• Phosphorus-arsenic nanoribbons conduct electricity efficiently even at extremely low temperatures.
• The alloyed nanoribbons eliminate the need for carbon fillers in batteries, boosting energy storage capacity.
• This breakthrough material opens possibilities for quantum computing and near-infrared detectors, with potential applications across various industries.

Researchers at University College London (UCL) have created one-atom-thick ribbons made of phosphorus alloyed with arsenic that could dramatically improve the efficiency of devices such as batteries, supercapacitors and solar cells. The UCL researchers found they were able to conduct electricity at temperatures above -140° Celsius, while retaining the highly useful properties of the phosphorus-only ribbons.

The research team discovered phosphorus nanoribbons in 2019. The “wonder material,” predicted to revolutionize devices ranging from batteries to biomedical sensors, has since been used to increase lithium-ion battery lifetimes and solar cell efficiencies.

However, phosphorus-only materials do not conduct electricity very well, hindering their usage for certain applications.

In the new study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, (At posting the study paper is open access.) the researchers created nanoribbons made of phosphorus and tiny amounts of arsenic, which they found were able to conduct electricity at temperatures above -140o C, while retaining the highly useful properties of the phosphorus-only ribbons.

Senior author Dr Adam Clancy (UCL Chemistry) said: “Early experimental work has already shown the remarkable promis