General synthesis of ionic-electronic coupled two-dimensional materials

Abstract

Abstract Two-dimensional (2D) AMX 2 compounds are a family of mixed ionic and electronic conductors (where A is a monovalent metal ion, M is a trivalent metal, and X is a chalcogen) that offer a fascinating platform to explore intrinsic coupled ionic-electronic properties. However, the synthesis of 2D AMX 2 compounds remains challenging due to their multielement characteristics and various by-products. Here, we report a separated-precursor-supply chemical vapor deposition strategy to manipulate the chemical reactions and evaporation of precursors, facilitating the successful fabrication of 20 types of 2D AMX 2 flakes. Notably, a 10.4 nm-thick AgCrS 2 flake shows superionic behavior at room temperature, with an ionic conductivity of 192.8 mS/cm. Room temperature ferroelectricity and reconfigurable positive/negative photovoltaic currents have been observed in CuScS 2 flakes. This study not only provides an effective approach for the synthesis of multielement 2D materials with unique properties, but also lays the foundation for the exploration of 2D AMX 2 compounds in electronic, optoelectronic, and neuromorphic devices.