aim to drive disruptive improvements in the automotive, AR/VR, service robotic and mobile device sectors, which expect to have a major impact on society.

Read the full story Posted: Dec 02,2023

Australian Research Council launches research hub for advanced manufacturing with 2D Materials

The Australian Research Council (ARC) has announced the launch of the ARC Research Hub for advanced manufacturing with 2D Materials. The hub aims to develop the application of 2D materials for water treatment, batteries, functional paints and coatings and other key areas of economic and technological interest.

“The ARC proudly supports research excellence that positively impacts everyday Australians and this is evident in the establishment of the ARC Research Hub for advanced manufacturing with 2D Materials,” said Dr. Richard Johnson, deputy chief executive officer, ARC. “Among the research outcomes expected to emerge from the hub will be high-powered, low-cost graphene-based supercapacitors, capable of storing energy for use in electric vehicles, as well as improvements in the supply chain of materials used in the manufacturing of these devices, allowing industry to thrive,” continued Dr. Johnson.

Read the full story Posted: Nov 25,2023

Researchers elucidate the explanation for the formation of a quasi-perfect 1D moiré pattern in twisted bilayer graphene

Researchers at Spain's IMDEA Nanoscience, Donostia International Physics Center, Ikerbasque and Poland's University of Opole have developed an analytical method to explain the formation of a quasi-perfect 1D moiré pattern in twisted bilayer graphene. The pattern, naturally occurring in piled 2D materials when a strain force is applied, represents a set of channels for electrons.

The team studied the effects of strain in moiré systems composed of honeycomb lattices. The scientists elucidated the formation of almost perfect one-dimensional moiré patterns in twisted bilayer systems. The formation of such patterns is a consequence of an interplay between twist and strain which gives rise to a collapse of the reciprocal space unit cell. As a criterion for such collapse, they found a simple relation between the two quantities and the material specific Poisson ratio. The induced one-dimensional behavior is characterized by two, usually incommensurate, periodicities.

Read the full story Posted: Nov 02,2023

China to promote industrialization of graphene and superconducting materials

It was reported that China aims to accelerate the industrialization of materials like graphene and liquid metals, and so the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission jointly released a list of important new materials that they will focus on advancing.

These materials represent the direction and trend of the development of the new material industry, which is an important entry point for building new growth engines, the ministries said. For instance, the ministries called for their subordinate bodies to encourage enterprises to advance the industrialization of graphene in potential sectors such as rail traffic, aerospace equipment, new energy and new-generation information technologies.

Read the full story Posted: Aug 30,2023

Researchers develop method to program twist angles and strain profiles in 2D materials

Researchers from Columbia University, Technical University of Denmark, Aarhus University, Université Paris-Saclay and Japan's National Institute for Materials Science have designed a simple fabrication technique that could help study the fundamental properties of twisted layers of graphene and other 2D materials in a more systematic and reproducible way. The team used long “ribbons” of graphene, rather than square flakes, to create devices that offer a new level of predictability and control over both twist angle and strain.

Graphene devices have typically been assembled from atom-thin flakes of graphene that are just a few square millimeters. The resulting twist angle between the sheets is fixed in place, and the flakes can be tricky to layer together smoothly. “Imagine graphene as pieces of saran wrap—when you put two pieces together you get random little wrinkles and bubbles,” says Columbia postdoc Bjarke Jessen, a co-author on the paper. Those bubbles and wrinkles are akin to changes in the twist angle between the sheets and the physical strain that develops in between and can cause the material to buckle, bend, and pinch randomly. All these variations can yield new behaviors, but they have been difficult to control within and between devices.

Read the full story Posted: Aug 13,2023

Researchers give graphite same properties as graphene

Researchers from the University of Washington and Japan's National Institute for Materials Science have performed transport measurements of dual-gated devices constructed by slightly rotating a monolayer graphene sheet atop a thin bulk graphite crystal. They surprisingly found that it is possible to imbue graphite with physical properties similar to graphene. 

Not only was this result unexpected, the team also believes its approach could be used to test whether similar types of bulk materials can also take on 2D-like properties.  

Read the full story Posted: Jul 28,2023

Researchers use graphene-like photonic crystal to demonstrate fourth edge state

Graphene and graphene-like materials can host—at their edges—localized states whose properties can differ dramatically from those of bulk states. Three types of edge states have been established in these materials—zigzag, bearded, and armchair—named after their geometry. Now, researchers from Nankai University and Shanxi University used a graphene-like photonic crystal to demonstrate the possibility of a fourth edge, called twig, with exotic topological features. Their results may broaden the understanding of graphene edge states, as well as open new avenues for realization of robust edge localization and nontrivial topological phases based on Dirac-like materials.

The team explained that the main findings were that the twig edge is a generic type of honeycomb lattice (HCL) edge complementary to the armchair edge, formed by choosing the right primitive cell (rather than simple lattice cutting or Klein edge modification). In addition, the twig edge states form a complete flat band across the Brillouin zone with zero-energy degeneracy, characterized by nontrivial topological winding of the lattice Hamiltonian. The twig edge states can also be elongated or compactly localized at the boundary, manifesting both flat band and topological features. 

Read the full story Posted: Jul 12,2023