Evolution of 2D tin oxides on the surface of molten tin

Abstract

The exfoliation of two dimensional (2D) oxides, established on the surface of specific liquid metals, has recently been introduced. One such liquid metal is molten tin, which forms a variety of surface 2D oxides. However, the development behaviour of these surface tin oxides is still unknown. Here the evolution of stoichiometry and thickness from single-layer SnO to highly oxidised multi-layer SnO in ambient oxygen is explored.

State-of-the-art surface oxide semiconductors of liquid metals: an emerging platform for development of multifunctional two-dimensional materials

“…The characterization studies performed via HRTEM showed the development of multiple tin oxide species (SnO, SnO 2 , Sn 2 O 3 and Sn 3 O 4 ) during oxidation of molten tin. 106 The studies have also shown that the exfoliated tin oxide nanosheets have a monocrystalline structure with a typically 0.7 nm thickness, corresponding to previously reported values for SnO monolayers. 106 A longer oxidation time of molten tin is accompanied by an increase of the oxygen content in tin oxide lms and the development of SnO 2 , Sn 2 O 3 and Sn 3 O 4 components in the form of island oxide nanostructures rather than SnO.…”

Liquid Metals: A Novel Possibility of Fabricating 2D Metal Oxides

“…As the oxygen partial pressure and oxidation time increase, both the thickness and stoichiometry of surface oxides have greatly changed. [ 51,53,54 ] Bi features a similar oxidation behavior to Sn and it has a continuously thickening skin. [ 55 ] Ismail et al.…”

“…[ 56 ] The precise control of the oxygen content, and the oxidation time for regulating the oxidation rate of the liquid metals is expected to obtain the skin of specific thicknesses and surface compositions. [ 47,51,53,54,57,58 ]…”

“…[ 68,74 ] This technique involves contacting the liquid metal droplet with a target substrate, as shown in Figure a. Various thin oxide sheets were obtained by utilizing the skin of liquid metals, such as Ga 2 O 3 , [ 69,70,75–77 ] Bi 2 O 3 , [ 57 ] SnO, [ 53,58 ] and SnO 2 . [ 53 ] They can be utilized for next‐generation power, radio‐frequency electronics, ultraviolet photodetectors, field‐effect transistors, ferroelectric field‐effect memory, and complementary metal‐oxide‐semiconductor transistor devices, respectively.…”

Two‐Step Synthesis of Large‐Area 2D Bi2S3 Nanosheets Featuring High In‐Plane Anisotropy

“…Edge folding is frequently observed in liquid metal exfoliated nanosheets. [ 17 ] The thickness of the material was found to be governed by the lattice parameters of the unit cell. A typical AFM image of bilayer Bi 2 S 3 is shown in Figure 1f,g, with additional AFM images being presented in supplementary Figure S2 (Supporting Information).…”