The discovery of Molybdenene – "Metallic" Analogue of Graphene by Dr. Alpana Nayak and team
Reference: IITPATNA/202603011855426720
Organization
IIT Patna
State
Bihar
Tender Value
Not Specified
EMD Amount
Not Specified
Published Date
01 Mar 2026
Closing Date
N/A
Description
The discovery of Molybdenene – "Metallic" Analogue of Graphene 28 September 2023 Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Patna (IIT-Patna), together with collaborators from Forschungszentrum Jülich, have discovered a new class of 2D materials comprising of just one atomic layer of molybdenum atoms- referred to as “molybdenene”. Analogous to graphene, this new material is mechanically and thermally stable and conducts electricity. While graphene is semi-metallic, the molybdenene is the first metallic 2D material whose free-standing layers could be prepared. Unlike the other recently introduced 2D materials such as phosphorene and germanene, this new material molybdenene is extremely resistant to heat. Electron microscope images of the hair-shaped structures, also known as "whiskers", which contain the thin molybdenene layers. Copyright: Sahu, T.K., Kumar, N., Chahal, S. et al., Nat. Nanotechnol. (2023), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-023-01484-2 At IIT-Patna in the department of Physics, Molybdenene is synthesized by Tumesh Sahu (under the supervision of Dr. Prashant Kumar) and Nishant Kumar (under the supervision of Dr. Alpana Nayak) using a simple kitchen microwave, in which a mixture of molybdenum sulphide (MoS ) and 2 graphene is heated to incandescence at a temperature of around 3000 degrees Celsius. In the reaction driven by the microwave electric field, finely branched hair structures were formed in which the tapered molybdenene layers (also called "whiskers") can be found. Hair-shaped structures of molybdenene (right) are formed in the microwave (left). Copyright: Sahu, T.K., Kumar, N., Chahal, S. et al, Nat. Nanotechnol. (2023), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-023-01484-2 AFM topographs and high-resolution electron microscope image of the molybdenene surface. Copyright: Sahu, T.K., Kumar, N., Chahal, S. et al., Nat. Nanotechnol. (2023), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-023-01484-2) Applications: Researchers at IIT-Patna have already been able to devel
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- Published 01 Mar 2026
- Closing N/A