Solution-Phase Synthesis of Few-Layer Hexagonal Antimonene Nanosheets via Anisotropic Growth

Antimonene, an emerging two-dimensional material, has garnered tremendous interest due to its intriguing structure and fascinating electronic properties. However, the synthesis of high-quality few-layer antimonene nanosheets, which can only be produced by exfoliation or epitaxial growth on exotic substrates, has greatly hindered the development of this new field. Herein, few-layer hexagonal and functionalized antimonene nanosheets were successfully prepared from SbCl₃ solutions for the first time by exclusively promoting their anisotropic growth in a colloidal solution. Oleylamine was selected as the reducing agent, rather than oleic acid, and dodecylthiol was key to preventing the formation of antimony oxide. Additionally, halide ions adsorbed on the surface also influenced the anisotropic growth of hexagonal antimonene nanosheets. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that the sheets were ≈5 nm thick; Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed a rhombohedral atomic structure (β-Sb) with excellent stability.