New Flatland material: Physicists obtain quasi-2D gold

Researchers from the MIPT Center for Photonics and 2-D Materials have synthesized a quasi-2-D gold film, revealing how materials not usually classified as two-dimensional can form atomically thin layers. Published in Advanced Materials Interfaces, the study shows that by using monolayer molybdenum disulfide as an adhesion layer, quasi-2-D gold can be deposited on an arbitrary surface. The team says the resulting ultrathin gold films, which are only several nanometers thick, conduct electricity very well and are useful for flexible and transparent electronics. The finding might contribute to a new class of optical metamaterials with the unique potential to control light.