Goldene
Goldeneis asingle-layerallotropeofgold.The thinnest commercialgold leafis some 400 times thicker than goldene.[1]It features 9% lattice contraction compared to bulk gold.[1]
History
[edit]Goldene was first synthesized as a free-standing material in 2024 by a team atLinköping Universityin Sweden. A 2022 claim by a team atNew York University Abu Dhabihas been disputed as actually containing multiple layers.[2]
Synthesis
[edit]The team used a material containingsilicenebetween layers oftitanium carbide.Gold layered on top of this combination diffused into the structure and replaced the silicon. Etching away the titanium carbide released free-standing goldene sheets that were up to 100 nanometres wide. The etching was performed using Murukami's reagent, in a 100-year-old technique used to decorateironworkby Japaneseblacksmiths.Surfactantmolecules formed a barrier between goldene and the surrounding liquid — to stop the sheets from adhering.[2]
The team is exploring the potential for preparing goldene from other non-van der Waals Au-intercalatedphases, including developing etching schemes.[1]
Graphene comparison
[edit]Forming 2D allotropes of metals such as gold has been difficult because metal atoms tend to cluster together and form nanoparticles instead of nanosheets.[2]
Properties
[edit]The material displayed Au 4fbinding energy increase of 0.88 eV. The material is a semiconductor, with the valence band maximum 50 meV below theFermi level.[1]
Applications
[edit]Potential applications included sensing and catalysis.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdKashiwaya, Shun; Shi, Yuchen; Lu, Jun; Sangiovanni, Davide G.; Greczynski, Grzegorz; Magnuson, Martin; Andersson, Mike; Rosen, Johanna; Hultman, Lars (2024-04-16)."Synthesis of goldene comprising single-atom layer gold".Nature Synthesis:1–8.doi:10.1038/s44160-024-00518-4.ISSN2731-0582.
- ^abcPeplow, Mark (2024-04-18)."Meet 'goldene': this gilded cousin of graphene is also one atom thick".Nature.629(8010): 17.Bibcode:2024Natur.629...17P.doi:10.1038/d41586-024-01118-0.PMID38637705.