Low-Dimensional Materials

Investigation of graphene-inspired materials and structures

Crystal structure of a 2D material grown in the Shatruk labs.

Figure 1. Crystal structure of a 2D material overlayed on an image of its crystal, grown in the Shatruk labs.

The Nobel-prize winning discovery of graphene in 2004 jump-started the new research area of 2D materials1. The decrease in a material's thickness to a single atom or a few-atom layer dramatically impacts its electronic, optical, and magnetic properties. Over the last decade, a number of inorganic compounds beyond graphene have been reduced to atomically thin structures, the most notable being transition metal dichalcogenides and thiophosphates, chromium triiodide, and black phosphorus. This project is intertwined with our interest in molecular spintronics2,3

The majority of currently known 2D materials do not exhibit intrinsic magnetism, that is their magnetic response, if any, is promoted by impurities and defects. We are investigating layered structures that show bulk magnetic ordering and can be exfoliated to ultrathin sheets, thus having the potential to behave as intrinsic 2D magnets. Such behavior is especially appealing for the development of revolutionary 2D electronic devices

This project focuses on the discovery of other materials that can be reduced to the 2D and 1D realm. We are particularly interested in materials whose electronic, optical, and magnetic properties manipulated the reduction to a few unit cell thickness. The 2D and 1D materials produced in our labs are studied by means of magnetic property measurement system (MPMS), physical property measurement system (PPMS), Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), etc.

References

  • 1. Geim, A. K.; Novoselov, K. S. The rise of graphene. Nature Mater. 2007, 6, 183.
  • 2. Manzeli, S.; Ovchinnikov, D.; Pasquier, D.; Yazyev, O. V.; Kis, A. 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. Nature Rev. Mater. 2017, 2, 17033.
  • 3. Carvalho, A.; Wang, M.; Zhu, X.; Rodin, A. S.; Su, H.; Castro Neto, A. H. Phosphorene: from theory to applications. Nature Rev. Mater. 2016, 1, 16061.