General synthesis of ionic-electronic coupled two-dimensional materials

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) AMX2 compounds are a family of mixed ionic and electronic conductors (where A is a monovalent metal ion, M is a trivalent metal, and X is a chalcogen) that offer a fascinating platform to explore intrinsic coupled ionic-electronic properties. However, the synthesis of 2D AMX2 compounds remains challenging due to their multielement characteristics and various by-products. Here, we report a separated-precursor-supply chemical vapor deposition strategy to manipulate the chemical reactions and evaporation of precursors, facilitating the successful fabrication of 20 types of 2D AMX2 flakes. Notably, a 10.4 nm-thick AgCrS2 flake shows superionic behavior at room temperature, with an ionic conductivity of 192.8 mS/cm. Room temperature ferroelectricity and reconfigurable positive/negative photovoltaic currents have been observed in CuScS2 flakes. This study not only provides an effective approach for the synthesis of multielement 2D materials with unique properties, but also lays the foundation for the exploration of 2D AMX2 compounds in electronic, optoelectronic, and neuromorphic devices.