Atomic articles

  • Atom-by-atom: Imaging structural transformations in 2D materials

    Silicon-based electronics are approaching their physical limitations and new materials are needed to keep up with current technological demands. Two-dimensional (2D) materials have a rich array of properties, including superconductivity and magnetism, and are promising candidates for use in electronic systems, such as transistors. However, precisely controlling the properties of these materials is extraordinarily difficult.

  • Exploring the potential of single-atom catalysts

    There is a high level of interest, even excitement, among chemists and materials scientists about the potential of single-atom catalysts (SACs), but their development relies on very specialized tools available only at synchrotrons like the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).

  • Goldene is a film of gold one atom thick

    Goldene is a layer of gold a single atom thick. It doesn't look very … goldy?… but it's a major achievement of materials science. Shun Kashiwaya and others: The synthesis of monolayer gold has so far been limited to free-standing several-atoms-thick layers, or monolayers confined on or inside templates. — Read the rest