Gold one atom thick is created in the laboratory

Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have revealed a particular form of gold, called “goldene”, which exists as a sheet of unique thickness.

The search for ever finer forms of gold has fascinated goldsmiths throughout history. Now, through a modern chemical approach, scientists have achieved the seemingly impossible: creating a gold material only one atom thick. The research, published in Synthesis of naturemarks a significant milestone in materials science.

Lead researcher Shun Kashiwaya explained the importance of this discovery to ScienceAlert, drawing parallels with graphene, another two-dimensional material with extraordinary properties. “The same happens with gold. As you know, gold is generally a metal, but if it is as thin as a single layer of an atom, it can become a semiconductor,” Kashiwaya explained.

However, getting gold to achieve this two-dimensional configuration has proven to be no simple task. Previous attempts have produced thin sheets several atoms thick or monolayers sandwiched between other materials, making them inaccessible.

The discovery of the Goldene

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Source: Olhar Digital