For the first time, scientists have created a free-standing sheet of gold named Goldene that is only one atom thick. This makes gold the first metal to be formulated into (freestanding) 2D sheets. It has opened up a host of exciting possibilities for the future.
- It was created by the scientists from Sweden’s Linköping University.
- To create goldene, researchers first sandwiched an atomic monolayer of silicon between layers of titanium carbide. When they deposited gold on top of this sandwich structure, the gold atoms diffused into the material and replaced the silicon atoms, forming a trapped monolayer of gold atoms.
- Subsequently, researchers etched away the titanium carbide layers to create a free-standing, one atom thick layer of gold.
- This was done with the help of an age-old Japanese technique used to forge katanas and high-quality knives, using a chemical popularly known as Murakami’s reagent.
- The new material could have important applications in carbon dioxide conversion and hydrogen generation,
