Exfoliation of Two-Dimensional Materials: The Role of Entropy

Solvent-Assisted Graphene Exfoliation from Graphite Using Umbrella Sampling Simulations

We employed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations coupled with umbrella sampling to explore the thermodynamics governing the exfoliation of a single graphene layer from a graphitic substrate in five different solvents such as dimethylacetamide (DMA), N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), cyclohexane (CHX), and water. The substrate was modeled as a stack of three identical graphene layers with the graphene sheet undergoing exfoliation positioned on top of this stack. The initial configurations for each umbrella simulation were generated through steered MD simulations carried out along two distinct coordinates: one parallel and the other perpendicular to the graphene layers. Our analyses revealed a uniform wetting behavior for both the nanosheet and the graphitic substrate in all of the tested solvents. Consistent with experimental observations, the steered simulations confirmed that exfoliation is more favorable along the parallel direction than along the perpendicular one. All non-water solvents exhibit comparable effectiveness in the exfoliation of graphene. The calculated free energies of these solvents in parallel exfoliation consistently fell within the range of 90-100 kJ/mol/nm2. In perpendicular exfoliation, however, the corresponding energies converge to lower values. This difference is attributed to the nonequilibrium nature of the perpendicular exfoliation, primarily caused by the great steering velocity of the graphene sheet immediately after detachment from the substrate. This rapid motion of the nanosheet along the perpendicular coordinate results in an elevated system energy and heating.

Mechanical Exfoliation of Multilayer Pseudohalogen-Bridged Nanosheets

The development of nanolayered materials is one of the greatest challenges in nanoscience. Until now, pseudohalogen-bridged nanosheets using the mechanical exfoliation method have not been reported. A state-of-the-art material, {[FeII(3-acetylpyridine)2][HgII(μ-SCN)4]}n (1), has been developed to achieve the goal. The compound forms a two-dimensional (2D) coordination polymer with weak out-of-plane van der Waals interactions and has an intrinsic tendency to form shear planes perpendicular to the crystallographic c-direction. These structural features predispose 1 to mechanical exfoliation realized by employing the "Scotch-tape method". As a result, nanosheets were fabricated and characterized by digital optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The nanosheets were found to have a minimum thickness of ∼15 nm and a lateral size of several micrometers. As the first example of thiocyanato-bridged coordination nanosheets, these materials extend the scope of 2D materials and potentially pave the way toward developing nanolayered materials.

A New, Thorough Look on Unusual and Neglected Group III-VI Compounds Toward Novel Perusals

The attention on group III-VI compounds in the last decades has been centered on the optoelectronic properties of indium and gallium chalcogenides. These outstanding properties are leading to novel advancements in terms of fundamental and applied science. One of the advantages of these compounds is to present laminated structures, which can be exfoliated down to monolayers. Despite the large knowledge gathered toward indium and gallium chalcogenides, the family of the group III-VI compounds embraces several other noncommon compounds formed by the other group III elements. These compounds present various crystal lattices, among which a great deal is offered from layered structures. Studies on aluminium chalcogenides show interesting potential as anodes in batteries and as semiconductors. Thallium (Tl), which is commonly present in the +1 oxidation state, is one of the key components in ternary chalcogenides. However, binary Tl-Q (Q = S, Se, Te) systems and derived films are still studied for their semiconducting and thermoelectric properties. This review aims to summarize the biggest features of these unusual materials and to shed some new light on them with the perspective that in the future, novel studies can revive these compounds in order to give rise to a new generation of technology.

The Magnetic Genome of Two-Dimensional van der Waals Materials

Magnetism in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials has recently emerged as one of the most promising areas in condensed matter research, with many exciting emerging properties and significant potential for applications ranging from topological magnonics to low-power spintronics, quantum computing, and optical communications. In the brief time after their discovery, 2D magnets have blossomed into a rich area for investigation, where fundamental concepts in magnetism are challenged by the behavior of spins that can develop at the single layer limit. However, much effort is still needed in multiple fronts before 2D magnets can be routinely used for practical implementations. In this comprehensive review, prominent authors with expertise in complementary fields of 2D magnetism (i.e., synthesis, device engineering, magneto-optics, imaging, transport, mechanics, spin excitations, and theory and simulations) have joined together to provide a genome of current knowledge and a guideline for future developments in 2D magnetic materials research.

Structure, Properties and Applications of Two-Dimensional Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has emerged as a strong candidate for two-dimensional (2D) material owing to its exciting optoelectrical properties combined with mechanical robustness, thermal stability, and chemical inertness. Super-thin h-BN layers have gained significant attention from the scientific community for many applications, including nanoelectronics, photonics, biomedical, anti-corrosion, and catalysis, among others. This review provides a systematic elaboration of the structural, electrical, mechanical, optical, and thermal properties of h-BN followed by a comprehensive account of state-of-the-art synthesis strategies for 2D h-BN, including chemical exfoliation, chemical, and physical vapor deposition, and other methods that have been successfully developed in recent years. It further elaborates a wide variety of processing routes developed for doping, substitution, functionalization, and combination with other materials to form heterostructures. Based on the extraordinary properties and thermal-mechanical-chemical stability of 2D h-BN, various potential applications of these structures are described.

Rapid laser nanomanufacturing and direct patterning of 2D materials on flexible substrates-2DFlex

Direct synthesis, large-scale integration, and patterning of two-dimensional (2D) quantum materials (e.g. MoS₂, WSe₂) on flexible and transparent substrates are of high interest for flexible and conformal device applications. However, the growth temperatures (e.g. 850 °C) of the emerging 2D materials in the common gas-phase synthesis methods are well beyond the tolerances limit of flexible substrates, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In addition, random nucleation and growth process in most growth systems limits the predicted integration and patterning freedoms. Here, we report a rapid direct laser crystallization and mask-free large-scale patterning of MoS₂ and WSe₂ crystals on PDMS substrates. A thin layer of stoichiometric amorphous 2D film is first laser-deposited via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) system onto the flexible substrates followed by a controlled crystallization and direct writing process using a tunable nanosecond laser (1064 nm). The influences of pulse duration, number of pulses, and the thickness of the deposited amorphous 2D layer on the crystallization of 2D materials are discussed. Optical spectroscopy and electrical characterizations are performed to confirm the quality of crystallized 2D materials on flexible substrates. This novel method opens up a new opportunity for the crystallization of complex patterns directly from computer-aided design models for the future 2D materials-based wearable, transparent, and flexible devices.

An experimental and steered molecular dynamics simulation approach to histidine assisted liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite into few-layer graphene

A simple and green approach to exfoliate graphite in water was developed by its reaction with an amino acid, histidine (His), resulting in the spatial expansion of the interlayer space. Subsequent sonication led to few-layered nanosheets of graphene in water. Steered molecular dynamics (MD) simulations revealed that the exfoliating graphene sheet underwent sheered motion before completely scaling off from the other layer.

Multi-walled carbon-nanotube-decorated tungsten ditelluride nanostars as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

Multi-walled carbon-nanotube (MWCNT)-decorated WTe₂ nanostars (WTe₂@CNT nanocomposites) are to be employed for the first time as anode candidates in the development of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. WTe₂@CNT nanocomposites deliver a high discharge capacity of 1097, 475, 439, 408, 395 and 381 mA h g^-1 with an increasing current density of 100, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 mA g^-1, respectively, while WTe₂ nanostars exhibit a reversible capacity of 655, 402, 400, 362, 290 and 197 mA h g^-1 with the aforementioned current densities. Furthermore, WTe₂@CNT nanocomposites exhibit a superior reversible capacity of 592 mA h g^-1 at 500 mA g^-1 with a capacity retention of 100% achieved over 500 cycles, while bare WTe₂ nanostars deliver ∼85 mA h g^-1 over 350 cycles. This remarkable Li cycling performance is attributed to MWCNTs interconnected with WTe₂ nanostars. In addition, the exposed active interlayers of the WTe₂ nanostars, which are responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of the electrodes, buffer the large volume expansion within the WTe₂ nanostars, avoiding the agglomeration of the particles. The layered WTe₂ nanostars were synthesized via the solution-phase method, and present extremely good possibilities for the scaling-up of Li-ion battery storage systems.

Water Diffusion in Wiggling Graphene Membranes

Water diffusion in nanopores has attracted considerable attention in the past decades. Recently the coupling between the vibration of pore walls and movement of confined water has been recognized to largely enhance diffusion. However, its impact on water diffusion in graphene oxide membranes remains to be discussed. Here we explore how water diffusion couples with the thermal fluctuation of graphene nanochannels by molecular dynamics simulations. Our finding demonstrates an approximately linear dependence of diffusion enhancement on temperature; i.e., the wiggling nanopore enhances diffusion at low temperature and inhibits diffusion at high temperature. This mechanism is further extended to be applicable for another two typical layered materials, hBN and MoS₂. These results offer opportunities to tune surface diffusion by thermal operation or mechanical activation, advancing the application of two-dimensional materials in membrane separations.

Ultrafast, Stable Ionic and Molecular Sieving through Functionalized Boron Nitride Membranes

Porous membranes play an important role in the separation technologies such as gas purification, solute nanofiltration, and desalination. An ideal membrane should be thin to maximize permeation speed, have optimum pore sizes to maximize selectivity, and be stable in various harsh conditions. Here, we show that the nanometer-thick membrane prepared by means of filtration of functionalized boron nitride (FBN) water suspensions can block solutes with hydrated radii larger than 4.3 Å in water. The FBN membranes with abundant nanochannels reduce the path length of ions. As molecular sieves, the FBN membrane can permeate small ions at an ultrahigh rate-a 25-fold enhancement compared with that of its theoretical diffusion rate and much higher than the graphene oxide membrane. Importantly, the FBN membrane exhibits excellent permeability even when it is immersed in acidic, alkaline, and basic salts solutions because of its intrinsic chemical stability. The molecular dynamics simulations further confirmed that the nanocapillaries formed within the FBN membrane in the hydrated state were responsible for high permeation performance. The simple vacuum filtration fabricated FBN membrane with angstrom-sized channels and ultrafast permeation of ions promises great potential applications in the areas of barrier separation and water purification.

Revealing Transition States during the Hydration of Clay Minerals

A molecular-scale understanding of the transition between hydration states in clay minerals remains a challenging problem because of the very fast stepwise swelling process observed from X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments. XRD profile modeling assumes the coexistence of multiple hydration states in a clay sample to fit the experimental XRD pattern obtained under humid conditions. While XRD profile modeling provides a macroscopic understanding of the heterogeneous hydration structure of clay minerals, a microscopic model of the transition between hydration states is still missing. Here, for the first time, we use molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the transition states between a dry interlayer, one-layer hydrate, and two-layer hydrate. We find that the hydrogen bonds that form across the interlayer at the clay particle edge make an important contribution to the energy barrier to interlayer hydration, especially for initial hydration.