The new material could be used to act as a nano-scale switch or even a motor.
Boris Yakobson is Rice’s Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering. Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University “The novelty we found in this study is that there is a connection or coupling between the ferroelectric state and the bending or flexing of the material. This work combines the discovery or prediction of a fundamental property of a class of 2D materials with a practical application angle.”
Jun-Jie Zhang is a Rice postdoctoral research associate and lead author on the study. Credit: Yakobson Group/Rice University “An actuator is any device that translates a signal – in many cases an electrical signal, but it can be a different kind of signal – into mechanical displacement or, in other words, movement or work.”