"Molybdenite looks similar to mica and is often found with quartz deposits. Its current uses include steel alloy blends and industrial lubricants. What the EPFL team discovered was that molybdenite is also an excellent semiconductor with a 1.8 electron-volt gap. The highly 2D naturally occurring structure of the material makes it more efficient electrically than silicon, this could result in a reduction in standby mode losses by as much as a 10^5."