Two-dimensional (2D) electrides are a new concept material in which anionic electrons are confined in the interlayer space between positively charged layers. We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements on Y2C, which is a possible 2D electride, in order to verify the formation of 2D electride states in Y2C. We clearly observe the existence of semimetallic "electride bands" near the Fermi level, as predicted by abinitio calculations, conclusively demonstrating that Y2C is a quasi-2D electride with electride bands derived from interlayer anionic electrons.
@article{arxiv.1606.01174,
title = {Semimetallic "Electride Bands" Derived from Interlayer Electrons in Quasi-Two-Dimensional Electride Y$_2$C},
author = {Koji Horiba and Ryu Yukawa and Taichi Mitsuhashi and Miho Kitamura and Takeshi Inoshita and Noriaki Hamada and Shigeki Otani and Naoki Ohashi and Sachiko Maki and Jun-ichi Yamaura and Hideo Hosono and Youichi Murakami and Hiroshi Kumigashira},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1606.01174},
year = {2017}
}