Dissertation: Towards sustainable use of metals by understanding the fundamental nature of thin metallic layers (Abidi)
One way to reduce material usage is to thin the metal. Atomically thin metallic layers, known as metallenes, can retain or exceed the properties of their bulk counterparts. They may achieve desired performance with significantly less material and even unlock entirely new properties that are absent in three-dimensional metals.
Insights into metallic behavior in computational exploration
With advances in theoretical methods and computational power, computer simulations have become an apt and cost-effective tool to study such systems and guide experimental design.
In his dissertation, Doctoral Researcher Kameyab Raza Abidi from Ģֱ investigates the fundamental behavior of atomically thin metallenes using state-of-the-art computational approaches.
To uncover the intrinsic nature of metals in two dimensions, Abidi systematically studied 45 elemental metallenes across six different planar geometries. His work revealed fascinating trends.
Paving the way for sustainable material use
Abidi explores which metals are most likely to remain stable in atomically thin form.
“Metal atoms naturally prefer to be surrounded by many neighbors. When we isolate them into atomically thin layers, they tend to crumple or agglomerate into clusters,” explains Kameyab Raza Abidi. “But if we can create certain mechanical conditions, such as tensile strain, we can stabilize them and prevent clustering.”, he continues.
By uncovering how dimensionality affects metallic bonding at the atomic scale, this research contributes not only to fundamental science but also to the development of more sustainable strategies of material usage for the future.
“I found that alkali, alkaline earth, and noble metals are promising candidates for forming stable 2D monolayers,” says Abidi. “Moreover, some of these monolayers even exhibit magnetic signatures despite being non-magnetic in their 3D forms.”
The public examination of M.Sc. Kameyab Raza Abidi 's dissertation “Computational studies of atomically thin metallenes” is held on Friday 6.6.2025 at 12.00 in the lecture hall FYS1 in Ylistönrinne. The opponent will be professor Arkady Krasheninnikov (Helmholz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorff, Germany) and custos is professor Pekka Koskinen (Ģֱ). The defense will be held in English.
The dissertation “Computational studies of atomically thin metallenes” is available in the JYX publication archive: a
