People.cn (SH:603000) Ren Min Wang·2025-12-18 03:11Core Insights - The "2025 Top Ten Scientific Breakthroughs" list published by the Institute of Physics in the UK includes the achievement of the "first preparation of two-dimensional metals" led by Zhang Guangyu's team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, marking the seventh time a Chinese-led research has been recognized since the list's inception in 2009 and the only Chinese achievement this year [1][2] Group 1 - The breakthrough addresses a long-standing challenge in the field of two-dimensional materials, where previously only layered structures could be produced, while metals, which constitute about 80% of the periodic table, were deemed impossible to create in two-dimensional form due to their non-layered structures and strong metallic bonds [1][2] - The team developed a unique "van der Waals squeezing technology" that allows for the universal preparation of two-dimensional metals at atomic-level thickness, successfully producing five types of two-dimensional metals: bismuth (6.3Å), tin (5.8Å), lead (7.5Å), indium (8.4Å), and gallium (9.2Å) [2] - The produced two-dimensional metals exhibit over one year of performance stability in the environment and have non-bonding interfaces, laying the groundwork for exploring intrinsic material properties [2] Group 2 - The electrical testing of single-layer bismuth shows a room temperature conductivity of 9.0×10⁶ S/m, which is more than an order of magnitude higher than bulk bismuth, and it demonstrates a unique P-type electric field effect with resistance that can be modulated by gate voltage by 35% [2] - This breakthrough not only fills a critical gap in the family of two-dimensional materials but also opens up new research fields, with potential applications in low-power transistors, high-frequency devices, and ultra-sensitive detectors [3] - Currently, five metals have been achieved, representing only the "tip of the iceberg," with thousands of two-dimensional metal materials yet to be explored, including binary and multi-element alloys [3]