Two-Dimensional Mineral [Pb ₂ BiS ₃ ][AuTe ₂ ]: High-Mobility Charge Carriers in Single-Atom-Thick Layers

Journal Article · Wed Feb 18 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ja5111688· OSTI ID:1356621

Fang, Lei; Im, Jino; Stoumpos, Constantinos C.; Shi, Fengyuan; Dravid, Vinayak; Leroux, Maxime; Freeman, Arthur J.; Kwok, Wai-Kwong; Chung, Duck Young; Kanatzidis, Mercouri

Two-dimensional (2D) electronic systems are of wide interest due to their richness in chemical and physical phenomena and potential for technological applications. Here we report that [Pb2BiS3][AuTe2], known as the naturally occurring mineral buckhornite, hosts 2D carriers in single-atom-thick layers. The structure is composed of stacking layers of weakly coupled [Pb2BiS3] and [AuTe2] sheets. The insulating [Pb2BiS3] sheet inhibits interlayer charge hopping and confines the carriers in the basal plane of the single-atom-thick [AuTe2] layer. Magneto-transport measurements on synthesized samples and theoretical calculations show that [Pb2BiS3][AuTe2] is a multiband semimetal with a compensated density of electrons and holes, which exhibits a high hole carrier mobility of similar to 1360 cm(2)/(V s). This material possesses an extremely large anisotropy, G = rho(c)/rho(ab) approximate to 10(4), comparable to those of the benchmark 2D materials graphite and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O6+delta. The electronic structure features linear band dispersion at the Fermi level and ultrahigh Fermi velocities of 10(6) m/s, which are virtually identical to those of graphene. The weak interlayer coupling gives rise to the highly cleavable property of the single crystal specimens. Our results provide a novel candidate for a monolayer platform to investigate emerging electronic properties.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1356621
• Journal Information: Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 137, Issue 6; ISSN 0002-7863
• Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English