Browsing by Author "Zhang, Zhuhua"

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    Defining shapes of two-dimensional crystals with undefinable edge energies
    (Springer Nature, 2022) Wang, Luqing; Shirodkar, Sharmila N.; Zhang, Zhuhua; Yakobson, Boris I.
    The equilibrium shape of crystals is a fundamental property of both aesthetic appeal and practical importance: the shape and its facets control the catalytic, light-emitting, sensing, magnetic and plasmonic behaviors. It is also a visible macro-manifestation of the underlying atomic-scale forces and chemical makeup, most conspicuous in two-dimensional (2D) materials of keen current interest. If the crystal surface/edge energy is known for different directions, its shape can be obtained by the geometric Wulff construction, a tenet of crystal physics; however, if symmetry is lacking, the crystal edge energy cannot be defined or calculated and thus its shape becomes elusive, presenting an insurmountable problem for theory. Here we show how one can proceed with auxiliary edge energies towards a constructive prediction, through well-planned computations, of a unique crystal shape. We demonstrate it for challenging materials such as SnSe, which is of C2v symmetry, and even AgNO2 of C1, which has no symmetry at all.
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    Near-equilibrium growth from borophene edges on silver
    (AAAS, 2019) Zhang, Zhuhua; Mannix, Andrew J.; Liu, Xiaolong; Hu, Zhili; Guisinger, Nathan P.; Hersam, Mark C.; Yakobson, Boris I.
    Two-dimensional boron, borophene, was realized in recent experiments but still lacks an adequate growth theory for guiding its controlled synthesis. Combining ab initio calculations and experimental characterization, we study edges and growth kinetics of borophene on Ag(111). In equilibrium, the borophene edges are distinctly reconstructed with exceptionally low energies, in contrast to those of other two-dimensional materials. Away from equilibrium, sequential docking of boron feeding species to the reconstructed edges tends to extend the given lattice out of numerous polymorphic structures. Furthermore, each edge can grow via multiple energy pathways of atomic row assembly due to variable boron-boron coordination. These pathways reveal different degrees of anisotropic growth kinetics, shaping borophene into diverse elongated hexagonal islands in agreement with experimental observations in terms of morphology as well as edge orientation and periodicity. These results further suggest that ultrathin borophene ribbons can be grown at low temperature and low boron chemical potential.
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    Ultrafast probes of electron–hole transitions between two atomic layers
    (Springer Nature, 2018) Wen, Xiewen; Chen, Hailong; Wu, Tianmin; Yu, Zhihao; Yang, Qirong; Deng, Jingwen; Liu, Zhengtang; Guo, Xin; Guan, Jianxin; Zhang, Xiang; Gong, Yongji; Yuan, Jiangtan; Zhang, Zhuhua; Yi, Chongyue; Guo, Xuefeng; Ajayan, Pulickel M.; Zhuang, Wei; Liu, Zhirong; Lou, Jun; Zheng, Junrong
    Phase transitions of electron-hole pairs on semiconductor/conductor interfaces determine fundamental properties of optoelectronics. To investigate interfacial dynamical transitions of charged quasiparticles, however, remains a grand challenge. By employing ultrafast mid-infrared microspectroscopic probes to detect excitonic internal quantum transitions and two-dimensional atomic device fabrications, we are able to directly monitor the interplay between free carriers and insulating interlayer excitons between two atomic layers. Our observations reveal unexpected ultrafast formation of tightly bound interlayer excitons between conducting graphene and semiconducting MoSe2. The result suggests carriers in the doped graphene are no longer massless, and an effective mass as small as one percent of free electron mass is sufficient to confine carriers within a 2D hetero space with energy 10 times larger than the room-temperature thermal energy. The interlayer excitons arise within 1 ps. Their formation effectively blocks charge recombination and improves charge separation efficiency for more than one order of magnitude.