Blog
- 30/11/2021 Spintronics: Exotic ferromagnetic order in two-dimensions An international team has detected an unusual ferromagnetic property in a two-dimensional system, known as 'easy-plane anisotropy.' This could foster new energy efficient information technologies based on spintronics for data storage, among other things.
- 25/11/2021 ESR-STM on single molecules and molecule-based structures Scaling down information devices to the atomic scale has brought the interest of using individual spins as a basic unit for data storage. This requires precise detection and control of spin states and a better understanding of spin-spin interactions.
- 23/11/2021 First ferroelectric ice created in graphene sandwich Scientists have for the first time unambiguously observed ferroelectric water – a state in which the molecules’ dipoles become ordered and the material gains electric polarisation – in an atom-thin ice layer sandwiched between graphene sheets.
- 18/11/2021 First observation of an inhomogeneous electron charge distribution on an atom Until now, observing subatomic structures was beyond the resolution capabilities of direct imaging methods, and this seemed unlikely to change. Czech scientists, however, have presented a method with which they became the first in the world to observe an inhomogeneous electron charge distribution around a halogen atom, thus confirming the existence of a phenomenon that had been theoretically predicted but never directly observed. Comparable to the first observation of a black hole, the breakthrough will facilitate understanding of interactions between individual atoms or molecules as well as of chemical reactions, and it opens a path to refinement of the material and structural properties of various physical, biological, and chemical systems. The breakthrough will be published on Friday in Science.
- 16/11/2021 The observation of correlated states and superconductivity in twisted trilayer graphene When two layers of graphene or of other two-dimensional (2D) materials are stacked on top of each other with a small angle misalignment, the crystal lattices produced by each layer are spatially 'out of synch'. This results in a unique structural pattern known as moiré superlattice.
- 11/11/2021 Imaging the chemical fingerprints of molecules Flip through any chemistry textbook and you'll see drawings of the chemical structure of molecules—where individual atoms are arranged in space and how they're chemically bonded to each other. For decades, chemists could only indirectly determine chemical structures based on the response generated when samples interacted with x-rays or particles of light. For the special case of molecules on a surface, atomic force microscopy (AFM), invented in the 1980s, provided direct images of molecules and the patterns they form when assembling into two-dimensional (2D) arrays. In 2009, significant advances in high-resolution AFM (HR-AFM) allowed chemists for the first time to directly image the chemical structure of a single molecule with sufficient detail to distinguish different types of bonding inside the molecule.
- 09/11/2021 Spintronics: Exotic ferromagnetic order in two-dimensions The thinnest materials in the world are only a single atom thick. These kinds of two-dimensional or 2D materials—such as graphene, well-known as consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms—are causing a great deal of excitement among research teams worldwide. This is because these materials promise unusual properties that cannot be obtained using three-dimensional materials. As a result, 2D materials are opening the door to new applications in fields such as information and display technology, as well as for critical components in extremely sensitive sensors.
- 04/11/2021 Experiments reveal formation of a new state of matter-electron quadruplets The central principle of superconductivity is that electrons form pairs. But can they also condense into foursomes? Recent findings have suggested they can, and a physicist has published experimental evidence of this quadrupling effect and details of the mechanism by which this state of matter occurs.
- 02/11/2021 NEWS Flip battery sideways for NMR studies Researchers have recorded the first ever nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of unmodified, off-the-shelf button batteries as they are charged and discharged. The metal battery casing had so far prevented such studies as it blocks the NMR radiofrequency field. But a team from Sandia National Laboratories, US, has found a way around this – simply turn the battery by 90°.
- 28/10/2021 An easier, greener way to build molecules wins the chemistry Nobel Prize Making molecules is hard work. Atoms must be stitched together into specific arrangements through a series of chemical reactions that are often slow, convoluted and wasteful. The 2021 Nobel Prize in chemistry recognizes two scientists who developed a tool at the turn of the century that revolutionized how chemists construct new molecules, making the process faster and more environmentally friendly.