A tiny atomic shift gives scientists powerful control over metals
Scientists uncovered a surprising nanoscale trick that lets them dramatically tune a metal’s electronic properties—potentially paving the way for smarter future technologies.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have demonstrated an unexpected new way to change how a metal behaves electronically. By carefully engineering the atomic interactions where two materials come into contact, the team was able to significantly alter the properties of a metallic material. The findings, published in Nature Communications, show that a phenomenon known as interfacial polarization can be used to adjust the surface work function of metallic ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) by more than 1 electron volt (eV). The effect was achieved simply by changing the thickness of an ultra-thin film by a few nanometers.
Read more.
