Chemical Intercalation of Zerovalent Metals into 2D Layered Bi₂Se₃ Nanoribbons

Abstract

We have developed a chemical method to intercalate a variety of zerovalent metal atoms into two-dimensional (2D) layered Bi(2)Se(3) chalcogenide nanoribbons. We use a chemical reaction, such as a disproportionation redox reaction, to generate dilute zerovalent metal atoms in a refluxing solution, which intercalate into the layered Bi(2)Se(3) structure. The zerovalent nature of the intercalant allows superstoichiometric intercalation of metal atoms such as Ag, Au, Co, Cu, Fe, In, Ni, and Sn. We foresee the impact of this methodology in establishing novel fundamental physical behaviors and in possible energy applications.

Superconductivity by Sr intercalation in the layered topological insulatorBi2Se3

“…Super-lattice pattern in electron diffraction measurements is a strong indicator of intercalation. 15 Inset (iii) in Figure 1b shows the diffraction pattern for Sr 0. Figure 2 shows the M-H scan in smaller field range at different temperatures towards measuring the lower critical field which is marked by deviation from linearity in the diamagnetic state.…”

Paramagnetic Cu-doped Bi2Te3 nanoplates

“…It should be noted that EELS is a powerful technique for identifying the oxidation states of a transition metal from its near-edge fine structure, such as the L 3 /L 2 edges. [41][42][43] Through carefully analyzing the obtained EELS profiles (particular from a Cu particle and from a CuTe nanoplate), the Cu fine structure in non-zero oxidation states, such as Cu 2þ , shows distinct, intense, and sharp L 3 /L 2 edges. 41,42 As can be seen from To understand the doping state of Cu and their bonding behavior in the Cu-doped Bi 2 Te 3 nanoplates, XPS was performed and an example is shown in Fig.…”

“…[41][42][43] Through carefully analyzing the obtained EELS profiles (particular from a Cu particle and from a CuTe nanoplate), the Cu fine structure in non-zero oxidation states, such as Cu 2þ , shows distinct, intense, and sharp L 3 /L 2 edges. 41,42 As can be seen from To understand the doping state of Cu and their bonding behavior in the Cu-doped Bi 2 Te 3 nanoplates, XPS was performed and an example is shown in Fig. 3(a), in which the predominant measured binding energies for Bi and Te are 157.8 eV for Bi 4f and 573.7 eV for Te 3d, respectively; which correspond to the Bi 2 Te 3 phase.…”

Tunable Plasmon and Optical Properties of Chalcogenide Nanoplates Using Monochromated Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy

“…For example, Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 are recently discovered topological insulators [1] while MoS 2 is a promising catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) [2,3]. The layered crystal structure provides a unique opportunity to tune the materials properties by intercalation, a chemical process to insert guest species at the van der Waals gap [4,5] (Figure 1A, schematic).Dielectric properties of these metal chalcogenides are such that both dielectric photonic and surface plasmonic modes can be supported in ultrathin chalcogenide nanoplates. Using intercalation, we demonstrate that the optical and plasmonic properties of chalcogenide nanoplates can be tuned [6].…”

“…For example, Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 are recently discovered topological insulators [1] while MoS 2 is a promising catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) [2,3]. The layered crystal structure provides a unique opportunity to tune the materials properties by intercalation, a chemical process to insert guest species at the van der Waals gap [4,5] (Figure 1A, schematic).…”