Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Hanging by a thread: Imaging and probing chains of single atoms: Scientists develop a method to visualize monoatomic chains and measure the strength and conductance of single-atom bonds nanotech-now.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nanotech-now.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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IMAGE: (left) Schematic illustration of the technique. The stiffness of nanomaterials such as platinum (Pt) atomic chains can be measured using a length-extension resonator (LER) made with a quartz crystal. The. view more
Credit: Yoshifumi Oshima
Ishikawa, Japan - Today, many well-studied materials in various fields, such as electronics and catalysis, are close to reaching their practical limits. To further improve upon modern technology and outperform state-of-the-art devices, researchers looking for new functional materials have to push the boundaries and explore more extreme cases. A clear example of this is the study of low-dimensional materials, such as monoatomic layers (2D materials) and monoatomic chains (1D materials).