Atomic Scale Tracking of Single Layer Oxide Formation: Self‐Peeling and Phase Transition in Solution

Abstract

Abstract Liquid phase electron microscopy (TEM) is used to track the formation of In 2 O 3 ultrathin nanosheet in solution at atomic scale. This observation reveals that the formation of few atomic layer nanosheet goes through a complicated phase transition process from InCl 3 . 3H 2 O to In(OH) 3 and then to In 2 O 3 . Interestingly, the intermediate InCl 3 . 3H 2 O nanosheet can grow via either layer by layer or the strain‐driven enation growth from precursor solution. Moreover, in situ TEM results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the oleylamine is responsible for the self‐peeling process. These findings can provide atomic‐level insight for the understanding of how 2D nanomaterial grows and transforms in solution.