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“Ion exchange in atomically thin clays and micas”. Zou Y-C, Mogg L, Clark N, Bacaksiz C, Milanovic S, Sreepal V, Hao G-P, Wang Y-C, Hopkinson DG, Gorbachev R, Shaw S, Novoselov KS, Raveendran-Nair R, Peeters FM, Lozada-Hidalgo M, Haigh SJ, Nature Materials 20, 1677 (2021). http://doi.org/10.1038/S41563-021-01134-9
Abstract: The physical properties of clays and micas can be controlled by exchanging ions in the crystal lattice. Atomically thin materials can have superior properties in a range of membrane applications, yet the ion-exchange process itself remains largely unexplored in few-layer crystals. Here we use atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy to study the dynamics of ion exchange and reveal individual ion binding sites in atomically thin and artificially restacked clays and micas. We find that the ion diffusion coefficient for the interlayer space of atomically thin samples is up to 10(4) times larger than in bulk crystals and approaches its value in free water. Samples where no bulk exchange is expected display fast exchange at restacked interfaces, where the exchanged ions arrange in islands with dimensions controlled by the moire superlattice dimensions. We attribute the fast ion diffusion to enhanced interlayer expandability resulting from weaker interlayer binding forces in both atomically thin and restacked materials. This work provides atomic scale insights into ion diffusion in highly confined spaces and suggests strategies to design exfoliated clay membranes with enhanced performance. Layered clays are of interest for membranes and many other applications but their ion-exchange dynamics remain unexplored in atomically thin materials. Here, using electron microscopy, it is found that the ion diffusion for few-layer two-dimensional clays approaches that of free water and that superlattice cation islands can form in twisted and restacked materials.
Keywords: A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)
Impact Factor: 39.737
DOI: 10.1038/S41563-021-01134-9
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“Enhanced superconductivity in few-layer TaS₂, due to healing by oxygenation”. Bekaert J, Khestanova E, Hopkinson DG, Birkbeck J, Clark N, Zhu M, Bandurin DA, Gorbachev R, Fairclough S, Zou Y, Hamer M, Terry DJ, Peters JJP, Sanchez AM, Partoens B, Haigh SJ, Milošević, MV, Grigorieva I V, Nano Letters 20, 3808 (2020). http://doi.org/10.1021/ACS.NANOLETT.0C00871
Abstract: When approaching the atomically thin limit, defects and disorder play an increasingly important role in the properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials. While defects are generally thought to negatively affect superconductivity in 2D materials, here we demonstrate the contrary in the case of oxygenation of ultrathin tantalum disulfide (TaS2). Our first-principles calculations show that incorporation of oxygen into the TaS2 crystal lattice is energetically favorable and effectively heals sulfur vacancies typically present in these crystals, thus restoring the electronic band structure and the carrier density to the intrinsic characteristics of TaS2. Strikingly, this leads to a strong enhancement of the electron-phonon coupling, by up to 80% in the highly oxygenated limit. Using transport measurements on fresh and aged (oxygenated) few-layer TaS2, we found a marked increase of the superconducting critical temperature (T-c) upon aging, in agreement with our theory, while concurrent electron microscopy and electron-energy loss spectroscopy confirmed the presence of sulfur vacancies in freshly prepared TaS2 and incorporation of oxygen into the crystal lattice with time. Our work thus reveals the mechanism by which certain atomic-scale defects can be beneficial to superconductivity and opens a new route to engineer T-c in ultrathin materials.
Keywords: A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)
Impact Factor: 10.8
Times cited: 16
DOI: 10.1021/ACS.NANOLETT.0C00871
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