Inert liquid exfoliation and Langmuir-type thin film deposition of semimetallic metal diborides
Graphite is one of only a few layered materials that can be exfoliated into nanosheets with semimetallic properties, which limits the applications of nanosheet-based electrodes to material combinations compatible with the work function of graphene. It is therefore important to identify additional me...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
October 9, 2024
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| In: |
ACS nano
Year: 2024, Volume: 18, Issue: 42, Pages: 28596-28608 |
| ISSN: | 1936-086X |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acsnano.4c04626 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c04626 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.4c04626 
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| Author Notes: | Kevin Synnatschke, Alina Müller, Cian Gabbett, Michael Johannes Mohn, Adam G. Kelly, Kseniia Mosina, Bing Wu, Eoin Caffrey, Oran Cassidy, Claudia Backes, Zdenek Sofer, Ute Kaiser and Jonathan N. Coleman |
| Summary: | Graphite is one of only a few layered materials that can be exfoliated into nanosheets with semimetallic properties, which limits the applications of nanosheet-based electrodes to material combinations compatible with the work function of graphene. It is therefore important to identify additional metallic or semimetallic two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials that can be processed in solution for scalable fabrication of printed electronic devices. Metal diborides represent a family of layered non-van der Waals crystals with semimetallic properties for all nanosheet thicknesses. While previous reports show that the exfoliated nanomaterial is prone to oxidation, we demonstrate a readily accessible inert exfoliation process to produce quasi-2D nanoplatelets with intrinsic material properties. For this purpose, we demonstrate the exfoliation of three representative metal diborides (MgB2, CrB2, and ZrB2) under inert conditions. Nanomaterial is characterized using a combination of transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, IR, and UV-vis measurements, with only minimal oxidation indicated postprocessing. By depositing the pristine metal diboride nanoplatelets as thin films using a Langmuir-type deposition technique, the ohmic behavior of the networks is validated. Furthermore, the material decomposition is studied by using a combination of electrical and optical measurements after controlled exposure to ambient conditions. Finally, we report an efficient, low-cost approach for sample encapsulation to protect the nanomaterials from oxidation. This is used to demonstrate low-gauge factor strain sensors, confirming metal diboride nanosheets as a suitable alternative to graphene for electrode materials in printed electronics. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 05.05.2025 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1936-086X |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acsnano.4c04626 |