Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), a layered material similar to graphite, is a promising dielectric. Monolayer h-BN, so-called "white graphene", has been isolated from bulk BN and could be useful as a complementary two-dimensional dielectric substrate for graphene electronics. Here we report the large area synthesis of h-BN films consisting of two to five atomic layers, using chemical vapor deposition. These atomic films show a large optical energy band gap of 5.5 eV and are highly transparent over a broad wavelength range. The mechanical properties of the h-BN films, measured by nanoindentation, show 2D elastic modulus in the range of 200-500 N/m, which is corroborated by corresponding theoretical calculations.

Two-dimensional materials, such as graphene and monolayer hexagonal BN (h-BN), are attractive for demonstrating fundamental physics in materials and potential applications in next-generation electronics. Atomic sheets containing hybridized bonds involving elements B, N and C over wide compositional ranges could result in new materials with properties complementary to those of graphene and h-BN, enabling a rich variety of electronic structures, properties and applications. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of large-area atomic layers of h-BNC material, consisting of hybridized, randomly distributed domains of h-BN and C phases with compositions ranging from pure BN to pure graphene. Our studies reveal that their structural features and bandgap are distinct from those of graphene, doped graphene and h-BN. This new form of hybrid h-BNC material enables the development of bandgap-engineered applications in electronics and optics and properties that are distinct from those of graphene and h-BN.

Perovskite light-emitting diodes based on solution-processed self-organized multiple quantum wells, Nature Photonics, 2016. 10(11) Encouraging performance metrics of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on 3Dperovskites, such as low turn-on voltages and external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of up to 3.5% at high current densities, have been demonstrated 9 . However, the EL quantum efficiency is far behind the limit predicated by ~70% PLQE of the 3D perovskites, mainly due to the existence of current losses caused by incomplete surface coverage of the perovskite films and the fact that the high PLQE can only be obtained at high excitations 8,9 . By using thick (>300 nm) perovskite films, Cho et al.obtained LEDs with over 8% EQE 10 . However, for this device, the turn-on voltage is high and the power efficiency is low, which may result from the thick perovskite layer used. In order to further enhance the performance of 3D perovskite-based LEDs, it is 3 essential to obtain perovskite thin films with both complete surface coverage and high PLQE [8][9][10] . Moreover, device stability, which was proven to be a vital issue in organic-inorganic halide perovskite-based photovoltaics 11 , has not been addressed in perovskite LEDs.The 3D perovskites are actually an extreme case of layered organometal halide perovskites with a general formula of L2(SMX3)n-1MX4, where M, X, L, and S are a divalent metal cation, a halide, and organic cations with long and short chains, respectively ( Fig. 1a) [12][13][14] . Here n is the number of semiconducting MX4 monolayer sheets within the two organic insulating layers (cation L), with n=∞ corresponding to the structure of a 3D perovskite SMX3. With smaller numbers of MX4 layers, quantum confinement effects, such as an increase in bandgap and exciton energy, become important 6,15 . In consequence, the layered perovskites naturally form quantum-well structures. At the opposite extreme, when n=1, the layered perovskites form a monolayer structure of a two-dimensional (2D) perovskite L2MX4. The 2D L2MX4 perovskites generally have good film-formation properties 13 . Nevertheless, the PLQEs of the 2D perovskites are rather low at room temperature, owing to fast exciton quenching rates 6,7 . LEDs based on the 2D perovskites have been attempted, while the devices are either very low in efficiency or only operational at cryogenic temperatures [16][17][18] . Here we demonstrate very efficient (up to 11.7% EQE) and high-brightness EL achievable at room temperature by using solution-processed perovskite multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with an energy cascade, which can combine the advantages of 2D and 3D perovskites. We note, a relevant perovskite LED work 19 which shows a peak EQE of 8.8% has been published online during the revision of this paper.A precursor solution of 1-naphthylmethylamine iodide (NMAI), formamidinium iodide (FAI), and PbI2 with a molar ratio of 2:1:2 dissolved in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) was used to deposit perovskite films (see Methods for details), which are abbreviated as NFPI...

Defects usually play an important role in tailoring various properties of two-dimensional materials. Defects in two-dimensional monolayer molybdenum disulphide may be responsible for large variation of electric and optical properties. Here we present a comprehensive joint experiment–theory investigation of point defects in monolayer molybdenum disulphide prepared by mechanical exfoliation, physical and chemical vapour deposition. Defect species are systematically identified and their concentrations determined by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, and also studied by ab-initio calculation. Defect density up to 3.5 × 1013 cm−2 is found and the dominant category of defects changes from sulphur vacancy in mechanical exfoliation and chemical vapour deposition samples to molybdenum antisite in physical vapour deposition samples. Influence of defects on electronic structure and charge-carrier mobility are predicted by calculation and observed by electric transport measurement. In light of these results, the growth of ultra-high-quality monolayer molybdenum disulphide appears a primary task for the community pursuing high-performance electronic devices.

Surface contamination by polymer residues has long been a critical problem in probing graphene's intrinsic properties and in using graphene for unique applications in surface chemistry, biotechnology, and ultrahigh speed electronics. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a macromolecule commonly used for graphene transfer and device processing, leaving a thin layer of residue to be empirically cleaned by annealing. Here we report on a systematic study of PMMA decomposition on graphene and of its impact on graphene's intrinsic properties using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in combination with Raman spectroscopy. TEM images revealed that the physisorbed PMMA proceeds in two steps of weight loss in annealing and cannot be removed entirely at a graphene susceptible temperature before breaking. Raman analysis shows a remarkable blue-shift of the 2D mode after annealing, implying an anneal-induced band structure modulation in graphene with defects. Calculations using density functional theory show that local rehybridization of carbons from sp(2) to sp(3) on graphene defects may occur in the random scission of polymer chains and account for the blue-shift of the Raman 2D mode.