Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have discovered a material that displays properties similar to graphene.
This image demonstrates how the crystal structure of SrMnBi2 resembles iron pnictides (green: bismuth; blue: strontium; red: manganese)
The structure of the material is made of iron pnictides. SrMnBi2, which consists of manganese, strontium and bismuth, and allows scientists to replace certain of its atoms with foreign atoms due to its position in the periodic table of elements. This results in the creation of a new kind of material that displays magnetic and superconductive properties.
Dr. Frederik Wolff-Fabris is involved in this project along with two other scientists from Korea. Any material exhibits different physical properties when certain foreign atoms are inserted to it in small amounts. Though other research programs are being conducted based on SrMnBi2, this research which was conducted in HZDR’s Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory was the first to establish the properties of the material. The results of this program have been published in Physical Review Letters which is a scientific journal.
The Nobel Prize was given to two scientists who analysed graphene, in 2010 and has paved the way for further researches on the material. Dr. Wolff-Fabris will conduct further researches later this year along with his colleagues on the new material.