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.

Engineering of the optical, electronic, and magnetic properties of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanomaterials via oxygen doping and functionalization has been envisaged in theory. However, it is still unclear as to what extent these properties can be altered using such methodology because of the lack of significant experimental progress and systematic theoretical investigations. Therefore, here, comprehensive theoretical predictions verified by solid experimental confirmations are provided, which unambiguously answer this long-standing question. Narrowing of the optical bandgap in h-BN nanosheets (from ≈5.5 eV down to 2.1 eV) and the appearance of paramagnetism and photoluminescence (of both Stokes and anti-Stokes types) in them after oxygen doping and functionalization are discussed. These results are highly valuable for further advances in semiconducting nanoscale electronics, optoelectronics, and spintronics.

We consider a new C 2 H nanostructure based on bilayer graphene transformed under the covalent bond of hydrogen atoms adsorbed on its external surface, as well as compounds of carbon atoms located opposite each other in neighboring layers. They constitute a "film" of the 111 diamond with a thickness of less than 1 nm, which is called diamane. The energy characteristics and electron spectra of diamane, graphene, and diamond are calculated using the density functional theory and are compared with each other. The effective Young's moduli and destruction thresholds of diamane and graphene membranes are determined by the molecular dynamics method. It is shown that C 2 H diamane is more stable than CH graphane, its dielectric "gap" is narrower than the band gap of bulk diamond (by 0.8 eV) and graphane (by 0.3 eV), and is harder and more brittle than the latter.

1The atomic structure and physical properties of few-layered 111 oriented diamond nanocrystals (diamanes), covered by hydrogen atoms from both sides are studied using electronic band structure calculations. It was shown that energy stability linear increases upon increasing of the thickness of proposed structures. All 2D carbon films display direct dielectric band gaps with nonlinear quantum confinement response upon the thickness. Elastic properties of diamanes reveal complex dependence upon increasing of the number of 111 layers. All theoretical results were compared with available experimental data.

The discovery of two-dimensional materials became possible due to the mechanical cleavage technique. Despite its simplicity, the as-cleaved materials demonstrated surprising macrocontinuity, high crystalline quality and extraordinary mechanical and electrical properties that triggered global research interest. Here such cleavage processes and associated mechanical behaviours are investigated by a direct in situ transmission electron microscopy probing technique, using atomically thin molybdenum disulphide layers as a model material. Our technique demonstrates layer number selective cleavage, from a monolayer to double layer and up to 23 atomic layers. In situ observations combined with molecular dynamics simulations reveal unique layer-dependent bending behaviours, from spontaneous rippling (o5 atomic layers) to homogeneous curving (B 10 layers) and finally to kinking (20 or more layers), depending on the competition of strain energy and interfacial energy.

The impact of the edges and presence of dopants to the work function (WF) of graphene nanoribbons (GNR) and nanoflakes was studied by an ab initio approach. The strong dependence of the WF upon the GNR structure was found and a promising character for the field emission by the donor type impurities was observed. Basing on the predominant impact of the nanostructure edges to the emission properties, the small graphene flakes were investigated as a possible source for the electron emission.The obtained weak dependence of the low WF values of the graphene flakes on their size and shape allows to suggest that the pure carbon medium with high and uniform emission properties can be fabricated by today technology.Carbon-based nanostructures are a promising material for the application as a field electron emission source. For example, shortly after first identification in 1991 1 in Refs. 2-4, it was found out that carbon nanotubes are promising for cold electron emission. Despite of successful realization 5 and high efficiency of such nanostructures, the complicated fabrication of the carbon nanotube arrays of a uniform size hindered them from application in real devices. Graphene, which was synthesized only several years ago, is currently considered as a base for the whole future nanoelectronics. It is already applied as an element in the nanoelectronic schemes (high-frequency transistors, 6 logic transistiors 7 ), as touch screens, 8 sensors, 7 supercapacitors, 9,10 and more. 7 Recently, an individual single-layer graphene has been considered as a source 11,12 for the field electron emission (FEE). In the case of a perfect graphene sheet, the value of the work function (WF, the main feature of the FEE effect) has been defined as 4.60 eV, 13 (in agreement with the theoretical data, 4.48 eV 14 LDA, 4.49 eV 15 GGA) which is a relatively high value.Therefore, the work function value decrease is highly desirable for successful graphene application in the FEE area. The work function reduction by 1 eV leads to an increase in the field emission current by over two orders of magnitude, which is suggested by the Fowler-Nordheim theory. 16 The WF of graphene can be controlled by the electric field effect (EFE), it was found 17 that the scanning Kelvin probe microscope application to the back-gated graphene devices allows to change the work function value within the 4.5 -4.8 eV range for a single-layer graphene, and 4.65 -4.75 eV for a bilayer graphene. The reference atoms introduction into the graphene lattice can significantly improve the FEE characteristics. The

Two-dimensional transition metal carbides, that is, MXenes and especially Ti3C2, attract attention due to their excellent combination of properties. Ti3C2 nanosheets could be the material of choice for future flexible electronics, energy storage, and electromechanical nanodevices. There has been limited information available on the mechanical properties of Ti3C2, which is essential for their utilization. We have fabricated Ti3C2 nanosheets and studied their mechanical properties using direct in situ tensile tests inside a transmission electron microscope, quantitative nanomechanical mapping, and theoretical calculations employing machine-learning derived potentials. Young’s modulus in the direction perpendicular to the Ti3C2 basal plane was found to be 80–100 GPa. The tensile strength of Ti3C2 nanosheets reached up to 670 MPa for ∼40 nm thin nanoflakes, while a strong dependence of tensile strength on nanosheet thickness was demonstrated. Theoretical calculations allowed us to study mechanical characteristics of Ti3C2 as a function of nanosheet geometrical parameters and structural defect concentration.

The successful isolation and remarkable properties of graphene have recently triggered investigation of two-dimensional (2D) materials from layered compounds; however, one-atom-thick 2D materials without bulk layered counterparts are scarcely reported. Here we report the structure and properties of novel 2D copper oxide studied by experimental and theoretical methods. Electron microscopy observations reveal that copper oxide can form monoatomic layers with an unusual square lattice on graphene. Density functional theory calculations suggest that oxygen atoms at the centre of the square lattice stabilizes the 2D Cu structure, and that the 2D copper oxide sheets have unusual electronic and magnetic properties different from 3D bulk copper oxide.