China Synthesizes World’s Longest Single-Atom Metal Wire

Chinese scientists have achieved a major breakthrough in nanotechnology, synthesizing the world’s longest single-atom diameter metal wire and breaking the micrometer scale for the first time. The achievement, published in the journal Science on August 21, was reported by Xinhua News.

The Breakthrough

A research team led by Li Kuo at the Beijing High Pressure Science Research Center, in collaboration with Nankai University and Peking University, successfully synthesized micrometer-length, atomically-thin, structurally stable carbon-encapsulated single metal atom chains using a novel high-pressure solid-state topochemical polymerization strategy.

Single metal atom chains represent the world’s “thinnest one-dimensional metal wires,” with a diameter of just one atom. They serve as ideal subjects for scientists exploring low-dimensional physical phenomena at the microscopic scale. According to Xinhua, if scaled proportionally by diameter and length, this single-atom wire is equivalent to a 4-meter household copper wire.

Overcoming Longstanding Challenges

The development of such materials has long faced significant obstacles. As Li Kuo explained, some preparation methods could only be achieved under ultra-high vacuum conditions and were easily damaged once removed from that environment, while other methods could produce stable, batch-preparable samples but with limited atomic chain length. Chain length, stability, and batch preparation were difficult to achieve simultaneously, constraining the potential for both basic research and applications.

To overcome these challenges, the team developed an innovative approach. “Just like putting a sturdy ‘protective sleeve’ on a fragile thin wire, we selected β-copper phthalocyanine crystals as the raw material,” Li said. “Using high pressure to precisely compress molecular spacing, once critical conditions are reached, the molecular rings on the periphery of the raw material connect and polymerize, forming a dense, sturdy carbonaceous ‘protective sheath’ that firmly wraps and locks the neatly arranged copper atoms inside.”

Technical Achievement

The key breakthrough lies in pushing the preparation limit of single metal atom chains to the micrometer scale. Using a Paris-Edinburgh press, the team batch-produced large-sized carbon-coated copper single-atom chain single crystals. After peeling, the single atomic chain length exceeds 1 micrometer, connecting more than 4,000 copper atoms in series—a chain length improvement of more than two orders of magnitude (100x) compared to previously prepared samples internationally.

The method is also generalizable to other metals including cobalt, nickel, and zinc, as IT之家 reported.

Expert Perspectives

Mao Heguang, a world-renowned high-pressure scientist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, highlighted the broader significance of the work. “Atomically-scaled ultra-fine metal wires are expected to provide brand-new material options for next-generation nano-circuits, flexible wearable electronic devices, and more,” he said, “opening new paths for China’s research and development of novel low-dimensional functional materials.”

Building on a Track Record

The achievement builds on the team’s previous work in high-pressure materials synthesis. In December 2025, Li Kuo and Zheng Haiyan’s team at the Beijing High Pressure Science Research Center, in collaboration with Tsinghua University, successfully synthesized hundred-micrometer-scale diamond nanowire single crystals—the largest reported at that time—as reported in December 2025.

Implications and Outlook

The breakthrough has significant implications for next-generation nano-circuits, flexible wearable electronic devices, and novel low-dimensional functional materials. The ability to produce stable, batch-preparable single-atom wires at micrometer scale represents a critical step toward practical applications in advanced electronics and quantum technologies.

The research also highlights China’s growing capability in high-pressure science as a tool for materials discovery. As the team continues to refine and expand the method to other metals, the potential applications in next-generation electronics and materials science continue to grow. The China Daily also reported on the breakthrough, confirming the significance of this achievement for the international scientific community.

What to watch for next: whether the team can further extend chain lengths, expand the method to additional metals, and translate these atomically-precise wires into functional devices that could reshape the future of nano-electronics.