Just when you thought you were getting sick of hydraulic presses, researchers at the University of Manchester announce that they used a minuscule hydraulic press to flatten certain compounds into 2D crystals.

The researchers developed a process that involves sandwiching a desired compound, like magnesium oxide or calcium oxide, between two thin sheets of graphene. Pressure is then applied via a hydraulic "nano-press" that compresses the compounds until they form 2D crystals. This process is much more efficient than previous methods, which required extreme heat and pressure to pull off.

The graphene is used to create a sealed "bubble" that the compounds inside can't escape while the nano-press exerts about 170,000 psi of pressure. "Due to this extreme high pressure and large confinement of trapped molecules, these graphene enclosures effectively act as a nano scale pressure cooker which works at room temperature," said professor Rahul Nair, who led the research team, in a statement.

Research on 2D molecules is still in its infancy, but many of these compounds have been found to have unique and useful properties. Graphene, for instance, is extremely strong and durable, and could see a role in future construction materials. Other 2D materials could have a range of applications, such as 2D titanium trisulfide, discovered a year ago, that could be used as highly-efficient wiring in electronics.

One of the major hurdles scientists face when researching these materials is their high cost. The manufacturing process for graphene is very time-consuming, complex, and expensive, so it's difficult to get a large quantity. The nano-press could change that by making it easier and cheaper to produce sizable quantities of various nano-compounds.

No word on whether they're planning to crush a can of silly string or liquid-nitrogen-cooled foam into the second dimension.

Source: University of Manchester

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