Liquid metal creates incredibly thin smartphone materials

Scientists at the Royal University of Technology, Melbourne, have used liquid metal to create two-dimensional materials a few atoms thick that have never been seen before. The resulting materials can be used as components of transistors in modern electronics, in particular in smartphones. The work was published in the journal Science.

The researchers were able to create very thin oxide films by working with gallium, a metal that melts at room temperature.

“When you write with a pencil, graphite leaves very thin flakes that can be easily produced because these layered structures exist in nature. We decided to obtain structures that cannot be found in nature, ”said study author Torben Daneke.

Scientists have found an unusual, but very simple way to create atomically thin layers of materials that do not exist in nature in the form of layered structures. For this, the authors used non-toxic gallium alloys as a reaction medium to coat the surface of the liquid metal with atomically thin oxide films.

“They can then be delaminated by simply touching the liquid metal with a smooth surface. Large quantities of these atomically thin layers can be obtained by blowing air into the liquid metal in a process similar to foaming milk when making cappuccino, ”Daneke said.

Many of these atomically thin layers are semiconductor or dielectric materials that can be used to create modern electronics. In addition, oxide films can be used to create touch screens on smartphones. So

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