Graphene outshone by new material
8 Mar 2016 by Evoluted New Media
A new simulated material has been discovered that could replace graphene’s title as a wonder material.
A new simulated material has been discovered that could replace graphene’s title as a wonder material.
The one atom thick material is constructed of silicon, boron and nitrogen in a non-uniform hexagonal shape, slightly different to graphene’s regular carbon atom arrangement.
Madhu Menon, from the UK centre for computational sciences, said: “We used simulations to see if the bonds would break or disintegrate – it didn't happen. We heated the material up to 1,000°C and it still didn't break."
As graphene is not a semiconductor, research has been underway to find similar materials that are semiconductors. A group of three-layer materials named transition-metal dichalcogenides have been researched for this purpose. Mostly semiconductors, they are also relatively bulky and so the team, led by Menon, looked for options that would be light and inexpensive while remaining a semiconductor.
The new material is also able to integrate ‘seamlessly’ with current silicon based technology. Menon said: “We know silicon-based technology is reaching its limit because we are putting more and more components together and making electronic processors more and more compact. But we know that this cannot go on indefinitely; we need smarter materials.”
[caption id="attachment_52678" align="alignnone" width="450"]
The chemical composition of the simulated material. Credit. Madhu Menon[/caption]
Menon and his colleagues, Ernst Richter from Daimler in Germany and Antonis Andriotis from the Institute for Electronic Structure and Laser said it was possible to fine tune the properties of this two-dimensional material to suit a wide range of applications – more than those graphene can fulfil. Additional elements can be added to change the band gap values – the energy difference between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band. This has been touted as a key advantage over graphene for solar energy conversion and electronics applications.
“This discovery opens a new chapter in material science by offering new opportunities for researchers to explore functional flexibility and new properties for new applications. We are very anxious for this to be made in the lab," Menon said.
The research was published in Physical Review B, Rapid Communication.
