Researchers Find 3D Material that Behaves Like Graphene

Cadmium arsenide behaves like graphene and could be used to make transistors and transparent electrodes, researchers say.

What's more, cadmium arsenide is a 3D material, meaning that it is easier to shape and study.

Graphene is a super strong and conductive wonder-2D material. It was first isolated from graphite in 2004. Since then, several research groups have been trying to use the material to create bendable and light electronic devices.

Despite its excellent physical properties, graphene has major flaws such as lack of an energy band gap. Also, the material can't be mass-produced.

Other materials such as cadmium arsenide are being explored for their electronic properties. One such group that is looking into cadmium arsenide's potential applications in electronics is at the University of Oxford, SLAC, Stanford and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

"Now more and more people realize the potential in the science and technology of this particular material. This growing interest will promote rapid progress in the field - including the exploration of its use in functional devices and the search for similar materials," said Yulin Chen of the University of Oxford, who led the research, according to a news release.

Zhong Fang and Xi Dai, theoretical physicists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences had earlier suggested that cadmium arsenide and sodium bismuth could be better materials than graphene. Sodium bismuth behaves like graphene, but turns to dust when exposed to air. Cadmium arsenide, which is already used in detectors and sensors, has some of the key features of graphene and is much more stable.

For the study, researchers made cadmium samples at Oxford and tested them at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source as well as at the Diamond Light Source in the United Kingdom. According to the team, the 3D material is easier to study than graphene.

"We think this family of materials can be a good candidate for everyday use," Chen said in a news release, "and we're working with theorists to see if there are even better materials out there. In addition, we can use them as a platform to create and explore even more exotic states of matter; when you open a door, you find there are many other doors behind it."

The study is published in the journal Nature Materials.

Both cadmium and arsenic are known to be carcinogens.