A liquid metal reaction environment for the room-temperature synthesis of atomically thin metal oxides

Two-dimensional (2D) oxides have a wide variety of applications in electronics and other technologies. However, many oxides are not easy to synthesize as 2D materials through conventional methods. We used nontoxic eutectic gallium-based alloys as a reaction solvent and co-alloyed desired metals into...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2017-10, Vol.358 (6361), p.332-335
Main Authors: Zavabeti, Ali, Ou, Jian Zhen, Carey, Benjamin J., Syed, Nitu, Orrell-Trigg, Rebecca, Mayes, Edwin L. H., Xu, Chenglong, Kavehei, Omid, O’Mullane, Anthony P., Kaner, Richard B., Kalantar-zadeh, Kourosh, Daeneke, Torben
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum oxide
Chemical synthesis
Crystals
Electronics
Electronics industry
Gadolinium
Gadolinium oxides
Gallium
Gallium oxides
Hafnium
Hafnium oxide
Heavy metals
Liquid metals
Manufacturing Industry
Metal sheets
Metals
Nanomaterials
Nanotechnology
Oxides
Room temperature
Substrates
Thin films
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Summary:Two-dimensional (2D) oxides have a wide variety of applications in electronics and other technologies. However, many oxides are not easy to synthesize as 2D materials through conventional methods. We used nontoxic eutectic gallium-based alloys as a reaction solvent and co-alloyed desired metals into the melt. On the basis of thermodynamic considerations, we predicted the composition of the self-limiting interfacial oxide. We isolated the surface oxide as a 2D layer, either on substrates or in suspension. This enabled us to produce extremely thin subnanometer layers of HfO₂, Al₂O₃, and Gd₂O₃. The liquid metal–based reaction route can be used to create 2D materials that were previously inaccessible with preexisting methods. The work introduces room-temperature liquid metals as a reaction environment for the synthesis of oxide nanomaterials with low dimensionality.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.aao4249