Supramolecular networks stabilise and functionalise black phosphorus

The limited stability of the surface of black phosphorus (BP) under atmospheric conditions is a significant constraint on the exploitation of this layered material and its few layer analogue, phosphorene, as an optoelectronic material. Here we show that supramolecular networks stabilised by hydrogen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2017-11, Vol.8 (1), p.1385-8, Article 1385
Main Authors: Korolkov, Vladimir V., Timokhin, Ivan G., Haubrichs, Rolf, Smith, Emily F., Yang, Lixu, Yang, Sihai, Champness, Neil R., Schröder, Martin, Beton, Peter H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/638/542/968
639/638/542/970
639/925/357/1018
Atmospheric conditions
Atomic force microscopy
Benzene
Deposition
Exploitation
Heterostructures
Humanities and Social Sciences
Hydrogen bonding
Melamine
Microscopy
multidisciplinary
Networks
Optoelectronics
Oxidation
Phosphorene
Phosphorus
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Surface stability
Thick films
Trimesic acid
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Summary:The limited stability of the surface of black phosphorus (BP) under atmospheric conditions is a significant constraint on the exploitation of this layered material and its few layer analogue, phosphorene, as an optoelectronic material. Here we show that supramolecular networks stabilised by hydrogen bonding can be formed on BP, and that these monolayer-thick films can passivate the BP surface and inhibit oxidation under ambient conditions. The supramolecular layers are formed by solution deposition and we use atomic force microscopy to obtain images of the BP surface and hexagonal supramolecular networks of trimesic acid and melamine cyanurate (CA.M) under ambient conditions. The CA.M network is aligned with rows of phosphorus atoms and forms large domains which passivate the BP surface for more than a month, and also provides a stable supramolecular platform for the sequential deposition of 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene to form supramolecular heterostructures. Few-layered black phosphorus has been exploited in transistors and other devices, but its poor stability under ambient conditions remains problematic. Here, a UK-Swiss collaboration show that a monolayer-thick supramolecular hydrogen-bonded network can protect a black phosphorus surface for over a month.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-017-01797-6