Search Results (14)

Two-dimensional antimonene has recently emerged as a promising electrocatalytic platform; however, its oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and modulation strategies remain largely unexplored. Herein, density functional theory (DFT) calculations are employed to systematically investigate ORR catalysis on antimonene co-doped with transition metal (TM) and nonmetal (C, P) dual atoms. The results reveal that Pd@C–Sb, Pt@C–Sb, and Pd@P–Sb exhibit remarkably enhanced ORR activity, delivering low overpotentials of 0.31 V, 0.32 V, and 0.38 V, respectively, significantly outperforming their single-atom-doped counterparts. Mechanistic analyses demonstrate that nonmetal dopants induce strong synergistic interactions with TM centers, leading to charge redistribution and effective regulation of the TM d-band center, which optimizes the adsorption energetics of key ORR intermediates. Notably, the number of d-electrons of TM atoms is identified as a reliable electronic descriptor governing intermediate binding strength and catalytic activity. Furthermore, ab initio molecular dynamics simulations confirm the excellent thermodynamic stability of the optimized dual-atom catalysts. This work elucidates the atomic-scale origin of synergistic enhancement in dual-atom-doped antimonene and provides a rational design strategy for high-performance ORR electrocatalysts based on two-dimensional main-group materials. Full article

Flat honeycomblike Sb and Bi monolayers have been fabricated epitaxially on Ag(111) and SiC(0001) substrates, respectively, although their freestanding structures are found to prefer a buckled form. Based on ab initio total energy calculations and phonon mode analysis, here we reveal that the charge (electron) can essentially induce the structural stability of planar antimonene and bismuthene. With increasing of the charge, the flat antimonene and bismuthene become more stable than the buckled form in energy, as the charge is larger than 0.22–0.24 electrons per atom. Meanwhile, the phonon modes can also be stable with increasing charge for flat monolayer. Similar behavior is also found in PbTe monolayers. The present results provide an excellent account for experimental observations and reveal the stabilization mechanism of the flat honeycomb-like Sb, Bi, and PbTe monolayers. Full article

Antimonene has attracted much attention due to its excellent characteristics of high carrier mobility, thermoelectric properties and high stability. It has great application prospects in Q-switched lasers, laser protection and spintronics. At present, the epitaxy growth of antimonene mainly depends on molecular beam epitaxy. We have successfully prepared antimonene films on silicon, germanium/silicon substrates for the first time using electron beam evaporation coating and studied the effects of the deposition rate and substrate on the preparation of antimonene; film characterization was performed via confocal microprobe Raman spectroscopy, via X-ray diffraction and using a scanning electron microscope. Raman spectroscopy showed that different deposition rates can lead to the formation of different structures of antimonene, such as α phase and β phase. At the same time, it was found that the growth of antimonene is also affected by different substrates and ion beams. Full article

As one of the widely studied semiconductor materials, titanium dioxide (TiO₂) exhibits high photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting performance as well as high chemical and photo stability. However, limited by a wide band gap and fast electron-hole recombination rate, the low solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency remains a bottleneck for the practical application of TiO₂-based photoelectrodes. To improve the charge separation and water oxidation efficiency of TiO₂ photoanodes, antimonene, a two-dimensional (2D) material obtained by liquid-phase exfoliation, was assembled onto TiO₂ nanorod arrays (TNRAs) by a simple drop-coating assembly process. PEC measurements showed that the resulting 2D Sb/TiO₂ photoelectrode displayed an enhanced photocurrent density of about 1.32 mA cm⁻² in 1.0 M KOH at 0.3 V vs. Hg/HgO, which is ~1.65 times higher than that of the pristine TNRAs. Through UV-Vis absorption and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements, it was possible to ascribe the enhanced PEC performances of the 2D Sb/TiO₂ photoanode to increased absorption intensity in the visible light region, and improved interfacial charge-transfer kinetics in the 2D Sb/TiO₂ heterojunction, which promotes electron-hole separation, transfer, and collection. Full article

A two-dimensional (2D) Sb-modified screen-printed carbon nanofibers electrode (2D Sb_exf-SPCNFE) was developed to improve the stripping voltammetric determination of Cd(II) and Pb(II), taking advantage of the synergistic effect between the two nanomaterials. The surface morphology of the 2D Sb_exf-SPCNFE was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The analytical performance of 2D Sb_exf-SPCNFE was compared to those presented by screen-printed carbon electrodes modified with 2D Sb_exf (2D Sb_exf-SPCE) and the corresponding bare electrodes: screen-printed carbon nanofibers electrode (SPCNFE_bare) and screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE_bare). After optimizing the experimental conditions, the 2D Sb_exf-SPCNFE exhibited much better analytical parameters compared to the other assessed sensors. Analysis in 0.01 mol L⁻¹ HCl (pH = 2) using 2D Sb_exf-SPCNFE showed excellent linear behavior in the concentration range of 2.9 to 85.0 µg L⁻¹ and 0.3 to 82.0 µg L⁻¹ for Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively. The limits of detection after 240 s deposition time for Cd(II) and Pb(II) were 0.9 and 0.1 µg L⁻¹, and sensitivities between 1.5 and 3 times higher than those displayed by SPCE_bare, SPCNFE_bare, and 2D Sb_exf-SPCE were obtained. Finally, the 2D Sb_exf-SPCNFE was successfully applied to the determination of Cd(II) and Pb(II) traces in a certified estuarine water sample. Full article

Antimonene has attracted much attention due to its excellent properties such as high carrier mobility, excellent thermoelectric performance and high stability. In order to verify its theoretical advantages, a large number of experimental studies have been carried out and its applications explored. This paper mainly introduces the experimental preparation of antimonene by mechanical exfoliation, liquid phase exfoliation and epitaxial growth, summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of each method, and describes the applications of antimonene in sensor, battery, medicine and laser. Finally, prospects have been made to the future applications of antimonene in photoelectric field. Full article

Today, two-dimensional materials are one of the key research topics for scientists around the world. Interest in 2D materials is not surprising because, thanks to their remarkable mechanical, thermal, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties, they promise to revolutionize electronics. The unique properties of graphene-like 2D materials give them the potential to create completely new types of devices for functional electronics, nanophotonics, and quantum technologies. This paper considers epitaxially grown two-dimensional allotropic modifications of single elements: graphene (C) and its analogs (transgraphenes) borophene (B), aluminene (Al), gallenene (Ga), indiene (In), thallene (Tl), silicene (Si), germanene (Ge), stanene (Sn), plumbene (Pb), phosphorene (P), arsenene (As), antimonene (Sb), bismuthene (Bi), selenene (Se), and tellurene (Te). The emphasis is put on their structural parameters and technological modes in the method of molecular beam epitaxy, which ensure the production of high-quality defect-free single-element two-dimensional structures of a large area for promising device applications. Full article

Antimonene (Sb) is a novel kind of two-dimensional (2D) material that is predicted to be promising for various applications, such as water splitting and semiconductor devices. Several methods have been reported to prepare Sb nanoflakes/nanofilms; however, it is still relatively difficult to prepare Sb nanofilms. In this work, a method of low-power magnetron sputtering deposition was used for the preparation of Sb nanofilms with lateral dimensions on the centimeter scale and controllable film thickness. It was found that the control of the deposition temperature is important for the final crystalline structure of the nanofilms. Furthermore, the application of the nanofilms as a catalyst for water splitting (hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER)) was demonstrated. Full article

Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials (e.g., graphene) have shown to have a high potential in future biomedical applications due to their unique physicochemical properties such as unusual electrical conductivity, high biocompatibility, large surface area, and extraordinary thermal and mechanical properties. Although the potential of graphene as the most common 2D nanomaterials in biomedical applications has been extensively investigated, the practical use of other nanoengineered 2D materials beyond graphene such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), topological insulators (TIs), phosphorene, antimonene, bismuthene, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and MXenes for biomedical applications have not been appreciated so far. This review highlights not only the unique opportunities of 2D nanomaterials beyond graphene in various biomedical research areas such as bioelectronics, imaging, drug delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine but also addresses the risk factors and challenges ahead from the medical perspective and clinical translation of nanoengineered 2D materials. In conclusion, the perspectives and future roadmap of nanoengineered 2D materials beyond graphene are outlined for biomedical applications. Full article

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are considered a potential alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for energy storage due to their low cost and the large abundance of sodium resources. The search for new anode materials for SIBs has become a vital approach to satisfying the ever-growing demands for better performance with higher energy/power densities, improved safety and a longer cycle life. Recently, antimony (Sb) has been extensively researched as a promising candidate due to its high specific capacity through an alloying/dealloying process. In this review article, we will focus on different categories of the emerging Sb based anode materials with distinct sodium storage mechanisms including Sb, two-dimensional antimonene and antimony chalcogenide (Sb₂S₃ and Sb₂Se₃). For each part, we emphasize that the novel construction of an advanced nanostructured anode with unique structures could effectively improve sodium storage properties. We also highlight that sodium storage capability can be enhanced through designing advanced nanocomposite materials containing Sb based materials and other carbonaceous modification or metal supports. Moreover, the recent advances in operando/in-situ investigation of its sodium storage mechanism are also summarized. By providing such a systematic probe, we aim to stress the significance of novel nanostructures and advanced compositing that would contribute to enhanced sodium storage performance, thus making Sb based materials as promising anodes for next-generation high-performance SIBs. Full article

The extremely low friction between incommensurate two-dimensional (2D) materials has drawn more attention in the recent years. Structural superlubricity is a fascinating tribological phenomenon that is achieved in 2D heterojunctions despite the aligned or misaligned contacts that occur due to the disappearance of the lateral interactions between two incommensurate contacting surfaces. In this study, using the first-principles method, we report the computational realization of structural superlubricity for graphene/antimonene heterojunctions at the nanoscale. The calculated results clearly demonstrate that structural superlubricity between graphene and antimonene monolayers could be achieved under the misaligned contacts. The structural superlubricity is mainly attributed to lower work of separation, which maintains superlow friction coefficients. Full article

Antimonene is found to be a promising material for two-dimensional optoelectronic equipment due to its broad band gap and high carrier mobility. The van der Waals heterostructure, as a unique structural unit for the study of photoelectric properties, has attracted great attention. By using ab initio density functional theory with van der Waals corrections, we theoretically investigated the structural and electronic properties of the heterostructures composed of antimonene and monolayer MoS₂. Our results revealed that the Sb/MoS₂ hetero-bilayer is an indirect semiconductor with type-II band alignment, which implies the spatial separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Due to the weak van der Waals interlayer interactions between the adjacent sheets of the hetero-bilayer systems, the band structures of isolated antimonene and monolayer MoS₂ are preserved. In addition, a tunable band gap in Sb/MoS₂ hetero-bilayer can be realized by applying in-plane biaxial compressing/stretching. When antimonene and monolayer MoS₂ are stacked into superlattices, the indirect semiconductors turn into direct semiconductors with the decreased band gaps. Our results show that the antimonene-based hybrid structures are good candidate structures for photovoltaic devices. Full article

Monolayer antimony (antimonene) has been reported for its excellent properties, such as tuneable band gap, stability in the air, and high mobility. However, growing high quality, especially large-area antimonene, remains challenging. In this study, we report the direct growth of antimonene on c-plane sapphire substrate while using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We explore the effect of growth temperature on antimonene formation and present a growth phase diagram of antimony. The effect of antimony sources (Sb₂ or Sb₄) and a competing mechanism between the two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) growth processes and the effects of adsorption and cracking of the source molecules are also discussed. This work offers a new method for growing antimonene and it provides ideas for promoting van der Waals epitaxy. Full article

To suppress the volume expansion and thus improve the performance of antimonene as a promising anode for lithium-ion batteries, we have systematically studied the stability, structural and electronic properties of the antimonene capped with graphene (G/Sb heterostructure) upon the intercalation and diffusion of Li atoms by first-principles calculations based on van der Waals (vdW) corrected density functional theory. G/Sb exhibits higher Young’s modulus (armchair: 145.20, zigzag: 144.36 N m⁻¹) and improved electrical conductivity (bandgap of 0.03 eV) compared with those of antimonene. Li favors incorporating into the interlayer region of G/Sb rather than the outside surfaces of graphene and antimonene of G/Sb heterostructure, which is caused by the synergistic effect. The in-plane lattice constants of G/Sb heterostructure expand only around 4.5%, and the interlayer distance of G/Sb increases slightly (0.22 Å) at the case of fully lithiation, which indicates that the capping of graphene on antimonene can effectively suppress the volumetric expansion during the charging process. Additionally, the hybrid G/Sb heterostructure has little influence on the migration behaviors of Li on the outside of graphene and Sb surfaces compared with their free-standing monolayers. However, the migration energy barrier for Li diffusion in the interlayer region (about 0.59 eV) is significantly affected by the geometry structure, which can be reduced to 0.34 eV simply by increasing the interlayer distance. The higher theoretical specific capacity (369.03 mAh g⁻¹ vs 208 mAh g⁻¹ for antimonene monolayer) and suitable open circuit voltage (from 0.11 V to 0.89 V) of G/Sb heterostructure are beneficial for anode materials of lithium-ion batteries. The above results reveal that G/Sb heterostructure may be an ideal candidate of anode for high recycling–rate and portable lithium-ion batteries. Full article