Fluorinated Phosphorene: Electrochemical Synthesis, Atomistic Fluorination, and Enhanced Stability

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemistry

Background:

• Phosphorene exhibits unique electronic and optoelectronic properties, including a tunable band-gap and high carrier mobility.
• The practical application of phosphorene is severely limited by its intrinsic instability in air.
• Existing stabilization methods are complex and prone to degradation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile and scalable method for obtaining and stabilizing phosphorene.
• To investigate the properties and potential applications of fluorinated phosphorene (FP).

Main Methods:

• One-step, ionic liquid-assisted electrochemical exfoliation and synchronous fluorination.
• Core-level binding energy shift calculations and spectroscopic measurements to determine fluorination configurations.
• Assessment of air and photothermal stability of the synthesized FP.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of large-scale, few-layer fluorinated phosphorene (FP) with high selectivity (3-6 atomic layers).
• FP exhibits unique morphological and optical characteristics.
• Electrolyte concentration was found to significantly modulate FP's atomistic fluorination configurations.
• FP demonstrates enhanced air stability (antioxidation and antihydration) and excellent photothermal stability over a week of air exposure.

Conclusions:

• A novel, facile pathway for producing stable, few-layer fluorinated phosphorene has been established.
• The developed method overcomes the limitations of phosphorene's air instability.
• Fluorinated phosphorene shows significant promise for real-world applications in phosphorene-based nanophotonics.