The individual building blocks are heated on a silver surface in order to synthesize a porous graphene ribbon that exhibits semiconducting properties and a ladder-like structure. In each rung of the ladder, two carbon atoms have been replaced with nitrogen atoms (blue). (Illustration: University of Basel, Department of Physics)
The individual building blocks are heated on a silver surface in order to synthesize a porous graphene ribbon that exhibits semiconducting properties and a ladder-like structure. In each rung of the ladder, two carbon atoms have been replaced with nitrogen atoms ( blue ). (Illustration: University of Basel, Department of Physics) - A team of physicists and chemists has produced the first porous graphene ribbons in which specific carbon atoms in the crystal lattice are replaced with nitrogen atoms. These ribbons have semiconducting properties that make them attractive for applications in electronics and quantum computing, as reported by researchers from the Universities of Basel, Bern, Lancaster and Warwick in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure. The material is of interest not only in basic research but also for various applications given to its unique properties, which include excellent electrical conductivity as well as astonishing strength and rigidity. Research teams around the world are working to further expand these characteristics by substituting carbon atoms in the crystal lattice with atoms of different elements.
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