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For the first time, scientists have created single layers of a naturally occurring rare mineral called tungstenite, or WS2. The resulting sheet of stacked sulfur and tungsten atoms forms a honeycomb pattern of triangles that have been shown to have unusual light-emitting, or photoluminescent, properties. According to team leader Mauricio Terrones, a professor of physics and of materials science and engineering at Penn State, the triangular structures have potential applications in optical technology; for example, for use in light detectors and lasers. The results of the research will be published in a print edition of the journal NANO Letters.
Terrones explained that creating monolayers -- single, one-atom-thick layers -- is of special interest to scientists because the chemical properties of minerals and other substances are known to change depending on their atomic thickness, opening the door to potentially useful applications of multi-layered materials of various thicknesses. In previous research, scientists had accomplished the feat of making a monolayer of graphene -- a substance similar to the graphite found in pencil leads. "The technique these researchers used was tedious, but it worked," Terrones said. "They basically removed, or exfoliated, the graphene, layer by layer, with Scotch tape, until they got down to a single atom of thickness."
Now, for the first time, Terrones and his team have used a controlled thermal reduction-sulfurization method -- or chemical vapor deposition -- to accomplish the same feat with a rare mineral called tungstenite. The scientists began by depositing tiny crystals of tungsten oxide, which are less than one nanometer in height, and they then passed the crystals through sulfur vapor at 850 degrees Celsius. This process led to individual layers -- or sheets -- composed of one atom in thickness. The resulting structure -- called tungsten disulfide -- is a honeycomb pattern of triangles consisting o
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| Contact: Barbara Kennedy science@psu.edu 814-863-4682 Penn State Source:Eurekalert |
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