Impossible material made possible inside a graphene sandwich

Date:
January 20, 2022
Source:
University of Vienna
Summary:
Atoms bind together by sharing electrons. The way this happens
depends on the atom types but also on conditions such as temperature
and pressure.

In two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene, atoms join
along a plane to form structures just one atom thick, which leads
to fascinating properties determined by quantum mechanics.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The design of new materials allows for either improved efficiency of known applications or totally new applications that were out of reach with the previously existing materials. Indeed, tens of thousands of conventional materials such as metals and their alloys have been identified over the
last hundred years. A similar number of possible 2D materials have been predicted to exist, but as of now, only a fraction of them have been
produced in experiments. One reason for this is the instability of many
of these materials in laboratory conditions.


==========================================================================
In the recent study, the researchers synthesized 2D cuprous iodide that
was stabilized in a graphene sandwich, as the first example of a material
that does not otherwise exist in normal laboratory conditions. The
synthesis utilizes the large interlayer spacing of oxidized graphene multilayers, which allows iodine and copper atoms to diffuse into the gap
and to grow the new material. The graphene layers here have an important
role imposing a high pressure on the sandwiched material that thus becomes stabilized. The resulting sandwich structure is shown in the illustration.

"As so often, when we first saw the new material in our microscopy
images, it was a surprise," says Kimmo Mustonen, the lead author of
the study. "It took us quite some time to figure out what the structure precisely was. This enabled us together with Danubia NanoTech company,
headed by Viera Ska'kalova', to design a chemical process for producing
it in large scale," he continues.

Understanding the structure was a joint effort of scientists from the Universities of Vienna, Tu"bingen, Antwerp and CY Cergy Paris. "We had
to use several electron microscopy techniques to make sure that we were
really seeing a monolayer of copper and iodine and to extract the exact
atom positions in 3D, including the latest methods we have recently
developed," the second lead author Christoph Hofer adds.

Following the 2D copper iodide, the researchers have already expanded the synthesis method to produce other new 2D materials. "The method seems to
be truly universal, providing access to dozens of new 2D materials. These
are truly exciting times!," Kimmo Mustonen concludes.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Vienna. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Kimmo Mustonen, Christoph Hofer, Peter Kotrusz, Alexander Markevich,
Martin Hulman, Clemens Mangler, Toma Susi, Timothy J. Pennycook,
Karol Hricovini, Christine Richter, Jannik C. Meyer, Jani
Kotakoski, Viera Ska'kalova'. Toward Exotic Layered Materials:
2D Cuprous Iodide. Advanced Materials, 2022; 2106922 DOI:
10.1002/adma.202106922 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220120103415.htm

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