Researchers made a prediction two years ago that a one-atom thick, tin super material would soon be developed. They believed that this mesh material would yield amazing advances for materials science and be able to conduct electricity with 100 percent efficiency. Now, those same researchers are making good on their prediction with the announcement of the newly developed film called stanene.
Theoretically, potential uses of this material could range from circuit structures to transistors.
Cousin to graphene, this lattice of carbon atoms has similar qualities to a host of other materials, but scientists predict stanene to have a special kick that no other material has yet.
This from Nature:
At room temperature, electrons should be able to travel along the edges of the mesh without colliding with other electrons and atoms as they do in most materials. This should allow the film to conduct electricity without losing energy as waste heat.
While the development of stanene marks a huge step forward for materials science, the researchers are still unsure if the material could hold up to the conductivity theory.
“I’m always looking for something not only scientifically interesting but that has potential for applications in a device,” says Peide Ye, a physicist and electrical engineer at Purdue University. “It’s very interesting work.”
The new study is published in the journal Nature Materials.
[Image: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory]PS: If you’re currently involved in materials science related research, make sure to submit your abstracts for the 229th ECS Meeting!
