monolayer

noun

mono·​lay·​er ˈmä-nō-ˌlā-ər 

-ˌler

: a single continuous layer or film that is one cell, molecule, or atom in thickness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2010, the group of Tony Heinz at Columbia University showed that when thinned down to a single monolayer, MoS2 becomes a highly efficient light source, 10,000 times brighter than its bulky 3-D cousin. —Andy Berger, Discover Magazine, 17 July 2015

The Langmuir–Blodgett monolayer doesn’t want to reorganize. —Scientific American Custom Media, Scientific American, 29 July 2022

The research team tested five materials: graphene, which is a simple hexagonal array format of carbon; molybdenum sulfide in monolayer form, and three MOF membranes. —Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 13 Dec. 2019

Researchers have since made monolayers of metals, semimetals, insulators and more, but magnetism was the final holdout. —Sylvia Morrow, Discover Magazine, 1 Feb. 2018

In June, Xiaodong Xu of the University of Washington published results of the first isolated monolayer magnet in Nature. —Sylvia Morrow, Discover Magazine, 1 Feb. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

monolayer

noun

mono·​lay·​er ˈmän-ō-ˌlā-ər, -ˌle(-ə)r 

: a single continuous layer or film that is one cell or molecule in thickness

monolayering

-iŋ 

noun