Phys.org February 1, 2019
By squashig layers of FePS3 together under high pressure (about 10 Gigapascals) an international team of researchers (UK, South Korea, France, Russia) found that it switched between an insulator and conductor. The conductivity could also be tuned by changing the pressure. These materials are characterised by weak mechanical forces between the planes of their crystal structure. Under pressure, the planes are pressed together, gradually and controllable pushing the system from three to two dimensions, and from insulator to metal. Even in two dimensions, the material retained its magnetism. The research opens possibility for producing two-dimensional materials with tunable and conjoined electrical, magnetic and electronic properties. The materials are inexpensive, non-toxic and easy to synthesise, and with further research, could be incorporated into graphene-based devices…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Credit: University of Cambridge