Core Insights - The research team led by Zhang Guangyu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences has achieved a significant breakthrough by successfully fabricating the first examples of two-dimensional metals, which has been recognized in the "Top Ten Scientific Breakthroughs of 2025" by Physics World [3][4] - This achievement fills a critical gap in material science, as it is the only Chinese result included in this year's list, highlighting the team's innovative approach and the importance of their findings [3][6] Summary by Categories Breakthrough Achievement - The team developed a unique "van der Waals squeezing technology" that allows for the universal fabrication 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) [4][6] - These materials are incredibly thin, measuring only one two-hundred-thousandth of a human hair's diameter and one-millionth of the thickness of an A4 paper [4] Technical Advantages - The fabricated two-dimensional metals exhibit over one year of performance stability in environmental conditions and possess non-bonding interfaces, laying the groundwork for exploring intrinsic material properties [4] - Electrical tests indicate that the room temperature conductivity of monolayer bismuth is over an order of magnitude higher than that of bulk bismuth, demonstrating unique P-type field effect characteristics with resistance adjustable by gate voltage by 35% [4] Future Implications - This breakthrough not only fills a key puzzle piece in the family of two-dimensional materials but also opens up new research fields, with potential applications in high-temperature quantum Hall effects, two-dimensional superconductivity, low-power transistors, high-frequency devices, and ultra-sensitive detectors [6] - Currently, only five out of 88 metallic elements have been realized as two-dimensional metals, indicating that there are thousands of potential two-dimensional metal materials yet to be explored, suggesting vast development opportunities in this area [6]

Group 1 - The core achievement of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' team led by Zhang Guangyu is the successful preparation of the first two-dimensional metals, marking a significant milestone in the field of atomic manufacturing of two-dimensional materials [2][4] - This breakthrough is recognized as the only Chinese achievement in the "Top Ten Scientific Breakthroughs of 2025" by the British Institute of Physics, highlighting China's leading position in the international arena of two-dimensional materials [2][4] - The team developed a unique "van der Waals pressing technology" to create five types of two-dimensional metals (bismuth, tin, lead, indium, and gallium) with atomic-level thickness, achieving a record thickness of only 5.8 angstroms for tin [2][4] Group 2 - The produced two-dimensional metals exhibit over one year of environmental stability without performance degradation, addressing the common issues of oxidation and preservation in traditional two-dimensional materials [4] - Electrical tests show that the room temperature conductivity of monolayer bismuth reaches 9.0×10⁶ S/m, significantly surpassing bulk bismuth, and it demonstrates a unique P-type field effect with a resistance modulation of 35%, far exceeding the less than 1% range of traditional bulk metals [4] - The technology allows for atomic precision control of the thickness of two-dimensional metals, providing a new platform for studying novel layer pseudo-spin characteristics [4] Group 3 - The recognition of Zhang Guangyu's team's achievement reflects China's ongoing commitment to fundamental research and its growing innovation capabilities in materials science [5][6] - The advancement in this technology is expected to lead to disruptive products in quantum computing, new electronic devices, and renewable energy, enhancing the core competitiveness of China's high-end manufacturing sector [5] - The success in the field of atomic manufacturing of two-dimensional materials is seen as a significant leap in China's scientific innovation, transitioning from quantitative accumulation to qualitative breakthroughs [6]