Graphene is a bit like the Novak Djokovic of materials – it’s so damn talented that each new achievement feels passé. But now, an exciting new up

Goldene: New 2D form of gold makes graphene look boring

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2024-04-17 16:00:03

Graphene is a bit like the Novak Djokovic of materials – it’s so damn talented that each new achievement feels passé. But now, an exciting new upstart is challenging graphene’s title. Meet goldene, a two-dimensional sheet of gold that has its own strange properties.

It wasn’t long ago that graphene was constantly hogging the headlines, thanks to it being incredibly strong, thin, flexible, lightweight, and an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. And all this from some very humble beginnings – this 'wonder material' was first created by using some sticky tape to peel one-atom-thick layers off a chunk of graphite.

Further experiments were soon giving the stuff even more amazing properties, and it began turning up in electronics, solar panels, displays, clothing, helmets, bullet-proof armor, aircraft, even shoes. But eventually, this overachieving material hit the point of oversaturation in the news and the market – we’re sick of writing about it, you’re sick of reading about it. Even right now, it’s taking up too much space in this story!

Thankfully, there might be a new wonder material ready to steal graphene’s thunder. Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have successfully created goldene, a sheet of gold that’s only one atom thick. Like graphene, this changes the material’s properties from its 3D bulk form – in this case, goldene becomes a semiconductor, switching from regular gold being one of the best conductors around.