Epitaxial growth and E-beam induced structural changes of single crystalline 2D antimonene.

Two-dimensional antimonene has attracted much attention because of its excellent stability and remarkable physical properties. Understanding the growth mechanism of antimonene by investigating processing parameters and structural properties is necessary for developing reliable fabrication methods. In this study, NaCl-assisted van der Waals epitaxy, one of the methods for scale-up fabrication, is employed to achieve atomic layer antimonene with high coverage rate. Furthermore, high-resolution images of atomic structure are presented with the powerful transmission electron microscopy, helping us confirm the exact configuration of antimonene. Meanwhile, we studied the effect of electron beam irradiation on antimonene; it was found that the stacking structure of antimonene would change under electron beam irradiation, and the moiré patterns of twisted few-layered antimonene were also observed. These results provide comprehensive study of growth mechanisms and in-depth knowledge of antimonene nanostructure, which are expected to facilitate the development of controllable fabrication for future device applications. The different reaction pathways induced by electron beam irradiation with the in situ TEM imaging of the evolution of the microstructure of antimonene: knock-on effects and formation of Moiré patterns. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]