In-operando Metrology Assisted Exploration of Self-limiting Growth and Surface Chemistries Mechanisms of Atomically Thin Films

虽然孤立的二维纳米材料的目录正在迅速扩大，但对其晶体生长的科学理解远远落后，而且焦点几乎完全集中在自然相分层的范德华（vdW）材料上。该项目旨在利用室内计量技术，推进vdW和非vdW材料的新型晶体生长技术，并创造出新的单层晶体，可以在各种各样的应用中得到开发。在操作中扫描电子显微镜将提供一个多功能平台，第一次在许多长度尺度上以视频速率捕获这种晶体生长。利用选择的过渡金属二硫化物和氧化物材料系统和工艺方法，从液体衬底和限制反应方案到组合生长和插层反应，该项目寻求建立对潜在成核，相控制和单层极限晶体生长的新水平的理解。从氧化物等非vdw材料合成独立晶体单层的能力可能具有破坏性，因为它们具有工业重要性和普遍性，并且可以容纳大量的新性质，这些新性质不仅可以通过相互掺杂和相互合金化策略进行调节，还可以通过外部场和邻近现象进行调节。

While the catalogue of isolated 2D nanomaterials has been rapidly expanding, the scientific understanding of their crystal growth is lacking far behind and the focus has been almost exclusively on van-der-Waals (vdW) materials for which the natural phase is layered. This project aims to advance new crystal growth technology for vdW and non-vdW materials using in-operando metrology and to create new designer mono-layer crystals that can be exploited in a rich variety of applications. In-operando scanning electron microscopy will provide a versatile platform to capture for the first time such crystal growth at video rate over many length scales. Using select transition metal dichalcogenide and oxide material systems and process approaches ranging from liquid substrate and confined reaction schemes to combined growth and intercalation reactions, the project seeks to establish a new level of understanding of underlying nucleation, phase control and crystal growth at the mono-layer limit. The ability to synthesise free-standing crystal mono-layers particularly also from non-vdW materials such as oxides can be disruptive given their industrial importance and prevalence, and can harbour a plethora of new properties that are tunable not only via inter-doping and inter-alloying strategies but also via external fields and proximity phenomena.