Program Highlights

Nebraska MRSEC Facility: Synthesis and Characterization of Graphene-Like Boron-Carbon-Nitrogen Monolayers

Axel Enders, Peter Dowben, and Alexander Sinitskii
Nebraska MRSEC

The emergence of two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are only one atom or one structural unit cell thick, has stimulated an enormous range of research effort. The well-known example is graphene – a zero band gap semiconductor, which exhibits outstanding charge carrier mobility. However, the absence of a band gap is a major hindrance in implementing graphene in 2D electronics. The question arises whether other graphenic systems of mono-atomic thickness, with useful electronic properties, can be realized. Nebraska MRSEC researchers have demonstrated that a ternary network of boron (B), carbon (C), and nitrogen (N) atoms that occupy the graphenic sites in a 2D sheet can produce the required electronic properties. They synthesized a BCN monolayer on the iridium (Ir) surface, modelled its atomic structure, and characterized its electronic properties. Thus, long predicted, the BCN material has been finally realized showing a new route to implementing 2D electronics. (S. Beniwal et al., ACS Nano 11, 2486 (2017)

This research is supported by the National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research, Materials Research Science and Engineering Program, Grant DMR-1420645.

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Modelled corrugation of a BCN monoatomic layer on iridium (Ir) surface, where red (blue) colors indicate high (low) BCN elevations. “h”, “H”, and “T” sites refer to the position of the B and N atoms with respect to the Ir substrate atoms. The top left panel shows the scanning tunneling microscopy image of the simulation cell. 

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Date: April 2018
Research Area:
Shared Facilities