Via Kurzweilai.net: MIT and Harvard University researchers have created a graphene-like electrically conductive.
porous, layered material as possible new tool for storing energy and
investigating the physics of unusual materials.
They synthesized the material using an organic molecule called HITP and nickel ions, forming a new compound: Ni3(HITP)2.
The new porous material is a crystalline, structurally tunable
electrical conductor with a high surface area — features that are ideal
for supercapacitors.
The new material is composed of stacks of unlimited numbers of
two-dimensional sheets resembling graphite, with a room temperature
electrical conductivity of ~40 S/cm (Siemens per centimeter). The
conductivity of this material is comparable to that of bulk graphite and
among the highest for any conducting Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)* reported to date.
Also, the temperature-dependence of its conductivity linear at
temperatures between 100 K (Kelvin) and 500 K, suggesting an unusual
charge transport mechanism that has not been previously observed in any
organic semiconductors, and thus remains to be investigated.
In bulk form, the material could be used for electrocatalysis
applications (modifying the rate of chemical reactions) similar to how
platinum works (but at lower cost). Upon exfoliation (peeling off of
successive layers), the material is expected to behave similar to
graphene, but with tunable bandgap and electromagnetic properties,
suggesting new uses and exotic quantum properties in solid-state
physics...
Full story: http://www.kurzweilai.net/new-graphene-like-two-dimensional-material-could-improve-energy-storage
