Why is it in news?

A new version of the periodic table showcases the predicted properties of 2-D metals, an obscure class of synthetic materials.

Details

• Arrayed in 1-atom-thick sheets, most of these 2-D metals have yet to be seen in the real world.
• So JanneNevalaita and Pekka Koskinen, physicists at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, simulated 2-D materials of 45 metallic elements, ranging from lithium to bismuth
• For each sheet, the researchers measured the average chemical bond length, bond strength and the material’s compressibility, how difficult it is to squeeze the atoms closer together. The team then charted those features in the new periodic table.
• The new work, described in the Physical Review B, could help researchers identify which 2-D metals are most promising for various applications, like spurring chemical reactions or sensing gases.
• Nevalaita and Koskinen created three periodic tables that chart the properties of 2-D metals with atoms in triangular, square or honeycomb configurations. Using their trio of tables, the researchers discovered that the properties of 2-D metals were related to those of their 3-D counterparts. For instance, atoms of any given metal arranged in a triangular lattice typically had about 70 percent the bond strength of atoms in the 3-D version of that metal. Square and honeycomb lattices generally showed about 66 percent and 54 percent the bond strength of 3-D metals, respectively.
• The periodic tables revealed similar relationships between 2-D and 3-D metals in bond length and compressibility. These findings could allow researchers to get a quick profile of a 2-D metal that has never been created in the lab or in a computer simulation, just based on the well-known characteristics of its 3-D analog.
• Nevalaita and Koskinen also compared the stability of 2-D metals whose atoms were arranged in the three different configurations. The researchers found that many 2-D metals were stable in triangular and honeycomb patterns, but not in squares. Future computer simulations could examine the electric and magnetic properties of these materials. Knowing the stability and property profiles of 2-D metals could inform which materials scientists fabricate in the lab.

About ultrathin 2-D metals

• Ultrathin 2 –D metals are those metals which have a two dimensional thin, film like atomic structure.
• These metals are synthesized in laboratories and are used in neon-technology applications. These metals are crucial for the field of nanotechnology.
• The past decade has witnessed an extraordinary increase in research progress on ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials in the fields of condensed matter physics, materials science, and chemistry after the exfoliation of graphene from graphite in 2004. This unique class of nanomaterials has shown many unprecedented properties and thus is being explored for numerous promising applications.

Source

Sciencenews.org