We successfully synthesized large-scale and highly pure ultrathin SnO2 nanosheets (NSs), with a minimum thickness in the regime of ca. 2.1 nm as determined by HRTEM and in good agreement with XRD refinements and AFM height profiles. Through TEM and HRTEM observations on time-dependent samples, we found that the as-prepared SnO2 NSs were assembled by “oriented attachment” of preformed SnO2 nanoparticles (NPs). Systematic trials showed that well-defined ultrathin SnO2 NSs could only be obtained under appropriate reaction time, solvent, additive, precursor concentration, and cooling rate. A certain degree of nonstoichiometry appears inevitable in the well-defined SnO2 NSs sample. However, deviations from the optimal synthetic parameters give rise to severe nonstoichiometry in the products, resulting in the formation of Sn3O4 or SnO. This finding may open new accesses to the fundamental investigations of tin oxides as well as their intertransition processes. Finally, we investigated the lithium-ion storage of the SnO2 NSs as compared to SnO2 hollow spheres and NPs. The results showed superior performance of SnO2 NSs sample over its two counterparts. This greatly enhanced Li-ion storage capability of SnO2 NSs is probably resulting from the ultrathin thicknesses and the unique porous structures: the nanometer-sized networks provide negligible diffusion times of ions thus faster phase transitions, while the “breathable” interior porous structure can effectively buffer the drastic volume changes during lithiation and delithiation reactions.

The design and fabrication of robust metallic states in graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are challenging because lateral quantum confinement and many-electron interactions induce electronic band gaps when graphene is patterned at nanometer length scales. Recent developments in bottom-up synthesis have enabled the design and characterization of atomically precise GNRs, but strategies for realizing GNR metallicity have been elusive. Here we demonstrate a general technique for inducing metallicity in GNRs by inserting a symmetric superlattice of zero-energy modes into otherwise semiconducting GNRs. We verify the resulting metallicity using scanning tunneling spectroscopy as well as first-principles density-functional theory and tight-binding calculations. Our results reveal that the metallic bandwidth in GNRs can be tuned over a wide range by controlling the overlap of zero-mode wave functions through intentional sublattice symmetry breaking.

Topological quantum materials represent a new class of matter with both exotic physical phenomena and novel application potentials. Many Heusler compounds, which exhibit rich emergent properties such as unusual magnetism, superconductivity and heavy fermion behaviour, have been predicted to host non-trivial topological electronic structures. The coexistence of topological order and other unusual properties makes Heusler materials ideal platform to search for new topological quantum phases (such as quantum anomalous Hall insulator and topological superconductor). By carrying out angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and ab initio calculations on rare-earth half-Heusler compounds LnPtBi (Ln=Lu, Y), we directly observe the unusual topological surface states on these materials, establishing them as first members with non-trivial topological electronic structure in this class of materials. Moreover, as LnPtBi compounds are non-centrosymmetric superconductors, our discovery further highlights them as promising candidates of topological superconductors.