Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    Single-atom catalytic growth of crystals using graphene as a case study
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2021) Yang, Xiaoqin; Liu, Yu; Ta, Huy Q.; Rezvani, Ehsan; Zhang, Yue; Zeng, Mengqi; Fu, Lei; Bachmatiuk, Alicja; Luo, Jinping; Liu, Lijun; Rümmeli, Mark H.
    Anchored Single-atom catalysts have emerged as a cutting-edge research field holding tremendous appeal for applications in the fields of chemicals, energy and the environment. However, single-atom-catalysts for crystal growth is a nascent field. Of the few studies available, all of them are based on state-of-the-art in situ microscopy investigations and computational studies, and they all look at the growth of monolayer graphene from a single-atom catalyst. Despite the limited number of studies, they do, collectively, represent a new sub-field of single-atom catalysis, namely single-atom catalytic growth of crystalline solids. In this review, we examine them on substrate-supported and as freestanding graphene fabrication, as well as rolled-up graphene, viz., single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), grown from a single atom. We also briefly discuss the catalytic etching of graphene and SWCNT’s and conclude by outlining the future directions we envision this nascent field to take.
  • Item
    Freestanding few-layer sheets of a dual topological insulator
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2021) Anh, Mai Lê; Potapov, Pavel; Lubk, Axel; Doert, Thomas; Ruck, Michael
    The emergence of topological insulators (TIs) raised high expectations for their application in quantum computers and spintronics. Being bulk semiconductors, their nontrivial topology at the electronic bandgap enables dissipation-free charge and spin transport in protected metallic surface states. For application, crystalline thin films are requested in sufficient quantity. A suitable approach is the liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) of TI crystals that have layered structures. Bi2TeI is a weak 3D TI, which leads to protected edge states at the side facets of a crystal, as well as a topological crystalline insulator, which is responsible for protected states at the top and bottom faces. We developed an effective, scalable protocol for LPE of freestanding nanoflakes from Bi2TeI crystals. By heat treatment and sonication in isopropyl alcohol and poly(vinylpyrrolidone), crystalline Bi2TeI sheets with a thickness of ~50 nm were obtained and can therefore be considered for further processing toward microelectronic applications.