Work Function Variations in Twisted Graphene Layers

Twist angle-dependent work functions in CVD-grown twisted bilayer graphene probed by Kelvin probe force microscopy

Tailoring the interlayer twist angle of bilayer graphene (BLG) significantly affects its electronic properties, including its superconductivity, topological transitions, ferromagnetic states, and correlated insulating states. These exotic electronic properties are sensitive to the work functions of BLG samples. In this study, the twist angle-dependent work functions of chemical vapour deposition-grown twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) were investigated in detail using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) in combination with Raman spectroscopy. The thickness-dependent surface potentials of Bernal-stacked multilayer graphene were measured. It is found that with the increase in the number of layers, the work function decreases and tends to saturate. Bernal-stacked BLG and tBLG were determined via KPFM due to their twist angle-specific surface potentials. The detailed relationship between the twist angle and surface potential was determined via in situ KPFM and Raman spectral measurements. With the increase in the twist angle, the work function of tBLG will increase rapidly and then increase slowly when it is greater than 5°. The thermal stability of tBLG was investigated through a controlled annealing process. tBLG will become Bernal-stacked BLG after annealing at 350 °C. Our work provides the twist angle-dependent surface potentials of tBLG and provides the relevant conditions for the stability of the twist angle, which lays the foundation for further exploration of its twist angle-dependent electronic properties.

First-principles study on the structural properties of 2D MXene SnSiGeN4 and its electronic properties under the effects of strain and an external electric field

The MXene SnSiGeN₄ monolayer as a new member of the MoSi₂N₄ family was proposed for the first time, and its structural and electronic properties were explored by applying first-principles calculations with both PBE and hybrid HSE06 approaches. The layered hexagonal honeycomb structure of SnSiGeN₄ was determined to be stable under dynamical effects or at room temperature of 300 K, with a rather high cohesive energy of 7.0 eV. The layered SnSiGeN₄ has a Young's modulus of 365.699 N m^-1 and a Poisson's ratio of 0.295. The HSE06 approach predicted an indirect band gap of around 2.4 eV for the layered SnSiGeN₄. While the major donation from the N-p orbitals to the band structure makes SnSiGeN₄'s band gap close to those of similar 2D MXenes, the smaller distributions from the other orbitals of Sn, Si, and Ge slightly vary this band gap. The work functions of the GeN and SiN surfaces are 6.367 eV and 5.903 eV, respectively. The band gap of the layered SnSiGeN₄ can be easily tuned by strain and an external electric field. A semiconductor-metal transition can occur at certain values of strain, and with an electric field higher than 5 V nm^-1. The electron mobility of the layered SnSiGeN₄ can reach up to 677.4 cm² V^-1 s^-1, which is much higher than the hole mobility of about 52 cm² V^-1 s^-1. The mentioned characteristics make the layered SnSiGeN₄ a very promising material for use in electronic and photoelectronic devices, and for solar energy conversion.

Highly stable semitransparent multilayer graphene/LaVO3vertical-heterostructure photodetectors

A heterostructure composed of a combination of semi-metallic graphene (Gr) and high-absorption LaVO₃is ideal for high-performance translucent photodetector (PD) applications. Here, we present multilayer Gr/LaVO₃vertical-heterostructure semitransparent PDs with various layer numbers (L_n). AtL_n= 2, the PD shows the best performance with a responsivity (R) of 0.094 A W^-1and a specific detectivity (D*) of 7.385 × 10⁷cm Hz^1/2W^-1at 532 nm. Additionally, the average visible transmittance of the PD is 63%, i.e. it is semitransparent. We increased photocurrent (PC) by approximately 13%, from 0.564 to 0.635μA cm^-2by using an Al reflector on the semitransparent PD. The PC of an unencapsulated PD maintains about 86% (from 0.571 to 0.493μA cm^-2) of its initial PC value after 2000 h at 25 °C temperature/30% relative humidity, showing good stability. This behavior is superior to that of previously reported graphene-based PDs. These results show that these PDs have great potential for semitransparent optoelectronic applications.

Janus monolayer HfSO with improved optical properties as a novel material for photovoltaic and photocatalyst applications

First principles calculations were performed to investigate the photocatalytic behavior of 2D Janus monolayer HfSO at equilibrium and under the influence of strains and external electric fields.

Anomalous restoration of sp2 hybridization in graphene functionalization

The functionalization of nanocarbon materials such as graphene has attracted considerable attention over the past decades. In this work, we designed and synthesized a unique N-heterocyclic carbene compound with a pyrene tail group (NHCp) to investigate how carbene species can be used for the functionalization of graphene. Although the carbene moiety of NHCp has the ability to covalently bond to graphene, the pyrene tail can noncovalently interact with graphene and allows monitoring its surrounding microenvironment. The major characteristics of the resulting nanohybrids were highly dependent on the type of graphene and the NHCp-to-graphene weight ratio. Importantly, despite the covalent functionalization of graphene, an anomalous decrease in the intensity of the Raman D peak and improved conductivity were observed for the nanohybrids. It was found that the covalent bond of NHCp to the graphene edge may allow the hybridization of their orbitals, which affects electronic energy levels and alters the double resonance process that originates the D peak at the edge defect. Importantly, the NHCp compound can act as a π acceptor (not just as a σ donor) via the NHCp-graphene covalent bridge. This is the first report showing that the concept of π-backdonation can be realized in two-dimensional materials, such as graphene, and rationally designed carbene molecules can functionalize graphene without losing their beneficial sp2 hybridization characteristics.