A well-known mineral is once again the center of attention thanks to applications in electronics: the Vienna University of Technology shows that mica still possesses some surprises. At first glance, mica appears to be quite ordinary: it is a prevalent mineral found in materials like granite and h
A well-known mineral is once again the center of attention thanks to applications in electronics: the Vienna University of Technology shows that mica still possesses some surprises. At first glance, mica appears to be quite ordinary: it is a prevalent mineral found in materials like granite and has undergone extensive examination from geological, chemical, and technical standpoints. At first, it may seem that there's nothing groundbreaking that can be uncovered about such a commonplace material. However, a team from the Vienna University of Technology has recently published a study in Nature Communications, in which it was possible to explain the distribution of potassium ions on the mica surface. This marks the first time that the physical surface characteristics of mica have been studied at an atomic level, which holds significance for research in the field of electronics utilizing 2D materials. Atomically thin layers Atomically thin layers 2D materials are currently one of the most researched topics in materials science: Certain materials, such as graphene and…