2D oxide flakes pick up surprise electrical properties

Researchers at Rice University have found evidence of piezoelectricity in lab-grown, two-dimensional flakes of molybdenum dioxide that are less than 10 nanometers thick. Piezoelectricity is a property of materials that respond to stress by generating an electric voltage across their surfaces or generate mechanical strain in response to an applied electric field. The researchers found that the surprise electrical properties are due to electrons trapped in defects throughout the material.