Two-dimensional material-New Scientific Revolution

The widely-used scotch tape enabled material scientists to make new breakthroughs again and open up the new scientific revolution in the field of chemistry and materials manufacturing---extracting graphene, the first two-dimensional material.

In 1930, 3M scientists combined ordinary tape with DuPont's impermeable cellophane to make a cleaning, inexpensive adhesive tool called scotch tape. At that time, the United States was suffering from the Great Depression. This product was good for saving manpower - a remarkable advance. Scotch tape can be used to repair cracks in various materials, torn scores, broken nails, torn account books and torn currency.

Today, most of us take this extremely durable and useful product for granted. But it is this widely-used commodity that has enabled material scientists to make new breakthroughs again and open up the next revival in the field of chemistry and materials manufacturing---extracting graphene, the first two-dimensional material.

On Friday afternoon 2004, Scientist Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov were studying the electrical property of carbon graphite in the lab of The University of Manchester. The two physicists had a sudden whim and decided to test whether a thinner sheet of graphite could be obtained by peeling it off with cellophane tape. (They saw other researchers using tape to clean graphite and put it under a microscope.)

They have successfully separated hundreds of layers of carbon without affecting its substructure. Interestingly, they repeated the process. Soon after, they stripped the graphite back to its possible arrangement: a layer composed of individual atoms. There is a very short material, a thin pencil material, which can be described as two-dimensional. This is the amazing and complicated concept that scientists have been pursuing for years. This is graphene. This is a breakthrough which is made with the help of scotch tape.

After more than 10 years of academic research and development, this special breakthrough is producing a large number of new materials that are impossible to be thin and strong in graphene, carbon group and other 2D molecules. Graphene can be applied to a wide range of nanomaterials, which include 100 nanometers thick products. Graphene has unique properties that can create miracles. As the carbon atoms are arranged in a closely packed honeycomb lattice, graphene is tougher than steel and more flexible than rubber bands. It can conduct heat and electricity. It is transparent, almost weightless, and airtight.

Thousands of academic research labs all over the world are studying the graphene. When they are studying the molecular-sized world, more materials are emerging. These materials not only look different, but also have different effects and reactions than previously known materials. They can solve the most difficult problems of human beings, such as the breakthroughs in renewable energy and pollution reduction, treatment of diseases and congenital diseases, the technology of computers, sensors and robot, and new forms of clothing and packaging.

One of the most promising graphene nanomaterials is a transition metal chalcogenide, which includes tungsten disulfide, molybdenum disulfide, tungsten diselenide, and molybdenum diselenide. In its normal form, tungsten disulfide or molybdenum disulfide is a common lubricant used in the lubrication of aerospace engines and nylon and Teflon components. When these elements are thinned to a single layer like graphene, they have an unprecedented potential for application. They are amazingly powerful new semiconductor materials that can convert tiny amounts of light into photovoltaic energy and be applied to solar arrays, fiber optic networks, hydrogen energy conversion, computer components and telecommunications components.

Every year, there are hundreds of research papers about two-dimensional materials published by scientists. They describe a series of nanomaterial experiments. For example, in the manufacturing industry, some scientists try to produce airframe of which density is 5% that of steel and strength is ten times as high as steel by using graphene. It can be processed in 3D printer. In the past 50 years, every progress of computer technology comes from the miniaturization of components and chips. Some scientists try to produce the storage device which is 100 times faster than existing products or chip material which is 10000 faster than other materials by using WSe2. In addition, tungsten disulfide can be applied to future medical treatment. Scientists use the nanomaterial to mark tumor cells in patient’s body and record the imperceptible electrical information between internal structures of cells. It reveals minor mutations and dysfunctions, including the initial stages of tumor growth. In the initial stage, molecular drugs are delivered directly to target cells.

Although more than a dozen two-dimensional particles have been separated so far, graphene is still the only particle that is often used for commercial applications. In the next three to five years, scientists will frequently introduce new and innovative technologies, while accumulating knowledge about how these miracle materials work. In short, there are still many unknown discoveries in the world of two-dimensional materials. Scientists believe that two-dimensional materials will completely change the process of human science, and have greater industrial value than the existing real estate industry. Two-dimensional materials will drive the real technological revolution.

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