The scientists succeeded in producing a thin sheet of the metal molybdenum, which is just one atomic layer thick. The new material is thus similarly thin as graphene, probably the best-known 2D material. The latter consists of carbon and was first isolated in 2004. The discovery aroused great attention because graphene conducts electricity and heat far better than copper and is a hundred times more stable than steel.

At the same time, it is exceptionally light and flexible. Due to its special 2D structure, graphene also exhibits some unusual electromagnetic effects that could enable groundbreaking innovations in the field of quantum technology.

In recent years, other 2D materials such as phosphorene or germanene have been introduced. Like molybdenene, they exhibit some impressive properties, while the latter still differs from other 2D materials in some aspects. "Many 2D materials are sensitive to heat, but molybdenene is not. Moreover, this is the first metallic 2D material where free-standing layers could be prepared," explains Prof. Ilia Valov from the Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-7) at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

The researchers created the new 2D material using a microwave, in which they heated a mixture of molybdenum sulfide (MoS₂) and graphene to incandescence at a temperature of around 3000 degrees Celsius. In a reaction driven by the microwave electric field, finely branched hair structures were formed in which the tapered molybdenum layers can be found. These are also called "whiskers."