Abstract: Black phosphorus (BP) has recently triggered an unprecedented interest in the 2D community. However, many of its unique properties are not exploited and the well-known environmental vulnerability is not conquered. Herein, a type-I mixed-dimensional (0D-1D) van der Waals heterojunction is developed, where three-atomic-layer BP quantum dots (QDs) are assembled on a single ZnO nanorod (NR). By adjusting the indium (In) content in ZnO NRs, the degree and even the direction of surface charge transfer doping within the heterojunction can be tuned, which result in selective Raman scattering enhancements between ZnO and BP. The maximal enhancement factor is determined as 4340 for BP QDs with sub-ppm level. Furthermore, an unexpected long-term ambient stability (more than six months) of BP QDs is revealed, which is ascribed to the electron doping from ZnO:In NRs. The first demonstration of selective Raman enhancements between two inorganic semiconductors as well as the improved stability of BP shed light on this emerging 2D material.

Abstract: The behavior of ternary mixed crystals or solid solutions and its correlation with the properties of their binary constituents is of fundamental interest. Due to their unique potential for application in future information technology, mixed crystals of topological insulators with the spin-locked, gapless states on their surfaces attract huge attention of physicists, chemists and material scientists. (Bi1-xSbx)(2)Te-3 solid solutions are among the best candidates for spintronic applications since the bulk carrier concentration can be tuned by varying x to obtain truly bulk-insulating samples, where the topological surface states largely contribute to the transport and the realization of the surface quantum Hall effect. As this ternary compound will be evidently used in the form of thin-film devices its chemical stability is an important practical issue. Based on the atomic resolution HAADF-TEM and EDX data together with the XPS results obtained both ex situ and in situ, we propose an atomistic picture of the mixed crystal reactivity compared to that of its binary constituents. We find that the surface reactivity is determined by the probability of oxygen attack on the Te-Sb bonds, which is directly proportional to the number of Te atoms bonded to at least one Sb atom. The oxidation mechanism includes formation of an amorphous antimony oxide at the very surface due to Sb diffusion from the first two quintuple layers, electron tunneling from the Fermi level of the crystal to oxygen, oxygen ion diffusion to the crystal, and finally, slow Te oxidation to the +4 oxidation state. The oxide layer thickness is limited by the electron transport, and the overall process resembles the Cabrera-Mott mechanism in metals. These observations are critical not only for current understanding of the chemical reactivity of complex crystals, but also to improve the performance of future spintronic devices based on topological materials.

Abstract: The charge density is among the most fundamental solid state properties determining bonding, electrical characteristics, and adsorption or catalysis at surfaces. While atomic-scale charge densities have as yet been retrieved by solid state theory, we demonstrate both charge density and electric field mapping across a mono-/bilayer boundary in 2D MoS2 by momentum-resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy. Based on consistency of the four-dimensional experimental data, statistical parameter estimation and dynamical electron scattering simulations using strain-relaxed supercells, we are able to identify an AA-type bilayer stacking and charge depletion at the Mo-terminated layer edge.

Abstract: We explore the electronic and the optical properties of monolayer TiS3, which shows in-plane anisotropy and is composed of a chain-like structure along one of the lattice directions. Together with its robust direct band gap, which changes very slightly with stacking order and with the thickness of the sample, the anisotropic physical properties of TiS3 make the material very attractive for various device applications. In this study, we present a detailed investigation on the effect of the crystal anisotropy on the excitons and the trions of the TiS3 monolayer. We use many-body perturbation theory to calculate the absorption spectrum of anisotropic TiS3 monolayer by solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation. In parallel, we implement and use a Wannier-Mott model for the excitons that takes into account the anisotropic effective masses and Coulomb screening, which are obtained from ab initio calculations. This model is then extended for the investigation of trion states of monolayer TiS3. Our calculations indicate that the absorption spectrum of monolayer TiS3 drastically depends on the polarization of the incoming light, which excites different excitons with distinct binding energies. In addition, the binding energies of positively and the negatively charged trions are observed to be distinct and they exhibit an anisotropic probability density distribution.

Abstract: The adsorption and diffusion of Na, K, and Ca atoms on MXene/graphene heterostructures of MXene systems Sc2C(OH)(2), Ti2CO2, and V2CO2 are systematically investigated by using first-principles methods. We found that alkali metal intercalation is energetically favorable and thermally stable for Ti2CO2/graphene and V2CO2/graphene heterostructures but not for Sc2C(OH)(2). Diffusion kinetics calculations showed the advantage of MXene/graphene heterostructures over sole MXene systems as the energy barriers are halved for the considered alkali metals. Low energy barriers are found for Na and K ions, which are promising for fast charge/discharge rates. Calculated voltage profiles reveal that estimated high capacities can be fully achieved for Na ion in V2CO2/graphene and Ti2CO2/graphene heterostructures. Our results indicate that Ti2CO2/graphene and V2CO2/graphene electrode materials are very promising for Na ion battery applications. The former could be exploited for low voltage applications while the latter will be more appropriate for higher voltages.

Abstract: Two-dimensional polyaniline with structural unit C3N is an indirect semiconductor with 0.4 eV band gap, which has attracted a lot of interest because of its unusual electronic, optoelectronic, thermal, and mechanical properties useful for various applications. Adsorption of adatoms is an effective method to improve and tune the properties of C3N. Using first-principles calculations, we investigated the adsorption of adatoms, including H, O, S, F, Cl, B, C, Si, N, P, Al, Li, Na, K, Be, Mg, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn, on C3N. Depending on the adatom size and the number of valence electrons, they may induce metallic, half-metallic, semiconducting, and ferromagnetic-metallic behavior. In addition, we investigate the effects of an electrical field, charging, and strain on C3N and found how the electronic and magnetic properties are modified. Semi- and full hydrogenation are studied. From the mechanical and thermal stability of C3N monolayer, we found it to be a hard material that can withstand large strain. From our calculations, we gained novel insights into the properties of C3N demonstrating its unique electronic and magnetic properties that can be useful for semiconducting, nanosensor, and catalytic applications.

Abstract: Using the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism, we study carrier transport through imperfect two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator (TI) ribbons. In particular, we investigate the effect of vacancy defects on the carrier transport in 2D TI ribbons with hexagonal lattice structure. To account for the random distribution of the vacancy defects, we present a statistical study of varying defect densities by stochastically sampling different defect configurations. We demonstrate that the topological edge states of TI ribbons are fairly robust against a high concentration (up to 2%) of defects. At very high defect densities, we observe an increased inter-edge interaction, mediated by the localisation of the edge states within the bulk region. This effect causes significant back-scattering of the, otherwise protected, edge-states at very high defect concentrations (>2%), resulting in a loss of conduction through the TI ribbon. We discuss how this coherent vacancy scattering can be used to our advantage for the development of TI-based transistors. We find that there is an optimal concentration of vacancies yielding an ON-OFF current ratio of up to two orders of magnitude. Finally, we investigate the importance of spin-orbit coupling on the robustness of the edge states in the TI ribbon and show that increased spin-orbit coupling could further increase the ON-OFF ratio.

Abstract: A thorough understanding of the skyrmion motion through nanotracks is a prerequisite to realize the full potential of spintronic applications like the skyrmion racetrack memory. One of the challenges is to place the data, i.e. skyrmions, on discrete fixed positions, e.g. below a read or write head. In the domain-wall racetrack memory, one proposed solution to this problem was patterning the nanotrack with notches. Following this approach, this paper reports on the skyrmion mobility through a nanotrack with periodic notches (constrictions) made using variations in the chiral Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. We observe that such notches induce a coupling between the mobility and the skyrmion breathing mode, which manifests itself as velocity-dependent oscillations of the skyrmion diameter and plateaus in which the velocity is independent of the driving force. Despite the fact that domain walls are far more rigid objects than skyrmions, we were able to perform an analogous study and, surprisingly, found even larger plateaus of constant velocity. For both systems it is straightforward to tune the velocity at these plateaus by changing the design of the notched nanotrack geometry, e.g. by varying the distance between the notches. Therefore, the notch-induced coupling between the excited modes and the mobility could offer a strategy to stabilize the velocity against unwanted perturbations in racetrack-like applications. In the last part of the paper we focus on the low-current mobility regimes, whose very rich dynamics at nonzero temperatures are very similar to the operating principle of recently developed probabilistic logic devices. This proves that the mobility of nanomagnetic structures through a periodically modulated track is not only interesting from a fundamental point of view, but has a future in many spintronic applications.

Abstract: Understanding the appearance of local electrical connectivity in liquid filled layered graphene oxide subjected to an external electric field is important to design electrically controlled smart permeable devices and also to gain insight into the physics behind electrical effects on confined water permeation. Motivated by recent experiments [K. G. Zhou et al. Nature (London) 559, 236 (2018)], we introduce a new model with random percolating paths for electrical connectivity in micron thick water filled layered graphene oxide, which mimics parallel resistors connected across the top and bottom electrodes. We find that a strong nonuniform radial electric field of the order similar to 10-50 mV/nm can be induced between layers depending on the current flow through the formed conducting paths. The maxima of the induced fields are not necessarily close to the electrodes and may be localized in the middle region of the layered material. The emergence of electrical connectivity and the associated electrical effects have a strong influence on the surrounding fluid in terms of ionization and wetting which subsequently determines the permeation properties.

Abstract: Using density functional theory based first-principles calculations, the effect of surface hydrogenation on the structural, dynamical, electronic, and mechanical properties of monolayer washboard-gallenene (w-gallenene) is investigated. It is found that the dynamically stabilized strained monolayer of w-gallenene has a metallic nonmagnetic ground state. Both one-sided and two-sided hydrogenations of w-gallenene suppress its dynamical instability even when unstrained. Unlike one-sided hydrogenated monolayer w-gallenene (os-w-gallenene), two-sided hydrogenated monolayer w-gallenene (ts-w-gallenene) possesses the same crystal structure as w-gallenene. Electronic band structure calculations reveal that monolayers of hydrogenated derivatives of w-gallenene exhibit also metallic nonmagnetic ground state. Moreover, the linear-elastic constants, in-plane stiffness and Poisson ratio, are enhanced by hydrogenation, which is opposite to the behavior of other hydrogenated monolayer crystals. Furthermore, monolayer w-gallenene and ts-w-gallenene remain dynamically stable up to relatively higher biaxial strains as compared to borophene. With its enhanced dynamical stability, robust metallic character, and enhanced linear-elastic properties, hydrogenated monolayer w-gallenene is a potential candidate for nanodevice applications as a two-dimensional flexible metal.

Abstract: Reducing the size of a superconductor below its characteristic length scales can either enhance or suppress its critical temperature (T-c). Depending on the bulk value of the electron-phonon coupling strength, electronic and phonon confinement effects will play different roles in the modification of T-c. Experimentally disentangling each contribution has remained a challenge. We have measured both the phonon density of states and T-c of Sn nanowires with diameters of 18, 35, and 100 nm in order to quantify the effects of phonon confinement on superconductivity. We observe a shift of the phonon frequency towards the low-energy region and an increase in the electron-phonon coupling constant that can account for the measured increase in T-c.