Topological insulators were first synthesized in a laboratory in 2008.
Notes on verification
Multiple independent high-quality sources (PNAS, Nature Reviews Physics, arXiv review, IEEE Spectrum) confirm the 2008 experimental discovery/synthesis of the first 3D topological insulator (bismuth antimonide), following theoretical predictions from 2005-2007.
Sources
- Physicists Discover World's First Naturally Occurring Topological Insulator (technologyreview.com)
- https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1611504113 (pnas.org)
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s42254-023-00587-y (nature.com)
- https://arxiv.org/pdf/1002.3895 (arxiv.org)
- https://spectrum.ieee.org/topological-insulators (spectrum.ieee.org)