Chinese scientists predicted the existence of a new type of graphene

The calculations of Chinese scientists showed the possibility of the existence of an unusual version of graphene, whose atoms form a network of irregular pentagons. Penta-graphene, as the researchers proposed to call it, is also a one atom thick structure, but it has several advantages over its standard relative.

In ordinary graphene, atoms form a grid of regular hexagons. Penta-graphene should be stable enough, while its strength is predicted to exceed the strength of standard graphene. It must also withstand high temperatures up to 730 degrees and be a natural semiconductor. Conventional graphene is a conductor, and making a semiconductor from graphene is non-trivial.

Another interesting feature of penta-graphene will be its belonging to auxetics . Conventional materials expand in the direction of their extension. Auxetics under tension expand perpendicular to this direction. Penta-graphene should expand in both directions.

One of the authors of the study, Quen Wong from Peking University, believes that such unusual properties will allow penta-graphene to be used in completely different fields, from electronic circuits to body armor. And also in nano-electronics, biomaterials and space technologies.

Unfortunately, so far this material exists only in calculations. The team of scientists is in search of a suitable group of experimenters with which they can get it in the laboratory.