A new atomically thin material similar to graphene has been proven to be a promising new superconductive material.

Black phosphorous - a layered material, somewhat similar to graphite – has generated much excitement among scientists and engineers because of its many interesting and useful electronic and optical properties.

Just as graphite is made up of millions of layers of graphene, black phosphorus consists of layers of phosphorene that can be isolated. New research now reveals phosphorene to possess properties as intriguing as graphene.

Combining graphene and other new 2D materials such as phosphorene, which individually have excellent characteristics complimentary to the extraordinary properties of graphene, has resulted in exciting scientific developments and could produce applications as yet beyond our imagination.

Now phosphorene is helping scientists to answer the question of whether materials consisting of just one layer of atoms can be superconducting.

Superconductors conduct electricity with zero resistance and are always sought after due to their potential applications in sensors, energy-efficient power lines and magnets capable of generating large magnetic fields, such as those used in MRI scanners and levitating trains.

Using phosphorene, a University of Manchester team led by Professor Irina Grigorieva clearly shows that atomically thin materials can be true superconductors as long as enough electrons are pumped into the layers.