Alcaraz Marta, Fickert Michael, Dolle Christian, Changarath Mahesh Eledath, Sánchez-Royo Juan F, Eggeler Yolita M, Abellán Gonzalo
Instituto de Ciencia Molecular (ICMol), Universidad de Valencia, Paterna, 46980, Spain.
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy and Joint Institute of Advanced Materials and Processes (ZMP) Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 90762, Fürth, Germany.
Small. 2024 Oct 14:e2404319. doi: 10.1002/smll.202404319.
Antimonene is one of the more exciting members of the post-graphene family with promising applications in optoelectronics, energy storage and conversion, catalysis, sensing or biomedicine. Efforts have been focused on developing a large-scale production route, and indeed, through a colloidal approach, high-quality few-layers antimonene (FLA) hexagons have been recently obtained. However, their oxidation behavior remains unexplored, as well as their interface, inner structure, and photothermal properties. Herein, it is revealed that the hexagons have an intrinsic surface functionalization with alkyl thiols that protects the core of the hexagonal flake against oxidation, and displayed inner defects related to the crystal formation during synthesis, as confirmed by cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDX) and temperature-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) analysis. A comprehensive study of temperature and laser power-dependent Raman spectroscopy on varying FLA hexagon thicknesses is carried out. Thinner flakes (<20 nm) exhibited a blueshift and intensity decrease, contrasting with thicker ones resembling typical exfoliated flakes with a redshift. This work addresses a literature gap, providing insights into hexagonal FLA structure and characterization, and highlighting the influence of surface functional groups on oxidation behavior. Additionally, it emphasizes the potential of antimonene hexagons as building blocks for 2D heterostructures, including combinations with antimonene oxides and other 2D materials.
锑烯是后石墨烯家族中较为令人兴奋的成员之一，在光电子学、能量存储与转换、催化、传感或生物医学等领域有着广阔的应用前景。人们一直致力于开发大规模生产路线，事实上，通过一种胶体方法，最近已获得了高质量的少层锑烯（FLA）六边形结构。然而，它们的氧化行为以及界面、内部结构和光热性质仍未得到探索。在此，研究表明，这些六边形结构具有与烷基硫醇的固有表面功能化，可保护六边形薄片的核心免受氧化，并且显示出与合成过程中晶体形成相关的内部缺陷，这通过截面扫描透射电子显微镜能量色散X射线光谱（STEM-EDX）、变温X射线光电子能谱（XPS）和选区电子衍射（SAED）分析得到了证实。对不同FLA六边形厚度的温度和激光功率相关拉曼光谱进行了全面研究。较薄的薄片（<20 nm）表现出蓝移和强度降低，这与较厚的薄片形成对比，较厚的薄片类似于典型的剥离薄片，表现出红移。这项工作填补了文献空白，深入了解了六边形FLA的结构和表征，并突出了表面官能团对氧化行为的影响。此外，它强调了锑烯六边形作为二维异质结构构建块的潜力，包括与氧化锑烯和其他二维材料的组合。
