Accurately tuning the band gap of selenium by changing the diameter of the nanowire could lead to the design of a variety of customized electronic devices using only a single element.

This approach allowed us to create a new phase diagram that connects the atomic structure of selenium to the diameter of the nanowires.’ ...

This is possible for selenium because the phenomenon of quantum confinement can be effectively balanced by distortions in the atomic structure, thus allowing the band gap to remain within a useful ...