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Novel nanostructures suspended in graphene vacancies, edges and holes

悬浮于石墨烯空位/孔洞中的独立纳米结构

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Abstract

Under electron beam irradiation, graphene is inclined to form defects (such as vacancies and holes) that can trap foreign atoms to form new structures. The interactions between these structures and graphene have garnered considerable research interest as they can yield exciting properties. This review focuses on the fabrication and characterization of free-standing nanostructures suspended in graphene using transmission electron microscopy, which enables the observations with atomic resolution and investigations of the dynamic behavior of atoms/structures in such materials. Additionally, the review discusses the influence of novel metal/nonmetal dopants in graphene vacancies with varying bond configurations and the catalytic activities of single atoms/clusters located at the graphene edges. Moreover, the dynamic forming process of freestanding single-atom-thick two-dimensional (2D) clusters/metal/metallenes and 2D clusters/metal/metallenes oxides is discussed. Understanding the behavior, stabilities, and macroscopic effects of these nanostructures is vital for the practical deployment of novel atom/molecule scale nanotechnology. Overall, accumulative evidence confirms the growing number of these novel nanostructures, implying a bright future for further exciting discoveries.

摘要

在电子束辐照下, 石墨烯较易形成空位、孔洞等缺陷, 从而捕获外来原子, 形成新的结构. 由于这些结构具有一些令人兴奋的性质, 它们和石墨烯之间的相互作用引起了科研工作者相当大的研究兴趣. 本文总结了利用透射电子显微镜在制备和表征悬浮在石墨烯中的独立纳米结构的方法, 以及原子分辨率下观察到的此类材料中原子/结构的动态行为过程, 讨论了新型金属/非金属掺杂剂对具有不同键结构的石墨烯空位的影响, 以及位于石墨烯边缘的单原子/团簇的催化活性. 此外,还讨论了独立单原子厚二维团簇/金属/金属烯和二维团簇/金属/金属烯氧化物的动态形成过程. 并指出这些纳米结构的形成、稳定性和宏观效应对于新的原子/分子尺度纳米技术的实际应用至关重要. 以上数据证实了新型纳米结构的数量不断增加, 并预示着相关研究的不断深入.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52071225 and 51676154) and Czech Republic under the ERDF program “Institute of Environmental Technology-Excellent Research” (CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000853). Rümmeli MH and Fu L thank the Sino-German Research Institute for support (GZ 1400).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China

    Yu Liu  (刘玉), Junhua Zhou  (周军华), Qitao Shi  (施启涛) & Mark H. Rümmeli

  2. IFW Dresden, P.O. Box D-01171, Dresden, Germany

    Huy Q. Ta, Thomas Gemming & Mark H. Rümmeli

  3. Gusu Laboratory of Materials, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Xiaoqin Yang  (杨晓琴)

  4. Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171, Dresden, Germany

    Yue Zhang  (张月)

  5. Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Curie-Sklodowskiej 34, Zabrze, 41-819, Poland

    Barbara Trzebicka & Mark H. Rümmeli

  6. Institute of Environmental Technology, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 17. Listopadu 15, Ostrava, 708 33, Czech Republic

    Mark H. Rümmeli

  7. College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Mengqi Zeng  (曾梦琪) & Lei Fu  (付磊)

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  1. Yu Liu  (刘玉)
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  2. Huy Q. Ta
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  3. Xiaoqin Yang  (杨晓琴)
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  4. Yue Zhang  (张月)
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  5. Junhua Zhou  (周军华)
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  6. Qitao Shi  (施启涛)
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  7. Mengqi Zeng  (曾梦琪)
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  8. Thomas Gemming
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  9. Barbara Trzebicka
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  10. Lei Fu  (付磊)
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  11. Mark H. Rümmeli
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Contributions

Liu Y and Rümmeli MH contributed the central idea, and analyzed most of the data. Liu Y wrote the initial draft of the paper and revised the manuscript with support from all other authors. All authors contributed to the general discussion.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark H. Rümmeli.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Yu Liu is currently a postdoctoral in Professor Mark H. Rümmeli’s group at Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations (SIEMIs), Soochow University, China. Her research focuses on the characterization of 2D nanostructured materials using transmission electron microscopy.

Mark H. Rümmeli is a distinguished professor at SIEMIs, Soochow University, China, where his research group uses state-of-the-art transmission electron microscopy techniques to investigate novel 2D nanomaterials. He is also a professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, and a guest professor at Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW-Dresden), Germany. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), the Institute for Materials, Minerals, and Mining, and the Institute of Engineering and Technology (UK) and the Institute of Physics (UK).

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Liu, Y., Ta, H.Q., Yang, X. et al. Novel nanostructures suspended in graphene vacancies, edges and holes. Sci. China Mater. 66, 35–50 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-022-2180-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-022-2180-5

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