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Individuals often perceive quantum materials — whose characteristics stem from quantum mechanical phenomena — as unusual oddities. However, some quantum materials have integrated into our computer hard drives, television displays, and healthcare equipment. Yet, the vast majority of quantum materials remain largely unproductive outside laboratory environments.

What differentiates certain quantum materials as commercial triumphs while rendering others commercially insignificant? If researchers were aware, they could concentrate their efforts on more promising materials — a considerable concern since they might invest years researching a single substance.

Recently, MIT researchers have created a system for assessing the scalability potential of quantum materials. Their model merges a material’s quantum behavior with aspects such as cost, supply chain robustness, ecological impact, and additional criteria. Utilizing their framework, the researchers evaluated over 16,000 materials, discovering that those exhibiting the highest quantum fluctuations within their electrons tend to be pricier and more environmentally harmful. Additionally, the researchers identified a selection of materials that strike a balance between quantum capabilities and sustainability for further examination.

The team anticipates that their methodology will assist in steering the creation of more commercially feasible quantum materials applicable in next-generation microelectronics, energy harvesting solutions, medical diagnostics, and beyond.

“Individuals investigating quantum materials tend to concentrate intensely on their traits and quantum mechanics,” mentions Mingda Li, associate professor of nuclear science and engineering and the senior author of the study. “For some reason, there is a natural hesitance during foundational materials research to consider costs and other elements. Some have told me they believe those aspects are too ‘soft’ or unrelated to science. However, I believe that within a decade, individuals will regularly contemplate costs and environmental implications at every development stage.”

The publication appears in Materials Today. Lin is joined in the paper by co-first authors and Ph.D. candidates Artittaya Boonkird, Mouyang Cheng, and Abhijatmedhi Chotrattanapituk, along with Ph.D. students Denisse Cordova Carrizales and Ryotaro Okabe; former graduate research assistants Thanh Nguyen and Nathan Drucker; postdoctoral researcher Manasi Mandal; Instructor Ellan Spero from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE); Professor Christine Ortiz from the DMSE; Professor Liang Fu from the Department of Physics; Professor Tomas Palacios from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS); Associate Professor Farnaz Niroui of EECS; Assistant Professor Jingjie Yeo from Cornell University; and Ph.D. student Vsevolod Belosevich and Assistant Professor Qiong Ma of Boston College.

Materials with Influence

Cheng and Boonkird observe that materials science researchers often gravitate toward quantum materials with the most unique quantum characteristics instead of those likely to be utilized in transformative products.

“Researchers frequently overlook the costs or ecological repercussions of the materials they investigate,” Cheng remarks. “Yet those factors can render them impractical for application.”

Li and his colleagues aimed to assist researchers in concentrating on quantum materials with greater potential for industry adoption. For this investigation, they established evaluation methods for factors such as the materials’ cost and ecological impact based on their components and typical practices for extracting and processing those components. Simultaneously, they measured the materials’ “quantumness” using an AI model developed by the same team last year, founded on a concept proposed by MIT physics professor Liang Fu, known as quantum weight.

“For an extended period, it has been uncertain how to quantify a material’s quantumness,” Fu states. “Quantum weight proves very beneficial for this purpose. Essentially, the greater the quantum weight of a material, the more quantum it is.”

The researchers concentrated on a category of quantum materials with unique electronic properties designated as topological materials, ultimately assigning scores for environmental influence, cost, import adaptability, and more to over 16,000 materials.

For the first time, the researchers uncovered a robust connection between the material’s quantum weight and its expense and environmental impact.

“That insight is valuable because the industry is genuinely searching for exceedingly low-cost options,” Spero notes. “We understand what we ought to seek: materials with high quantum weight and low expense. Very few materials currently being developed fulfill that criterion, which likely clarifies why they don’t transition to industry.”

The researchers pinpointed 200 environmentally responsible materials and further narrowed the list down to 31 candidate materials that achieved an optimal equilibrium of quantum functionality and high-impact potential.

They also discovered that numerous commonly researched materials exhibit high environmental impact scores, suggesting that they will be challenging to scale sustainably. “Considering the feasibility of manufacturing and ecological availability and impact is vital for ensuring the practical adoption of these materials in emerging technologies,” Niroui states.

Steering Research

Many of the topological materials examined in the publication have never been synthesized, which restricted the precision of the study’s environmental and cost forecasts. Nevertheless, the authors claim that researchers are already collaborating with companies to investigate some of the promising materials highlighted in the paper.

“We have spoken with representatives from semiconductor companies who noted that some of these materials were highly intriguing to them, and our chemist colleagues also pointed out several materials they find captivating through this work,” Palacios mentions. “Now, we aim to experimentally investigate these more affordable topological materials to gain a deeper understanding of their performance.”

“Solar cells have an efficiency ceiling of 34 percent, but numerous topological materials boast a theoretical limit of 89 percent. Furthermore, you can harvest energy across all electromagnetic bands, including our bodily heat,” Fu explains. “If we could attain those limits, charging your cell phone using body heat would be effortless. These are performances demonstrated in laboratories but have never been scalable. That’s the direction we’re trying to advance.”

This research was partially funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

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