Solvent-Induced Growth of Free-Standing 2D Si Nanosheets

2D Si nanomaterials draw great interest owing to their fascinating properties and potential applications in electronic devices, catalysts, and energy storage and conversion devices. However, high-quality and large-scale synthesis of Si nanosheets remains a big challenge, despite the limited reports on their preparations via chemical exfoliation of layered Zintl silicide, magnesiothermic reduction of layered silicon oxide, and chemical vapor deposition. In this work, a facile, solution method to produce free-standing Si nanosheets in high yields and low cost, based on the reaction of commercial magnesium powder with trichlorosilane and tripropylamine in dichloromethane under mild conditions, is reported. The prepared Si nanosheets have an average thickness of ≈2 nm and show photoluminescence. Experiments demonstrate that the key to the formation of Si nanosheets is the use of dichloromethane as a solvent. This method can be used to prepare Si nanosheets in large scale for various potential applications and possibly Si crystals with specific crystal morphology.