UK breakthrough promises to unlock potential of dozens of atomically-thin materials

Researchers at Manchester University have announced the development a range of specialised fabrication methods that they claim could be used to produce dozens of useful new 2-dimensional materials similar to graphene.

The isolation of graphene in 2004 by a Manchester University team lead by Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov led to the discovery of a range of 2D materials, each with specific properties and qualities. However, until now the vast majority of these atomically thin 2D crystals are unstable in air, so react and decompose before their properties can be determined and their potential applications investigated.

Writing in the journal Nano Letters, the Manchester team, led by Dr Roman Gorbachev, explains how by protecting the new reactive crystals with more stable 2D materials, such as graphene, via computer control in a specially designed inert gas chamber environments, these materials can be successfully isolated to a single atomic layer for the first time.

The team used method on two particular two-dimensional crystals that have generated intense scientific interest in the past 12 months but are unstable in air: black phosphorus and niobium diselenide.