Home > Press > UCI scientists create new class of two-dimensional materials: Fabrication could help unlock new quantum computing and energy technologies
![]() |
“Through our successful fabrication of ultrathin perovskite oxides down to the monolayer limit, we’ve created a new class of two-dimensional materials,” says Xiaoqing Pan, professor of materials science & engineering and Henry Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering at UCI. “Since these crystals have strongly correlated effects, we anticipate they will exhibit qualities similar to graphene that will be foundational to next-generation energy and information technologies.” Xiaoqing Pan / UCI |
Abstract:
In a paper published this week in Nature, materials science researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions unveil a new process for producing oxide perovskite crystals in exquisitely flexible, free-standing layers.
A two-dimensional rendition of this substance is intriguing to scientists and engineers, because 2D materials have been shown to possess remarkable electronic properties, including high-temperature superconductivity. Such compounds are prized as potential building blocks in multifunctional high-tech devices for energy and quantum computing, among other applications.
“Through our successful fabrication of ultrathin perovskite oxides down to the monolayer limit, we’ve created a new class of two-dimensional materials,” said co-author Xiaoqing Pan, professor of materials science & engineering and Henry Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering at UCI. “Since these crystals have strongly correlated effects, we anticipate they will exhibit qualities similar to graphene that will be foundational to next-generation energy and information technologies.”
For all of their promising physical and chemical properties, oxide perovskites are difficult to render in flat layers due to the clunky, strongly bonded structure of their crystals. Earlier efforts at making free-standing, monolayer films of the material through the pulsed laser deposition method failed.
Pan’s cross-disciplinary group of researchers applied a technique called molecular beam epitaxy to grow the thin oxide films layer by layer on a template with a water-dissolvable buffer, followed by etching and transfer.
“Most of the known two-dimensional materials can be synthesized by exfoliation or by chemical deposition, as their bulk crystals consist of unique layered structures in which many strong covalently bonded planes are held together by weak van der Waals interactions,” he said. “But oxide perovskite is different; like most oxide materials, it has strong chemical bonds in three dimensions, making it especially challenging to fabricate into two dimensions.”
Pan, who holds a dual appointment as a professor of physics & astronomy and directs the Irvine Materials Research Institute, said that molecular beam epitaxy is a more precise method for growing oxide perovskite thin films with almost no defects. He knows this because his research team was able to review its work at atomic resolution using aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy.
“TEM played a crucial role in this project, because it provided important feedback for the optimization of film growth conditions and allowed us to directly observe novel phenomena, including the crystal symmetry breaking and unexpected polarization enhancement under the reduced dimension,” Pan said.
“Given the outstanding physical and chemical properties of oxide perovskites and novel phenomena emergent at the monolayer limit, this work opens new possibilities in the exploration of quantum behaviors in strongly correlated two-dimensional materials,” he added.
Pan and his team at UCI were joined by collaborators at China’s Nanjing University and the University of Nebraska. They used TEM facilities at UCI’s Irvine Materials Research Institute. The project was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences’ materials sciences and engineering division, under grant DE-SC0014430.
####
About University of California - Irvine
Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 222 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Brian Bell
949-824-8249
Copyright © University of California - Irvine
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
Related News Press |
News and information
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Superconductivity
Lattice-driven charge density wave fluctuations far above the transition temperature in Kagome superconductor April 25th, 2025
Researchers observe “locked” electron pairs in a superconductor cuprate August 16th, 2024
2 Dimensional Materials
Closing the gaps — MXene-coating filters can enhance performance and reusability February 28th, 2025
New 2D multifractal tools delve into Pollock's expressionism January 17th, 2025
Chainmail-like material could be the future of armor: First 2D mechanically interlocked polymer exhibits exceptional flexibility and strength January 17th, 2025
FSU researchers develop new methods to generate and improve magnetism of 2D materials December 13th, 2024
Perovskites
KAIST researchers introduce new and improved, next-generation perovskite solar cell November 8th, 2024
Efficient and stable hybrid perovskite-organic light-emitting diodes with external quantum efficiency exceeding 40 per cent July 5th, 2024
Possible Futures
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers several steps closer to harnessing patient's own T-cells to fight off cancer June 6th, 2025
Researchers unveil a groundbreaking clay-based solution to capture carbon dioxide and combat climate change June 6th, 2025
Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Chip Technology
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Programmable electron-induced color router array May 14th, 2025
Enhancing power factor of p- and n-type single-walled carbon nanotubes April 25th, 2025
Ultrafast plasmon-enhanced magnetic bit switching at the nanoscale April 25th, 2025
Discoveries
Researchers unveil a groundbreaking clay-based solution to capture carbon dioxide and combat climate change June 6th, 2025
Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Announcements
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Energy
KAIST researchers introduce new and improved, next-generation perovskite solar cell November 8th, 2024
Unveiling the power of hot carriers in plasmonic nanostructures August 16th, 2024
Groundbreaking precision in single-molecule optoelectronics August 16th, 2024
Solar/Photovoltaic
KAIST researchers introduce new and improved, next-generation perovskite solar cell November 8th, 2024
Groundbreaking precision in single-molecule optoelectronics August 16th, 2024
Development of zinc oxide nanopagoda array photoelectrode: photoelectrochemical water-splitting hydrogen production January 12th, 2024
Shedding light on unique conduction mechanisms in a new type of perovskite oxide November 17th, 2023
![]() |
||
![]() |
||
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
![]() |
![]() |
||
Premium Products | ||
![]() |
||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
![]() |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
![]() |