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Moody MJ, Paul JT, Smeets PJM, Dos Reis R, Kim JS, Mead CE, Gish JT, Hersam MC, Chan MKY, Lauhon LJ. van der Waals Epitaxy, Superlubricity, and Polarization of the 2D Ferroelectric SnS. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:56150-56157. [PMID: 38011316 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c11931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Tin monosulfide (SnS) is a two-dimensional layered semiconductor that exhibits in-plane ferroelectric order at very small thicknesses and is of interest in highly scaled devices. Here we report the epitaxial growth of SnS on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) using a pulsed metal-organic chemical vapor deposition process. Lattice matching is observed between the SnS(100) and hBN{11̅0} planes, with no evidence of strain. Atomic force microscopy reveals superlubricity along the commensurate direction of the SnS/hBN interface, and first-principles calculations suggest that friction is controlled by the edges of the SnS islands, rather than interface interactions. Differential phase contrast imaging detects remnant polarization in SnS islands with domains that are not dictated by step-edges in the SnS. The growth of ferroelectric SnS on high quality hBN substrates is a promising step toward electrically switchable ferroelectric semiconducting devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Moody
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Joshua T Paul
- Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
- Northwestern Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Paul J M Smeets
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- NUANCE Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Roberto Dos Reis
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Joon-Seok Kim
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Christopher E Mead
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Jonathan Tyler Gish
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Mark C Hersam
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- The Materials Research Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Maria K Y Chan
- Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
- Northwestern Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Lincoln J Lauhon
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- The Materials Research Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
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Ribet SM, Murthy AA, Roth EW, Dos Reis R, Dravid VP. Making the Most of your Electrons: Challenges and Opportunities in Characterizing Hybrid Interfaces with STEM. MATERIALS TODAY (KIDLINGTON, ENGLAND) 2021; 50:100-115. [PMID: 35241968 PMCID: PMC8887695 DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2021.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Inspired by the unique architectures composed of hard and soft materials in natural and biological systems, synthetic hybrid structures and associated soft-hard interfaces have recently evoked significant interest. Soft matter is typically dominated by fluctuations even at room temperature, while hard matter (which often serves as the substrate or anchor for the soft component) is governed by rigid mechanical behavior. This dichotomy offers considerable opportunities to leverage the disparate properties offered by these components across a wide spectrum spanning from basic science to engineering insights with significant technological overtones. Such hybrid structures, which include polymer nanocomposites, DNA functionalized nanoparticle superlattices and metal organic frameworks to name a few, have delivered promising insights into the areas of catalysis, environmental remediation, optoelectronics, medicine, and beyond. The interfacial structure between these hard and soft phases exists across a variety of length scales and often strongly influence the functionality of hybrid systems. While scanning/transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM) has proven to be a valuable tool for acquiring intricate molecular and nanoscale details of these interfaces, the unusual nature of hybrid composites presents a suite of challenges that make assessing or establishing the classical structure-property relationships especially difficult. These include challenges associated with preparing electron-transparent samples and obtaining sufficient contrast to resolve the interface between dissimilar materials given the dose sensitivity of soft materials. We discuss each of these challenges and supplement a review of recent developments in the field with additional experimental investigations and simulations to present solutions for attaining a nano or atomic-level understanding of these interfaces. These solutions present a host of opportunities for investigating and understanding the role interfaces play in this unique class of functional materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie M Ribet
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
| | - Akshay A Murthy
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
- International Institute of Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
| | - Eric W Roth
- The NUANCE Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
| | - Roberto Dos Reis
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
- The NUANCE Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
| | - Vinayak P Dravid
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
- International Institute of Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
- The NUANCE Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
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