The investigators’ use of an amino acid is a rare example of inorganic materials chemists using molecular chemistry to modulate electronic behavior of inorganic crystals. The findings may open up the design space for advanced materials to include other molecules of life.

The researchers’ next steps will seek to advance understanding of both the material and the method.

With further development, the tantalum disulfide-arginine combo could provide the basis for new technologies such as energy-efficient computer memory. That would be an entirely new type of storage based in quantum properties, instead of the electrons that are the basis for traditional electronics.