Like the composition and structure of materials,size(dimension and scale)can also regulate material properties.For example,the 2010 and 2023 Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry respectively awarded groundbreaking work in two-dimensional materials and colloidal quantum dots,highlighting the importance of material dimensions and scales.
  The Zhang Yong team of the National Nanoscience Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is committed to the physical preparation and performance research of very small scale materials.In the early stage,a binary collaborative ball milling method was proposed to push the ball milling limit to the quantum scale;Developed full physics methods to achieve universal and large-scale preparation of quantum scale materials.Compared to the narrow method(salt assisted ball milling),the broad method(silicon ball assisted ball milling)has more advantages.Layered materials,non layered materials,non planar layered materials,non van der Waals layered materials,etc.can all achieve quantum scale through generalized methods.In terms of performance research,researchers have revealed the variation of material properties(fluorescence,nonlinear optics,electrocatalysis,carrier dynamics)with material size;Achieved the highest recorded nonlinear saturation absorption performance in the visible light band,as well as ultra-high response and ultra-low power excitation of nonlinear saturation absorption.
  Recently,the team and collaborators proposed a ternary collaborative ball milling method,which pushed the ball milling limit to the sub nanometer scale and achieved universal preparation of sub nanometer materials.The researchers focused on transition metal disulfide compounds and established the effectiveness of the ternary synergistic ball milling method.The yield of single cycle preparation is 7.2 wt%(molybdenum disulfide)and 4.8 wt%(tungsten disulfide),respectively.The obtained sub nano molybdenum disulfide/tungsten disulfide has lateral dimensions of approximately 0.44nm and 0.47nm,and thicknesses of approximately 0.55nm and 0.61nm,confirming its sub nano scale.Compared with nanoscale and quantum scale,sub nanoscale can greatly enhance the fluorescence and nonlinear optical properties of materials.This study focuses on graphite and establishes the universality of the ternary synergistic ball milling method;By the same operation,the yield of single cycle preparation was 2.3 wt%,and the resulting sub nano graphene had a lateral size of about 0.54nm and a thickness of about 0.37nm,confirming its sub nano scale(broken single cell state).Considering the mechanical/mechanical properties of the above preparation strategy and the known highest fracture strength of single-layer graphene,the successful preparation of sub nano graphene demonstrates the high universality of this strategy.The implementation of universal preparation of sub nanomaterials demonstrates the ultimate ability of top-down physical manufacturing and the true potential of breaking lattice,laying an important foundation for studying the properties and interactions of non-equilibrium sub nanomaterials,and is expected to promote the large-scale preparation and comprehensive development of sub nanomaterials.
  The relevant research results have been published in Nano Today and Advanced Materials,respectively,with the titles Sub-1 nm MoS2 and WS2 with extremely enhanced performance and Tailoring graphite into subnanometer graphene.The research work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,the Chinese Academy of Sciences'strategic leading science and technology project,and the national key research and development plan.
  Paper link:1
  Paper link:2

  Physical preparation of sub nano molybdenum disulfide/tungsten disulfide

  Physical preparation of sub nano graphene