A team of researchers at MIT has fabricated a crystal that could be a two-dimensional quantum spin liquid. It is a solid substance whose molecular spins continue to have momentum even at zero temperature.
The crystal called herbertsmithite belongs to a family of crystals called Zn-paratacamites. The team examined the materials that save quantum spin.
Scientists will be able to understand the properties of high-temperature conductors by spotting a quantum spin liquid, and using it to develop large single crystals, according to Tianheng Han, an MIT physics graduate student. Tianheng has also co-authored a paper in the March 3 issue of Physical Review B. Associate professor of physics Young Lee and Daniel Nocera, Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy and professor of chemistry have also written the paper. Herbertsmithite is an insulator, but using sulfur instead of chlorine could convert it into a superconductor.
The team was able to synthesize a third of a gram of pure crystal herbertsmithite. Large amounts of it could help reveal the herbertsmithite behavior, according to Collin Broholm, professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University.
Source: http://web.mit.edu/