Scientists Discover a New Way To Control Metals at the Atomic Scale

University of Minnesota researchers showed that changing RuO2/TiO2 film thickness can stabilize interfacial polarization and shift ruthenium dioxide’s work function by more than 1 eV.

The strongest effect appeared near 4 nanometers, revealing a powerful atomic-scale way to tune a metal’s electronic properties.

This new mechanism could help design more energy-efficient electronics, better catalysts, and future quantum technologies.