TY - JOUR
T1 - Surface etching and edge control of hexagonal boron nitride assisted by triangular Sn nanoplates
AU - Yi, Hsin
AU - Solís-Fernández, Pablo
AU - Hibino, Hiroki
AU - Ago, Hiroki
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas “Science of 2.5 Dimensional Materials: Paradigm Shift of Materials Science Toward Future Social Innovation” (KAKENHI grant numbers JP21H05232, JP21H05233), and JSPS KAKENHI grant numbers JP21K18878, JP21H01768, JP20H05670, JP18H03864, JST CREST grant numbers JPMJCR18I1, JPMJCR20B1, and the JSPS A3 Foresight Program.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s).
PY - 2022/8/8
Y1 - 2022/8/8
N2 - Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is an ideal insulating substrate and template for other two-dimensional (2D) materials. The combination of hBN and 2D materials of group IV atoms, such as graphene, is interesting, because it can offer attractive physical properties and promising applications. Here, we demonstrate the unique behavior of tin (Sn), one of the group IV elements, on multilayer hBN which was grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). At high temperatures, triangular nanoplates formed after thermal deposition of Sn on the hBN surface, with their orientations determined by the hBN lattice. The triangular Sn nanoplates moved on the hBN surface, leaving monolayer-deep nanotrenches. Low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) revealed that the nanotrenches are aligned in the armchair directions of the hBN. Furthermore, an additional Ar annealing without supplying Sn vapor induced the structural change of the linear trenches to triangular pits, indicating the preferential formation of zigzag edges in the absence of Sn. Our work highlights the unique behavior of Sn on hBN and offers a novel route to engineer the hBN surface.
AB - Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is an ideal insulating substrate and template for other two-dimensional (2D) materials. The combination of hBN and 2D materials of group IV atoms, such as graphene, is interesting, because it can offer attractive physical properties and promising applications. Here, we demonstrate the unique behavior of tin (Sn), one of the group IV elements, on multilayer hBN which was grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). At high temperatures, triangular nanoplates formed after thermal deposition of Sn on the hBN surface, with their orientations determined by the hBN lattice. The triangular Sn nanoplates moved on the hBN surface, leaving monolayer-deep nanotrenches. Low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) revealed that the nanotrenches are aligned in the armchair directions of the hBN. Furthermore, an additional Ar annealing without supplying Sn vapor induced the structural change of the linear trenches to triangular pits, indicating the preferential formation of zigzag edges in the absence of Sn. Our work highlights the unique behavior of Sn on hBN and offers a novel route to engineer the hBN surface.
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U2 - 10.1039/d2na00479h
DO - 10.1039/d2na00479h
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85136283563
SN - 2516-0230
VL - 4
SP - 3786
EP - 3792
JO - Nanoscale Advances
JF - Nanoscale Advances
IS - 18
ER -