The experimental exfoliation of layered group-IV monochalcogenides --semiconductors isostructural to black phosphorus-- using processes similar to those followed in the production of graphene or phosphorene has turned out unsuccessful thus far, as if the chemical degradation observed in black phosphorus was aggravated in these monochalcogenides. Here, we document a facile dissociation of water by these materials within ten nanoseconds from room-temperature Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics calculations under standard temperature and pressure conditions. These results suggest that humidity must be fully eradicated to exfoliate monolayers successfully, for instance, by placing samples in a hydrophobic solution during mechanical exfoliation. From another materials perspective, these two-dimensional materials that create individual hydrogen ions out of water without illumination may become relevant for applications in hydrogen production and storage.
@article{arxiv.1810.02841,
title = {Water splits to degrade two-dimensional group-IV monochalcogenides in nanoseconds},
author = {Salvador Barraza-Lopez and Thaneshwor P. Kaloni},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1810.02841},
year = {2018}
}
Comments
This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Central Science, copyright American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work please use the following link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscentsci.8b00589