Epitaxial Growth of Large-Scale α-Phase Antimonene.

Two-dimensional materials composed of elements from the 15th group of the periodic table remain largely unexplored. The primary challenge in advancing this research is the lack of large-scale layers that would facilitate extensive studies using laterally averaging techniques and enable functionalization for the fabrication of novel electronic, optoelectronic, and spintronic devices. In this report, we present a method for synthesizing large-scale antimonene layers, on the order of cm2. By employing molecular beam epitaxy, we successfully grow a monolayer film of α-phase antimonene on a W(110) surface passivated with a single-atom-thick layer of Sb atoms. The formation of α phase antimonene is confirmed through scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron diffraction measurements. The isolated nature of the α-phase is further evidenced in the electronic structure, with linearly dispersed bands observed through angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and supported by ab initio calculations.

Peculiar Structural Phase of a Single-Atom-Thick Layer of Antimony.

Using molecular beam epitaxy, a new structural phase of a single atom thick antimony layer has been synthesized on the W(110) surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy measurements reveal an atomically resolved structure with a perfectly flat surface and unusually large unit cell. The structure forms a well-ordered continuous film with a lateral size in the range of several millimeters, as revealed by low energy electron microscopy and diffraction experiments. The results of density functional theory calculations confirm the formation of a new phase of single-atom-thick antimony film without the buckling characteristic for the known phases of antimonene. The presented results demonstrate a substrate-tuned approach in the preparation of new structural phases of 2D materials.