Antimonene Archives — 2D Research

A First-Principles Study on the Adsorption of Small Molecules on Arsenene: Comparison of Oxidation Kinetics in Arsenene, Antimonene, Phosphorene and InSe. (arXiv:2203.12218v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2022-03-24T02:29:34+00:00March 24th, 2022|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Arsenene, Energy, InSe, Phosphorene|

Arsenene, a new group V two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting material beyond phosphorene and antimonene, has recently gained an increasing attention owning to its various interesting properties which can be altered or intentionally functionalized by chemical reactions with various molecules. This work provides a systematic study on the interactions of arsenene with the small molecules, including H2, NH3, O2, H2O, NO, and NO2. It is predicted that O2, H2O, NO, and NO2 are strong acceptors, while NH3 serves as a donor. Importantly, it is shown a negligible charge transfer between H2 and arsenene which is ten times lower than that between H2 and phosphorene and about thousand times lower than that between H2 and InSe and antimonene. The calculated energy barrier for O2 splitting on arsenene is found to be as low as 0.67 eV. Thus, pristine arsenene may easily oxidize in ambient conditions as other group V 2D materials. On the other hand, the acceptor role of H2O on arsenene, similarly to the cases of antimonene and InSe, may help to prevent the proton transfer between H2O and O species by forming acids, which suppresses further structural degradation of arsenene. The structural decomposition of the 2D layers upon interaction with the environment may be avoided due to the acceptor role of H2O molecules as the study predicts from the comparison of common group V 2D materials. However, the protection for arsenene is still required due to its strong interaction with other small environmental molecules. The present work renders the possible ways

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

High Spin-Chern-Number Insulator in $alpha$-Antimonene with a Hidden Topological Phase. (arXiv:2202.04162v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall])

admin2022-02-10T04:30:54+00:00February 10th, 2022|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene|

In investigating the topological electronic structures of monolayer $alpha$-phase group V elements, we uncover a new topological phase, which is invisible in the symmetry-based topological quantum chemistry (TQC) as well as symmetry indicators (SIs). Since $alpha$ phase As and Sb share the same band representations at high-symmetry points, they are both trivial insulators in terms of TQC and SIs. We demonstrate, however, that there is a topological phase transition between As and Sb that involves a band-gap closing at two $k$-points on the high-symmetry $rm{X}$-$rm{Gamma}$-$rm{X}$ line. In the absence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC), As is a trivial insulator, while Sb is a Dirac semimetal with four Dirac points (DPs) located away from the high-symmetry lines. Inclusion of $S_z$-conserved SOC gaps out the Dirac points and induces a nontrivial Berry curvature and drives Sb into a high spin Chern number topological phase. The band structure of $alpha$-Bi differs from that of Sb by a band inversion at $Gamma$, transforming Bi into a Z$_2$ topological insulator. Our study shows that quantized spin Hall conductivity can serve as a topological invariant beyond Z$_2$ for characterizing topological phases.

Published : "arXiv Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics".

High Spin-Chern-Number Insulator in $alpha$-Antimonene with a Hidden Topological Phase. (arXiv:2202.04162v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall])

admin2022-02-10T02:29:14+00:00February 10th, 2022|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene|

In investigating the topological electronic structures of monolayer $alpha$-phase group V elements, we uncover a new topological phase, which is invisible in the symmetry-based topological quantum chemistry (TQC) as well as symmetry indicators (SIs). Since $alpha$ phase As and Sb share the same band representations at high-symmetry points, they are both trivial insulators in terms of TQC and SIs. We demonstrate, however, that there is a topological phase transition between As and Sb that involves a band-gap closing at two $k$-points on the high-symmetry $rm{X}$-$rm{Gamma}$-$rm{X}$ line. In the absence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC), As is a trivial insulator, while Sb is a Dirac semimetal with four Dirac points (DPs) located away from the high-symmetry lines. Inclusion of $S_z$-conserved SOC gaps out the Dirac points and induces a nontrivial Berry curvature and drives Sb into a high spin Chern number topological phase. The band structure of $alpha$-Bi differs from that of Sb by a band inversion at $Gamma$, transforming Bi into a Z$_2$ topological insulator. Our study shows that quantized spin Hall conductivity can serve as a topological invariant beyond Z$_2$ for characterizing topological phases.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

Doubled Quantum Spin Hall Effect with High-Spin Chern Number in $alpha$-Antimonene and $alpha$-Bismuthene. (arXiv:2202.02969v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2022-02-08T05:29:32+00:00February 8th, 2022|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Energy|

The discovery of quantum spin Hall effect has ignited the field of topological physics with vast variety of exotic properties. Here, we present the emergence of doubled quantum spin Hall effect in two dimensions characterized with a high spin Chern number of ${mathcal C_S}=2$ and two pairs of helical edge states. Although is overlooked and invisible in topological quantum chemistry and symmetry indicator theory, the already experimentally synthesized $alpha$-antimonene and $alpha$-bismuthene are revealed as realistic material candidates of predicted topological states with band inversions emerging at generic $k$-points, rather than the high-symmetry momenta. Remarkably, the nontrivial energy gap can be as large as 464 meV for $alpha$-bismuthene, indicating the high possibility of room-temperature observation of the doubled quantum spin Hall effect. Moreover, a four-band effective model is constructed to demonstrate further the feasibility of attaining this type of nontrivial topology. Our results not only uncover a novel topological character of antimony and bismuth, but will also facilitate the experimental characterization of the previously overlooked hidden topology.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

Doubled Quantum Spin Hall Effect with High-Spin Chern Number in $alpha$-Antimonene and $alpha$-Bismuthene. (arXiv:2202.02969v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2022-02-08T04:30:24+00:00February 8th, 2022|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Energy|

The discovery of quantum spin Hall effect has ignited the field of topological physics with vast variety of exotic properties. Here, we present the emergence of doubled quantum spin Hall effect in two dimensions characterized with a high spin Chern number of ${mathcal C_S}=2$ and two pairs of helical edge states. Although is overlooked and invisible in topological quantum chemistry and symmetry indicator theory, the already experimentally synthesized $alpha$-antimonene and $alpha$-bismuthene are revealed as realistic material candidates of predicted topological states with band inversions emerging at generic $k$-points, rather than the high-symmetry momenta. Remarkably, the nontrivial energy gap can be as large as 464 meV for $alpha$-bismuthene, indicating the high possibility of room-temperature observation of the doubled quantum spin Hall effect. Moreover, a four-band effective model is constructed to demonstrate further the feasibility of attaining this type of nontrivial topology. Our results not only uncover a novel topological character of antimony and bismuth, but will also facilitate the experimental characterization of the previously overlooked hidden topology.

Published : "arXiv Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics".

Extending Channel Scaling Limit of p-MOSFETs Through Antimonene With Heavy Effective Mass and High Density of State

admin2022-02-04T15:20:03+00:00February 4th, 2022|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Energy|

Conventional silicon-based transistor downscaling is approaching its physical limits, and thus additional novel solutions are urgently desired to address this issue. Herein, we show that 2-D antimonene with heavy effective mass and high density of state (DOS) via strain engineering presents reliable transistor performance with the channel length ( ${L}_{text {ch}}$ ) shrinking below 5 nm. As the biaxial tensile strain increases to 7%, the band switching gives rise to a heavy hole effective mass of $12.6{m}_{{0}}$ and a Van Hoff singularity-like DOS. This unique electronic structure can effectively suppress the tunneling current, resulting in steep subthreshold swings (SSs) and ideal ON-current ( ${I}_{ mathrm{ON}}$ ). Especially, as ${L}_{text {ch}}$ downscales to 2.2 nm, the OFF-current can be easily reduced to 0.1 $mu text{A}/mu text{m}$ with SS of 120 mV/dec (310 mV/dec for pristine antimonene) and ${I}_{ mathrm{ON}}$ exceeds 900 $mu text{A}/mu text{m}$ , fulfilling the requirements for high-performance applications. Our results provide new insights on extending the scaling limit in energy-efficient gate-controlled devices.

Published in: "IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices".

Highly stable electronic properties of rippled antimonene under compressive deformation. (arXiv:2201.10903v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2022-01-27T02:29:20+00:00January 27th, 2022|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene|

Antimonene has attracted much attention for its high carrier mobility and suitable band gap for electronic, optoelectronic, and even spintronic devices. To tailor its properties for such applications, strain engineering may be adopted. However, such 2D crystals may prefer to exist in the rippled form due to the instability of long-range orders, and rippling has been shown to have a contrasting, significant impact on the electronic properties of various 2D materials, which complicates the tuning process. Hence, the effects of rippling on the electronic properties of antimonene under strain are herein investigated by comparing antimonene in its rippled and flat forms. DFT calculations are performed to compute the structural and electronic parameters, where uniaxial compression of up to 7.5% is applied along the armchair and zigzag directions to study the anisotropic behavior of the material. Highly stable properties such as the work function and band gap are obtained for the rippled structures, where they are fully relaxed, regardless of the compression level, and these properties do not deviate much from those of the pristine structure under no strain. In contrast, various changes are observed in their flat counterparts. The mechanisms behind the different results are thoroughly explained by analyses of the density of states and structure geometry. The out-of-plane dipole moments of the rippled structures are also presented to give further insights into potential applications of rippled antimonene in sensors, actuators, triboelectric nanogenerators, etc. This work presents extensive data and thorough analysis on the effect of rippling on antimonene. The

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

Phase-dependent epitaxy for antimonene growth on silver substrate. (arXiv:2112.07119v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2021-12-15T02:29:21+00:00December 15th, 2021|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene|

Antimonene is a novel two-dimensional topological semiconductor material with strain driven tunable electronic structure for future electronic and spintronic devices, but the growth of clean antimonene is not fully understood. In this work, the growth process of antimonene on silver substrate has been studied in detail by using density functional theory and particle swarm optimization algorithms. The results show that, in addition to the experimental reported flat honeycomb and $beta$-phase antimonene, $alpha$-phase antimonene was observed to be able to grow on thus substrates, and the phases of antimonene were deeply dependent on the reconstructed supercells and surface alloys. It has been demonstrated that the surface alloys on substrate play an active role in the growth of antimonene.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

The Characterization and DFT Calculation of Antimonene on Al(111) Substrate. (arXiv:2112.05424v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2021-12-13T02:29:57+00:00December 13th, 2021|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Energy|

The large area of high-quality Honeycomb lattice and Kagome lattice of antimony structure can be formed automatically on Al(111) substrate in room temperature by molecular beam epitaxy(MBE).Different phases occured with the increased of deposition time can be investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy(STM) combined with high electron energy diffractometer(RHEED),and the changes of each components are characterlized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The 2D topological edge state of antimonene can be measured by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy(ARPES) in experimental,and the electronic structures are further verified by the caculation of first-principles density functional theory(DFT).

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

Observation of Unpinned Two-Dimensional Dirac States in Antimony Single Layers with Phosphorene Structure. (arXiv:2110.04907v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall])

admin2021-10-12T02:30:14+00:00October 12th, 2021|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Energy, Graphene, Phosphorene|

The discovery of graphene has stimulated enormous interest in two-dimensional (2D) electron gas with linear band structure. 2D Dirac materials possess many intriguing physical properties such as high carrier mobility and zero-energy Landau level thanks to the relativistic dispersion and chiral spin/pseudospin texture. 2D Dirac states discovered so far are exclusively pinned at high-symmetry points of the Brillouin zone, for example, surface Dirac states at $overline{Gamma}$ in topological insulators Bi$_2$Se(Te)$_3$ and Dirac cones at $K$ and $K’$ in graphene. In this work, we report the realization of 2D Dirac states at generic $k$-points in antimony atomic layers with phosphorene structure ($i.e.$ $alpha$-antimonene). The unpinned nature enables versatile ways to control the locations of the Dirac points in momentum space. In addition, dispersions around the unpinned Dirac points exhibit intrinsically anisotropic behaviors due to the reduced symmetry of generic momentum points. These properties make the $alpha$-antimonene films a promising platform for exploring interesting physics in unpinned 2D Dirac fermions that are distinct from the conventional Dirac states in graphene.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

Few-layer antimonene electrical properties. (arXiv:2107.11218v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2021-07-26T02:29:47+00:00July 26th, 2021|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene|

Antimonene — a single layer of antimony atoms — and its few layer forms are among the latest additions to the 2D mono-elemental materials family. Numerous predictions and experimental evidence of its remarkable properties including (opto)electronic, energetic or biomedical, among others, together with its robustness under ambient conditions, have attracted the attention of the scientific community. However, experimental evidence of its electrical properties is still lacking. Here, we characterized the electronic properties of mechanically exfoliated flakes of few-layer (FL) antimonene of different thicknesses (~ 2-40 nm) through photoemission electron microscopy, kelvin probe force microscopy and transport measurements, which allows us to estimate a sheet resistance of ~ 1200 $Omega$sq$^{-1}$ and a mobility of ~ 150 cm$^2$V$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$ in ambient conditions, independent of the flake thickness. Alternatively, our theoretical calculations indicate that topologically protected surface states (TPSS) should play a key role in the electronic properties of FL antimonene, which supports our experimental findings. We anticipate our work will trigger further experimental studies on TPSS in FL antimonene thanks to its simple structure and significant stability in ambient environments.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

Optoelectronic characteristics and application of black phosphorus and its analogs. (arXiv:2102.13316v1 [physics.optics])

admin2021-03-01T02:29:26+00:00March 1st, 2021|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Graphene, In2Se3, InSe, Phosphorene|

The tunable bandgap from 0.3 eV to 2 eV of black phosphorus (BP) makes it to fill the gap in graphene. When studying the properties of BP more comprehensive, scientists have discovered that many two-dimensional materials, such as tellurene, antimonene, bismuthene, indium selenide and tin sulfide, have similar structures and properties to black phosphorus thus called black phosphorus analogs. In this review, we briefly introduce preparation methods of black phosphorus and its analogs, with emphasis on the method of mechanical exfoliation (ME), liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). And their characterization and properties according to their classification of single-element materials and multi-element materials are described. We focus on the performance of passively mode-locked fiber lasers using BP and its analogs as saturable absorbers (SA) and demonstrated this part through classification of working wavelength. Finally, we introduce the application of BP and its analogs, and discuss their future research prospects.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

Localized Wannier function based tight-binding models for two-dimensional allotropes of bismuth. (arXiv:2102.11486v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2021-02-24T02:29:21+00:00February 24th, 2021|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Arsenene|

With its monoelemental composition, various crystalline forms and an inherently strong spin-orbit coupling, bismuth has been regarded as an ideal prototype material to expand our understanding of topological electronic structures. In particular, two-dimensional bismuth thin films have attracted a growing interest due to potential applications in topological transistors and spintronics. This calls for an effective physical model to give an accurate interpretation of the novel topological phenomena shown by two-dimensional bismuth. However, the conventional semi-empirical approach of adapting bulk bismuth hoppings fails to capture the topological features of two-dimensional bismuth allotropes because the electronic band topology is heavily influenced by crystalline symmetries as well as atom spacings. Here we provide a new parameterization using localized Wannier functions derived from the Bloch states in first-principles calculations. We construct new tight-binding models for three types of two-dimensional bismuth allotropes: a Bi (111) bilayer, bismuthene and a Bi(110) bilayer. We demonstrate that our tight-binding models can successfully reproduce the band structures, symmetries and topological features of these two-dimensional allotropes. We anticipate that these models can be extended to other similar two-dimensional topological structures such as antimonene and arsenene. Moreover, these models can serve as a starting point for investigating the electron/spin transport and electromagnetic response in low-dimensional topological devices.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

Dissipative Transport and Phonon Scattering Suppression via Valley Engineering in Single-Layer Antimonene and Arsenene Field-Effect Transistors. (arXiv:2101.08392v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall])

admin2021-01-22T04:30:31+00:00January 22nd, 2021|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Arsenene|

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are promising channel materials for next-generation field-effect transistors (FETs) thanks to their unique mechanical properties and enhanced electrostatic control. However, the performance of these devices can be strongly limited by the scattering processes between carriers and phonons, usually occurring at high rates in 2D materials. Here, we use quantum transport simulations calibrated on first-principle computations to report on dissipative transport in antimonene and arsenene $n$-type FETs at the scaling limit. We show that the widely-used approximations of either ballistic transport or simple acoustic deformation potential scattering result in large overestimation of the ON current, due to neglecting the dominant intervalley and optical phonon scattering processes. We also propose a strategy to improve the device performance by removing the valley degeneracy and suppressing most of the intervalley scattering channels via an uniaxial strain along the zigzag direction. The method is applicable to other similar 2D semiconductors characterized by multivalley transport.

Published : "arXiv Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics".

Observation of Symmetry-Protected Dirac States in Nonsymmorphic $alpha$-Antimonene. (arXiv:2101.05793v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall])

admin2021-01-15T04:30:17+00:00January 15th, 2021|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Graphene|

The discovery of graphene has stimulated enormous interest in two-dimensional electron gas with linear band dispersion. However, to date, 2D Dirac semimetals are still very rare due to the fact that 2D Dirac states are generally fragile against perturbations such as spin-orbit couplings. Nonsymmorphic crystal symmetries can enforce the formation of Dirac nodes, providing a new route to establishing symmetry-protected Dirac states in 2D materials. Here we report the symmetry-protected Dirac states in nonsymmorphic alpha-antimonene. The antimonene was synthesized by the method of molecular beam epitaxy. Two Dirac cones with large anisotropy were observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The Dirac state in alpha-antimonene is of spin-orbit type in contrast to the spinless Dirac states in graphene. The result extends the ‘graphene’ physics into a new family of 2D materials where spin-orbit coupling is present.

Published : "arXiv Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics".

Tuning the electronic structure of {alpha}-antimonene monolayer through interface engineering. (arXiv:2011.07204v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2020-11-17T02:29:39+00:00November 17th, 2020|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Phosphorene, WTe2|

The interfacial charge transfer from the substrate may influence the electronic structure of the epitaxial van der Waals (vdW) monolayers and thus their further technological applications. For instance, the freestanding Sb monolayer in puckered honeycomb phase ({alpha}-antimonene), the structural analog of black phosphorene, was predicted to be a semiconductor, but the epitaxial one behaves as a gapless semimetal when grown on the Td-WTe2 substrate. Here, we demonstrate that interface engineering can be applied to tune the interfacial charge transfer and thus the electron band of epitaxial monolayer. As a result, the nearly freestanding (semiconducting) {alpha}-antimonene monolayer with a band gap of ~170 meV was successfully obtained on the SnSe substrate. Furthermore, a semiconductor-semimetal crossover is observed in the bilayer {alpha}-antimonene. This study paves the way towards modifying the electron structure in two-dimensional vdW materials through interface engineering.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

CsV$_3$Sb$_5$: a $mathbb{Z}_2$ topological kagome metal with a superconducting ground state. (arXiv:2011.06745v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2020-11-16T02:29:29+00:00November 16th, 2020|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene|

Recently discovered alongside its sister compounds KV$_3$Sb$_5$ and RbV$_3$Sb$_5$, CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ crystallizes with an ideal kagome network of vanadium and antimonene layers separated by alkali metal ions. This work presents the electronic properties of CsV$_3$Sb$_5$, demonstrating bulk superconductivity in single crystals with a T$_{c} = 2.5$K. The normal state electronic structure is studied via angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and density functional theory (DFT), which categorize CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ as a $mathbb{Z}_2$ topological metal. Multiple protected Dirac crossings are predicted in close proximity to the Fermi level ($E_F$), and signatures of normal state correlation effects are also suggested by a high temperature charge density wave-like instability. The implications for the formation of unconventional superconductivity in this material are discussed.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

The Effects of vertical electric field and charged impurities on the spin-polarized transport of $beta$-antimonene armchair nanoribbons. (arXiv:2010.10288v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall])

admin2020-10-21T02:30:02+00:00October 21st, 2020|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene|

The electronic properties of antimonene, single-layer Sb, are attracting great attention. In this paper, spin transport in armchair antimonene nanoribbon (ASbNR) is investigated. Following the tight-binding model, we calculate both the transmission probability and the conductance by means of the non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) method. The effects of an external electric field vertical to the ribbon plane are explored. Our results indicate that the spin-flip rate increases with the vertical electric field. Disorder effects on spin transport are addressed by considering the presence of charged impurities. It is found that charged impurities also enhance the spin-flip rate but to a lesser extent than the out-of-plane electric field.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

Nanomechanics of Antimonene Allotropes. (arXiv:2009.08122v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2020-09-18T02:29:30+00:00September 18th, 2020|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene|

Monolayer antimonene has drawn the attention of research communities due to its promising physical properties. But mechanical properties of antimonene is still largely unexplored. In this work, we investigate the mechanical properties and fracture mechanisms of two stable phases of monolayer antimonene — the ${alpha}$ antimonene (${alpha}$-Sb) and the ${beta}$ antimonene (${beta}$-Sb), through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Our simulations reveal that stronger chiral effect results in a greater anisotropic elastic behavior in ${beta}$-antimonene than in ${alpha}$-antimonene. In this paper we focus on crack-tip stress distribution using local volume averaged virial stress definition and derive the fracture toughness from the crack-line stress. Our calculated crack tip stress distribution ensures the applicability of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) for cracked antimonene allotropes with considerable accuracy up to a pristine structure. We evaluate the effect of temperature, strain rate, crack-length and point-defect concentration on the strength and elastic properties. Tensile strength goes through significant degradation with the increment of temperature, crack length and defect percentage. Elastic modulus is less susceptible to temperature variation but is largely affected by the defect concentration. Strain rate induces a power law relation between strength and fracture strain. Finally, we discuss the fracture mechanisms in the light of crack propagation and establish the links between the fracture mechanism and the observed anisotropic properties.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".

Resolving Few-Layer Antimonene/Graphene Heterostructures. (arXiv:2009.03097v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci])

admin2020-09-08T02:29:21+00:00September 8th, 2020|Categories: Publications|Tags: Antimonene, Graphene, Heterostructures|

Two-dimensional (2D) antimony (Sb, antimonene) recently attracted interest due to its peculiar electronic properties and its suitability as anode material in next generation batteries. Sb however exhibits a large polymorphic/allotropic structural diversity, which is also influenced by the Sb’s support. Thus understanding Sb heterostructure formation is key in 2D Sb integration. Particularly 2D Sb/graphene interfaces are of prime importance as contacts in electronics and electrodes in batteries. We thus study here few-layered 2D Sb/graphene heterostructures by atomic-resolution (scanning) transmission electron microscopy. We find the co-existence of two Sb morphologies: First is a 2D growth morphology of layered beta-Sb with beta-Sb(001)||graphene(001) texture. Second are one-dimensional (1D) Sb nanowires which can be matched to beta-Sb with beta-Sb[2-21] perpendicular to graphene(001) texture and are structurally also closely related to thermodynamically non-preferred cubic Sb(001)||graphene(001). Importantly, both Sb morphologies show rotational van-der-Waals epitaxy with the graphene support. Both Sb morphologies are well resilient against environmental bulk oxidation, although superficial Sb-oxide layer formation merits consideration, including formation of novel epitaxial Sb2O3(111)/beta-Sb(001) heterostructures. Exact Sb growth behavior is sensitive on employed processing and substrate properties including, notably, the nature of the support underneath the direct graphene support. This introduces the substrate underneath a direct 2D support as a key parameter in 2D Sb heterostructure formation. Our work provides insights into the rich phase and epitaxy landscape in 2D Sb and 2D Sb/graphene heterostructures.

Published in: "arXiv Material Science".