Synthesis and Characterization of a Pure 2D Antimony Film on Au(111)

Abstract

The synthesis of antimonene and related 2D Sb films on top of metallic substrates has recently become a very active subject due to the strong spin−orbit coupling and the envisaged topological properties of this novel material. Gold has been used as a standard substrate for other 2D films, but in the case of Sb, no success has yet been reported mainly due to the formation of AuSb 2 surface alloy. In this work, we have used low energy electron diffraction, time-of-flight direct recoil spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy together with density functional theory calculations to provide a full characterization of the growth and the structural properties of Sb deposited on Au(111). We show that the controlled deposition of Sb on Au(111) at room temperature results in a surface alloy at submonolayer coverage, but around 1 ML a pure 2D Sb film with a ( ) 3 0 1 2 commensurate structure is achieved. The obtained 2D material has high stability and can be produced not only by direct deposition of Sb over the clean Au substrate but also by starting from a thicker Sb film followed by annealing of the sample at about 500 K, which is easier and reliable for potential applications.

Advances in the synthesis and modification of two-dimensional antimonene

“…E. D. Cantero et al deposited antimony samples on a clean Au(111) surface at room temperature. 50 After the sample deposition started, TOF-DRS detected the appearance of Sb recoils, and the intensity of the gold recoil peak continued to decrease. After continuous deposition for 30 min, only the appearance of Sb recoil could be detected on the surface of the deposited sample (Fig.…”

Review on 2D Arsenene and Antimonene: Emerging Materials for Energy, Electronic and Biological Applications

“…They have used several experimental and theoretical techniques like TOF-DRS, LEED, STM, XPS, and DFT calculations to study growth and structural properties of antimonene deposited on Au (111) for possible electronic applications. [128] Torres et al have synthesized and optimized the synthesis parameters of antimonene hexagons via colloidal approach. Few-layer antimonene hexagons are synthesized in bulk with lateral dimension of 200-300 nm to 2-3 microns with thickness of few nanometers.…”

Growth of Open Honeycomb-like Sn Structures on Ag(111) at Low Temperatures

“…On surfaces of coinage metals, where the interaction of the deposited atoms with the substrate is high, the formation of the desired honeycomb structure is often hindered, giving place either to surface alloys 15,16 or, in the best case, to monoelemental adlayers with other 2D structures. 17 In the case of Cu(111) as a substrate, stanene was grown at low temperatures (∼150 K) 14 in order to avoid the tendency of Sn atoms to replace Cu atoms in the top surface layer and form a surface alloy. In a previous work, we have investigated the growth of Sn on Cu(001) at low temperature, 18 where we showed that surface alloying is inhibited on this surface at temperatures below 170 K. We observed under these conditions the formation of two ordered phases in the range of coverages lower than 0.65 ML, both presenting open honeycomb-like hexagons and pentagons.…”

“…On surfaces of coinage metals, where the interaction of the deposited atoms with the substrate is high, the formation of the desired honeycomb structure is often hindered, giving place either to surface alloys , or, in the best case, to monoelemental adlayers with other 2D structures . In the case of Cu(111) as a substrate, stanene was grown at low temperatures (∼150 K) in order to avoid the tendency of Sn atoms to replace Cu atoms in the top surface layer and form a surface alloy.…”