Temperature Driven Phase Transition at the Antimonene/Bi2Se3 van der Waals Heterostructure
ACS Nano, vol.13, no.9, pp.10481-10489, 2019 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 13 Issue: 9
- Publication Date: 2019
- Doi Number: 10.1021/acsnano.9b04377
- Journal Name: ACS Nano
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
- Page Numbers: pp.10481-10489
- Keywords: 2D materials, antimonene, bismuth selenide, first-principles thermodynamics, moiré pattern, scanning tunneling microscopy, van der Waals epitaxy
- Open Archive Collection: Article
- Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC) Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
We report the discovery of a temperature-induced phase transition between the α and β structures of antimonene. When antimony is deposited at room temperature on bismuth selenide, it forms domains of α-antimonene having different orientations with respect to the substrate. During a mild annealing, the β phase grows and prevails over the α phase, eventually forming a single domain that perfectly matches the surface lattice structure of bismuth selenide. First-principles thermodynamics calculations of this van der Waals heterostructure explain the different temperature-dependent stability of the two phases and reveal a minimum energy transition path. Although the formation energies of freestanding α- and β-antimonene only slightly differ, the β phase is ultimately favored in the annealed heterostructure due to an increased interaction with the substrate mediated by the perfect lattice match.