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Piezoelectricity in two-dimensional group-III monochalcogenides

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Abstract

It is found that several layer-phase group-III monochalcogenides, including GaS, GaSe, and InSe, are piezoelectric in their monolayer form. First-principles calculations reveal that the piezoelectric coefficients of monolayer GaS, GaSe, and InSe (2.06, 2.30, and 1.46 pm·V™1) are of the same order of magnitude as previously discovered two-dimensional (2D) piezoelectric materials such as boron nitride (BN) and MoS2 monolayers. This study therefore indicates that a strong piezoelectric response can be obtained in a wide range of two-dimensional materials with broken inversion symmetry. The co-existence of piezoelectricity and superior photo-sensitivity in these monochalcogenide monolayer semiconductors means they have the potential to allow for the integration of electromechanical and optical sensors on the same material platform.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA

    Wenbin Li & Ju Li

  2. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA

    Ju Li

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  1. Wenbin Li
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Correspondence to Ju Li.

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Li, W., Li, J. Piezoelectricity in two-dimensional group-III monochalcogenides. Nano Res. 8, 3796–3802 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-015-0878-8

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