Since then, researchers around the world have launched themselves with abandon into the world of 2D materials, looking to find the next ‘wonder material’. So we’ve seen the emergence of such materials as tungsten ditelluride, molybdenum disulphide, tungsten disulphide, tungsten diselenide and hexagonal boron nitride. Alongside graphene, there’s graphyne, borophene, germanene, silicene, stanene, phosphorene and molybdenite.
Now, Manchester researchers have determined that franckeite – a metal sulphide mineral first discovered in 1893 – stacks naturally into 2D sheets. Amongst its potential applications is supercapacitors, due to its apparent ‘excellent electrical conductivity and remarkable electrochemical properties’.
All in all, the list of 2D materials is something from which Tom Lehrer would have made an entertaining song (search for The Elements if you're unfamiliar).
