Layer-dependent electronic and structural properties of emerging graphitic carbon boron compound C3B are investigated using both density functional theory and the GW approximation. We discover that, in contrast to a moderate quasiparticle band gap of 2.55 eV for monolayer C3B, the calculated quasiparticle band gap of perfectly stacked bulk phase C3B is as small as 0.17 eV. Therefore, our results suggest that layered material C3B exhibits a remarkably large band gap renormalization of over 2.3 eV due to the interlayer coupling and screening effects, providing a single material with an extraordinary band gap tunability. The quasiparticle band gap of monolayer C3B is also over 1.0 eV larger than that of C3N, a closely related two-dimensional semiconductor. Detailed inspections of the near-edge electronic states reveal that the conduction and valence band edges of C3B are formed by out-of-plane and in-plane electronic states, respectively, suggesting an interesting possibility of tuning the band edges of such layered material separately by modulating the in-plane and out-of-plane interactions.
The interplay between dimensionality and various phases of matter is a central inquiry in condensed matter physics. New phases are often discovered through spontaneously broken symmetry. Understanding the dimensionality of superconductivity in the high-temperature cuprate analogue $-$ layered nickelates and revealing a new symmetry-breaking state are the keys to deciphering the underlying pairing mechanism. Here, we demonstrate the highly-tunable dimensionality and a broken rotational symmetry state in the superconductivity of square-planar layered nickelates. The superconducting state, probed…
Core-level spectra of the Mn-doped Sr3Ru2O7 and Srn+1RunO3n+1 (n = 1, 2 and 3) crystals are investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Doping of Mn to Sr3Ru2O7 considerably affects the distribution of core-level spectral weight. The satellite of Ru 3d core levels exhibits a substantial change with doping, indicating an enhanced electron localization across the doping- induced metal-insulator transition. However, the Ru 3p core levels remain identical with Mn-doping, thus showing no sign of doping-induced multiple Ru valences. In the Srn+1RunO3n+1 (n = 1, 2 and 3), the Ru 3d core-level…
It is of critical importance to understand the mechanical properties change of electrode materials during lithium intercalation in the mechanical design of Li-ion batteries, for the purpose of the high reliability and safety in their applications. Here, we investigated the mechanical properties of both bulk and single layer phosphorus during the lithium intercalation process by using the first-principles calculations. Our results show that the Young's modulus of bulk and layered phosphorus strongly depends on the lithium intercalation. The mechanical bearing capacities, such as critical strain…
The crystal structure of layered metal IrTe2 is determined using single-crystal x-ray diffraction. At T=220 K, it exhibits Ir and Te dimers forming a valence-bond crystal. Electronic structure calculations reveal an intriguing quasi-two-dimensional electronic state, with planes of reduced density of states cutting diagonally through the Ir and Te layers. These planes are formed by the Ir and Te dimers, which exhibit a signature of covalent bonding character development. Evidence for significant charge disproportionation among the dimerized and non-dimerized Ir (charge order) is also presented.
Materials composed of two dimensional layers bonded to one another through weak van der Waals interactions often exhibit strongly anisotropic behaviors and can be cleaved into very thin specimens and sometimes into monolayer crystals. Interest in such materials is driven by the study of low dimensional physics and the design of functional heterostructures. Binary compounds with the compositions MX2 and MX3 where M is a metal cation and X is a halogen anion often form such structures. Magnetism can be incorporated by choosing a transition metal with a partially filled d-shell for M, enabling fe…
Nanostructured materials have emerged as an alternative to enhance the figure of merit (ZT) of thermoelectric (TE) devices. Graphene exhibits a high electrical conductivity (in-plane) that is necessary for a high ZT; however, this effect is countered by its impressive thermal conductivity. In this work TE layered devices composed of electrochemically exfoliated graphene (EEG) and a phonon blocking material such as poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), polyaniline (PANI) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) at the interface were prepared. The figure of merit, ZT, of each…
Technological advancement towards the quantum era requires secure communication, quantum computation, and ultra-sensitive sensing capabilities. Layered quantum materials (LQMs) have remarkable optoelectronic and quantum properties that can usher us into the quantum era. Electron microscopy is the tool of choice for measuring these LQMs at an atomic and nanometer scale. On the other hand, electron-irradiation of LQMs can modify various material properties, including the creation of structural defects. We review different types of structural defects, as well as electron elastic- and inelastic-sc…
Building on discoveries in graphene and two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides, van der Waals (VdW) layered heterostructures - stacks of such 2D materials - are being extensively explored with resulting new discoveries of novel electronic and magnetic properties in the ultrathin limit. Here we review a class of naturally occurring heterostructures - so called misfits - that combine disparate VdW layers with complex stacking. Exhibiting remarkable structural complexity and diversity of phenomena, misfits provide a platform on which to systematically explore the energetics and loc…
Optical conductivity of layered topological semimetal TaNiTe$_5$
University of Zagreb（萨格勒布大学）；TU Wien（维也纳工业大学）；University of Fribourg（弗里堡大学）；University of West Bohemia in Pilsen（比尔森西波希米亚大学）；Brookhaven National Laboratory（布鲁克海文国家实验室）
Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials, transition metal dichalcogenides and black phosphorus, have attracted much interest from the viewpoints of fundamental physics and device applications. The establishment of new functionalities in anisotropic layered 2D materials is a challenging but rewarding frontier, owing to their remarkable optical properties and prospects for new devices. Here, we report the anisotropic optical properties of layered 2D monochalcogenide of germanium sulfide (GeS). Three Raman scattering peaks corresponding to the B3g, A1g, and A2g modes with strong polarization depen…
A broad family of the nowadays studied low-dimensional systems, including 2D materials, demonstrate many fascinating properties, which however depend on the atomic composition as well as on the system dimensionality. Therefore, the studies of the electronic correlation effects in the new 2D materials is of paramount importance for the understanding of their transport, optical and catalytic properties. Here, by means of electron spectroscopy methods in combination with density functional theory calculations we investigate the electronic structure of a new layered van der Waals FePX$_3$ (X: S, S…
The remarkable properties of layered materials such as MoS2 strongly depend on their dimensionality. Beyond manipulating their dimensions, it has been predicted that the electronic properties of MoS2 can also be tailored by carefully selecting the type of edge sites exposed. However, achieving full control over the type of exposed edge sites while simultaneously modifying the dimensionality of the nanostructures is highly challenging. Here we adopt a topdown approach based on focus ion beam in order to selectively pattern the exposed edge sites. This strategy allows us to select either the arm…
Microstructured honeycomb materials may exhibit exotic, extreme and tailorable mechanical properties, suited for innovative technological applications in a variety of modern engineering fields. The paper is focused on analysing the directional auxeticity of tetrachiral materials, through analytical, numerical and experimental methods. Theoretical predictions about the global elastic properties have been successfully validated by performing tensile laboratory tests on tetrachiral samples, realized with high precision 3D printing technologies. Inspired by the kinematic behaviour of the tetrachir…
Two-dimensional (2D) materials with puckered layer morphology are promising candidates for next-generation opto-electronics devices owing to their anisotropic response to external perturbations and wide band gap tunability with the number of layers. Among them, PdSe2 is an emerging 2D transition-metal dichalcogenide with band gap ranging from 1.3 eV in the monolayer to a predicted semimetallic behavior in the bulk. Here we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to explore the electronic band structure of PdSe2 with energy and momentum resolution. Our measurements reveal the semiconducti…
The cascade of electronic phases in CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ raises the prospect to disentangle their mutual interactions in a clean, strongly interacting Kagome lattice. When the Kagome planes are stacked into a crystal, its electronic dimensionality encodes how much of the Kagome physics and its topological aspects survive. The layered structure of CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ reflects in Brillouin-zone-sized quasi-2D Fermi surfaces and a significant transport anisotropy. Yet here we demonstrate that CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ is a three-dimensional metal within the charge-density-wave (CDW) state. Small 3D pockets play a crucial…
Composition-dependent Thin-film Synthesis of Layered Ternary Iron Nitrides FeMN2 (M = W, Mo)
National Laboratory of the Rockies（落基山国家实验室）；Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)（韩国科学技术院）；Stanford University（斯坦福大学）；Colorado School of Mines（科罗拉多矿业学院）；Idaho National Laboratory（爱达荷国家实验室）
We report the crystal growth and structural and electronic properties of superconducting, van der Waals layered PtTe. Easily cleavable crystals with a plate-like morphology consistent with the layered structure were grown from a platinum rich flux. A consistent determination of $T_c = 0.57$ K is made from the onset of diamagnetism, the zero of resistivity, and the midpoint of the heat capacity jump. The observed behavior is consistent with type-II superconductivity, with upper critical field at $T=0$ estimated using the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg theory to be 143 and 65 Oe for fields out of a…
Polymorph Engineering of the Layered Rare-Earth Magnet GdAlGe
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”（库尔恰托夫国家研究中心）；Far Eastern Federal University（远东联邦大学）；Institute of High Technologies and Advanced Materials, Far Eastern Federal University（远东联邦大学高等技术与先进材料研究所）；Institute of Automation and Control Processes FEB RAS（俄罗斯科学院远东分院自动化与控制过程研究所）；Kirensky Institute of Physics, Federal Research Center KSC SB RAS（基连斯基物理研究所，俄罗斯科学院西伯利亚分院科马罗夫科学中心联邦研究中心）
The layered WHM - type (W=Zr/Hf/La, H=Si/Ge/Sn/Sb, M=S/Se/Te) materials represent a large family of topological semimetals, which provides an excellent platform to study the evolution of topological semimetal state with the fine tuning of spin-orbit coupling and structural dimensionality for various combinations of W, H and M elements. In this work, through high field de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) quantum oscillation studies, we have found evidence for the predicted topological non-trivial bands in ZrSnTe. Furthermore, from the angular dependence of quantum oscillation frequency, we have revealed …
We have performed 31P-NMR measurements of the c-axis-aligned poly-crystal Ce(Ru1-xFex)PO with a two-dimensional layered structure in order to understand the origin of TCurie suppression by Fe substitution. The variation in the magnetic-fluctuation character with respect to x is investigated from the in-plane and out-of plane fluctuations and the relationship between the static spin susceptibility and the in-plane fluctuation. It was found that three-dimensional ferromagnetic (FM) correlations are dominant and give rise to the FM ordering in CeRuPO. The out-of-plane fluctuations are significant…
The isolation of graphene and transition metal dichalcongenides has opened a veritable world to a great number of layered materials which can be exfoliated, manipulated, and stacked or combined at will. With continued explorations expanding to include other layered materials with unique attributes, it is becoming clear that no one material will fill all the post-silicon era requirements. Here we review the properties and applications of layered, quasi-one dimensional transition metal trichalcogenides (TMTCs) as novel materials for next generation electronics and optoelectronics. The TMTCs pres…
The study of atomically thin two-dimensional materials is a young and rapidly growing field. In the past years, a great advance in the study of the remarkable electrical and optical properties of 2D materials fabricated by exfoliation of bulk layered materials has been achieved. Due to the extraordinary mechanical properties of these atomically thin materials, they also hold a great promise for future applications such as flexible electronics. For example, this family of materials can sustain very large deformations without breaking. Due to the combination of small dimensions, high Young's mod…
The last decade has seen intense research in materials with reduced dimensionality. The low dimensionality leads to interesting electronic behavior due to electronic confinement and reduced screening. The investigations have to a large extent focused on 2D materials both in their bulk form, as individual layers a few atoms thick, and through stacking of 2D layers into heterostructures. The identification of low-dimensional compounds is therefore of key interest. Here, we perform a geometric analysis of material structures, demonstrating a strong clustering of materials depending on their dimen…
Electronic and topological properties of materials are derived from the interplay between crystalline symmetry and dimensionality. Simultaneously introducing 'forbidden' symmetries via quasiperiodic ordering with low-dimensionality into a material system promises the emergence of new physical phenomena. Here, we isolate a two-dimensional chalcogenide quasicrystal and approximant, and investigate associated electronic and topological properties. Ultra-thin two-dimensional layers of the materials with a composition close to Ta1.6Te, derived from a layered transition metal dichalcogenide, are iso…
We report piezo-response force microscopy studies of the static and dynamic properties of domain walls (DWs) in 11 to 36 nm thick films of crystalline ferroelectric poly(vinylidene-fluoride-trifluorethylene). The DW roughness exponent ζ ranges from 0.39 to 0.48 and the DW creep exponent μ varies from 0.20 to 0.28, revealing an unexpected effective dimensionality of ~1.5 that is independent of film thickness. Our results suggest predominantly 2D ferroelectricity in the layered polymer and we attribute the fractal dimensionality to DW deroughening due to the correlations between the in-plane and…
Exotic phenomenon can be achieved in quantum materials by confining electronic states into two dimensions. For example, relativistic fermions are realised in a single layer of carbon atoms, the quantized Hall effect can result from two-dimensional (2D) systems, and the superconducting transition temperature can be enhanced significantly in a one-atomic-layer material. Ordinarily, 2D electronic system can be obtained by exfoliating the layered materials, growing monolayer materials on substrates, or establishing interfaces between different materials. Herein, we use femtosecond infrared laser p…
Correlated quantum phenomena in one-dimensional (1D) systems that exhibit competing electronic and magnetic order are of strong interest for studying fundamental interactions and excitations, such as Tomonaga-Luttinger liquids and topological orders and defects with properties completely different from the quasiparticles expected in their higher-dimensional counterparts. However, clean 1D electronic systems are difficult to realize experimentally, particularly magnetically ordered systems. Here, we show that the van der Waals layered magnetic semiconductor CrSBr behaves like a quasi-1D materia…
From layered 2D carbon to 3D tetrahedral original allotropes C12 and C18 with physical properties related to diamond: Crystal chemistry and DFT investigations
Since the discovery of graphene, layered materials have attracted extensive interests owing to their unique electronic and optical characteristics. Among them, Dirac semimetal, one of the most appealing categories, has been a long-sought objective in layered systems beyond graphene. Recently, layered pentatelluride ZrTe5 was found to host signatures of Dirac semimetal. However, the low Fermi level in ZrTe5 strongly hinders a comprehensive understanding of the whole picture of electronic states through photoemission measurements, especially in the conduction band. Here, we report the observatio…
We use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) to probe the propagation of plasmons in the electron-doped cuprate superconductor Sr$_{0.9}$La$_{0.1}$CuO$_2$ (SLCO). We detect a plasmon gap of $\sim$~120 meV at the two-dimensional Brillouin zone center, indicating that low-energy plasmons in SLCO are not strictly acoustic. The plasmon dispersion, including the gap, is accurately captured by layered $t$-$J$-$V$ model calculations. A similar analysis performed on recent RIXS data from other cuprates suggests that the plasmon gap is generic and its size is related to the magnitude of the interl…
Layered transition metal dichalcogenides have rich phase diagram and they feature two dimensionality on numerous physical properties. Co1/3NbS2 is one of the newest members of this family where Co atoms are intercalated into the Van der Waals gaps between NbS2 layers. We study the three-dimensional electronic band structure of Co1/3NbS2 using both surface and bulk sensitive angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We show that the electronic bands do not fit into the rigid-band-shift picture after the Co intercalation. Instead, Co1/3NbS2 displays a different orbital character near the Fermi …
