The synthesis and structure of suspended ultra-thin Si(3)N(4) nanosheets

Suspended Si(3)N(4) nanosheets at least 4 µm in width and ranging from 1.5 to 4 nm in thickness were successfully synthesized for the first time. Several of those nanosheets had scrolled edges due to being ultra-thin. According to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) observations, the Si(3)N(4) nanosheets exhibit microscopic corrugations in the range of several tens of nanometres. In addition, the directions of the microscopic corrugations were not random, but instead parallel to specific crystal orientations.