Exotic Transport Properties and Unique Applications of Intercalated van der Waals Materials
Abstract
Intercalation is the process of inserting in-plane Ôguest molecules between adjacent atomic sheets in layered van der Waals (vdW) materials such as graphite or transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Moreover, such intercalated compounds can be engineered to exhibit exotic electrical, thermal, optical, mechanical, piezoelectric, superconducting or magnetic properties that may not exist in nature. While some studies on graphite intercalation compounds can be found in the literature but there is very limited information on intercalation of TMDs and other vdW materials, which can lead to new scientific discoveries and novel applications that were once inconceivable. In this project, we propose to explore and study such prope1ties in intercalated-vdW materials and identify their unique applications. Intercalated vdW materials provide a unique pathway to elicit material properties akin to two-dimensional (2D) systems without the need for mechanical exfoliation or direct synthesis of a 2D material. An essential feature that makes a single layer (or a pure 2D system) different from multilayer (or bulk vdW materials) is that it is free of vdW type interlayer interactions, which has opened up the world of 2D materials. Intercalation of few-layer, multilayer, or bulk vdW materials is a unique approach to realize a 2D material system by decoupling or weakening the inter-layer vdW interactions. Compared to single layer 2D crystals, intercalated vdW materials could be more beneficial, in ten.ns of stability, robustness, manufacturability, and property manipulation. Currently, such intercalated systems are still in their infancy, and demands more extensive research efforts to uncover various exotic physics and applications uniquely enabled by them. The excitement behind this research plan is founded on promising results from our research efforts, such as magnetic intercalates in bilayer [1] and few-layer [2] graphene, as well as use of alkali intercalates (such as Li) for energy storage (Kim group) [3] and halogen intercalates (such as Br-) for eliciting kinetic inductance in a multilayer graphene inductor that has helped overcome a nearly 200 years old dilemma in electromagnetics (Banerjee group) [4]. Specifically, we will explore a wider range of intercalates (including alkali, alkali-earth/rare-earth metals, chlorides, halides, fluorides, etc.) as well as bi- or tri-intercalation of various vdW materials. Concurrently, we plan to apply our understanding of the exotic prope1ties (from superconducting to magnetic) of intercalated vdW materials for designing novel applications, which are uniquely enabled by the uncovered novel physics in this project. We expect our initial efforts to lay the foundation for a wider range of activities in this domain.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 14, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1810366
Entities
People
- Kaustav Banerjee
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of California, Santa Barbara