One of the hallmarks of nanotechnology is graphene, a two-dimensional sheet of graphene with unique heat conducting, electronic, and strength properties. However, graphene is not the only 2D material in existance; others include silicene, phosphorene, and germanene.
Recently, a new member has been added to this list: stanene. An allotrope of Tin (the term Stanene is derived from the latin word for tin
Stannum), Stanene is two hundred times stronger than steel and has the unique electronic property of conducting electricitiy without creating heat.
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| A Diagram of Stanene |
To start, the structure of stanene is similar to graphene: a hexagonal grid structure that is a single atom thick. However, unlike graphene, it has ridges, meaning that if you were to look at it from the side, it would look like a zig zag. It is along these ridges that electrons are able to run through the substance (thus conducting electricity) without interfering with any of the interior electron and, thus, without losing any energy to heat. At least theoretically.
Stanene, though 'tested' theoretically be able to exist and have certain properties like the ones outlined above, the material hasn't definetively been created. Although researchers Shanghai Jiao Tong University claim to have created the ultra-thin sheet by vaporizing tin and having it deposit on a bismuth telluride surface, some critisize the finding due to poor imaging and a suspicion that the bismuth telluride surface interacted with the tin atoms to create an impure surface.
Currently, more work needs to be done to confirm the current findings or develop a new technique to create stanene properly, but there is certainly promise for graphene to have a star for a cousin.
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