New 2-D materials have the potential to transform
technologies, with applications from solar cells to smartphones and
wearable electronics, explains UMBC’s Can Ataca, assistant
professor of physics. These materials consist of a single layer of
atoms bound together in a crystal structure. In fact, they’re so
thin that a stack of 10 million of them would only be 1 millimeter
thick. And sometimes, Ataca says, less is more. Some 2-D materials
are more effective and efficient than similar materials that are
much thicker.
