The discrete lattice constants and distinct chemical properties of different transition metal substrates hamper the systematic study of how the substrates can influence two-dimensional (2D) materials growth. The recent report of single-crystal epitaxial Ni-Pd alloy films with continuously tunable lattice constants open the possibilities to tackle this issue. Two-dimensional silica and transition-metal-doped silicate films prepared on metal substrates can be 2D analogues of porous bulk zeolites. In this research, 2D silica and Ni-silicate films were prepared on Ni_xPd_1-x (111) substrates under different growth conditions. After annealing in 2×10^-6 Torr oxygen, Ni from the alloy substrates incorporates into the silica structure to form a crystalline 2D Ni-silicate structure, while an amorphous 2D silica bilayer can be observed after being annealed in 4×10^-8 Torr oxygen. Density functional theory (DFT) was employed to model various silica and silicate phases on Ni_xPd_1-x (111) substrates. The results show that the 2D Ni-silicate films are thermodynamically stable on the substrates when the oxygen chemical potential is in the oxygen-rich range. In oxygen-deficient environments, 2D silica tends to form a stable Ni-free phase. With continuous control over the composition of NiPd alloy films, the surface strain applied on the Ni-silicate films through the lattice mismatch between the substrate and overlayer could also be continuously tuned. Only single-domain commensurate crystalline 2D Ni-silicate can be observed in zero or low-strain systems, while a second incommensurate crystalline domain which is rotated by 30° with respect to the commensurate domain can be observed when the lattice mismatch is over 1.85%.

Recently, the family of transition metal thiophosphates –exhibiting ferroelecric, antiferromagnetic and correlated electron ground states – have gained attention as possible control dielectrics for the rapidly growing family of 2D and quasi-2D electronic materials [1]. Being van-der-Waals crystals, the surfaces of these materials can be created without dangling bonds, unlike those of complex oxides. Yet, because of robust insulating properties, the structure of their surfaces, the role of disorder, the structure of the topological defects in the order parameter and many other properties directly relevant to their prospective interfaces is almost entirely unknown.

Here we present the first atomically resolved imaging of CuScP₂S₆ s carried out using cryogenic non-contact atomic force microscopy. The surface exhibits good crystalline ordering at the atomic scale, revealing contrast on sub-unit cell level. The most remarkable property is long-range commensurate modulation of the surface morphology, with a topographic amplitude of only 2-3 pm. Combined with XRD analysis of the bulk and Monte-Carlo simulation of the Ising model on triangular lattice, we propose that the modulation arises from antiferroelectric polarization domains, albeit with frustrated long-range order. The key structural ingredient for this state is centrosymmetric position of Sc³⁺ within the layer, which forces the surrounding displacing Cu+1 ions to adopt a frustrated antiferroelectric state - in direct analogy frustrated magnetic systems. We will further discuss the peculiarities of nc-AFM imaging of this materials from the statistical analysis of the variation of images between scan, as well as the force-distance curve arrays. The possibility to directly visualize polar order opens broad opportunities to understand the atomistic aspect of ferroelectric, glassy and incommensurate phases in this material class, beginning with CuInP₂S₆ – which exhibits Curie temperature ~315K and giant negative electrostriction [2]. Research was sponsored by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U. S. Department of Energy. Microscopy experiments were conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

[1] Susner Michael A., Chyasnavichyus Marius, McGuire Michael A., Ganesh Panchapakesan, and Maksymovych Petro, Advanced Materials 29, 1602852 (2017).

[2] S. M. Neumayer, E. A. Eliseev, M. A. Susner, A. Tselev, B. J. Rodriguez, S. Jesse, S. V. Kalinin, M. A. McGuire, A. N. Morozovska, P. Maksymovych, and N. Balke, ArXiv:1803.08142 [Cond-Mat] (2018).

Modern ARPES analyzers provide a high degree of parallelization in data acquisition, recording hundreds of energy and angle channels simultaneously. Additionally, integrated deflectors enable users to perform angle scanning perpendicular to the analyzer’s entrance slit to record (k_x, k_y, E) data sets without sample rotation. However, the design of conventional analyzers implies a limited acceptance angle and corresponding accessible momentum space volume. Due to the trade-off between acceptance angle and angle resolution multiple changes in sample position and lens modes are necessary during a typical high resolution ARPES experiment. The new KREIOS 150 Energy Analyzer uses an extractor zoom lens design to overcome these limitations.

This new lens provides a full solid acceptance angle with highest angular resolution. In contrast to standard ARPES measurements with conventional hemispherical analyzers, electronic structure data from and beyond the 1^st Brillouin zone is recorded without any sample movement. In addition the lens of such an instrument can work in a lateral imaging mode for microscopy as well. This enables navigation on the sample and reduces the size of the area under investigation in ARPES down to a few micrometers in diameter. This combination of large acceptance angle, high angular resolution and small acceptance area, makes this instrument the ideal tool for electronic structure studies on small samples or sample areas. The design is compact with a straight optical axis.

The capabilities of this instrument were tested at the UE 56/2 at the Bessy II synchrotron in Berlin. Specification tests show excellent angle and lateral resolution as well as small spot capability down to 2µm FOV. Subsequently real live samples like Graphene on Germanium were measured. Even on macroscopically rough surfaces like Graphene on NbSe₂ excellent ARPES and X-PEEM results could be obtained. By taking advantage of the small spot capability of the KREIOS 150 meaningful band structure data has been recorded on such patchy samples.

Clean water is a global challenge, and membrane filtration is a key technology to achieve it. Here, we report on carbon nanomembranes (CNMs) with sub-nanometer channels that prove to be excellent water filters, combining a high selectivity with an exceptionally high water permeance. The CNMs are fabricated via the cross-linking of terphenyl self-assembled monolayers [1], resulting in a ~1.2 nm thick membrane perforated by channels with diameters below ~0.7 nm and areal densities of ~10¹⁸m⁻². When tested as filter membranes, it was found that the CNMs efficiently block the passage of most gases and liquids [2]. However, water passes through, and it does this with a record-breaking permeance of ~1.1×10⁻⁴ mol·m⁻²·s⁻¹·Pa⁻¹. This suggests that water molecules translocate fast and cooperatively through the sub-nanometer channels.Assuming all channels in a TPT-CNMs are active in mass transport, we find a single-channel permeation of ~66 water molecules·s⁻¹·Pa⁻¹.We compare this with molecular transport through other carbon nanoconduits, such as carbon nanotubes or membrane proteins (aquaporins). As the fabrication of CNMs is scalable, their utilization opens a path towards the application of 2D-materials in energy-efficient water purification.

[1] A. Turchanin and A. Gölzhäuser: Carbon Nanomembranes, Adv. Mater. 2016,28, 6075.

[2] Y. Yang, P. Dementyev, N. Biere, D. Emmrich, P. Stohmann, R. Korzetz, X. Zhang, A. Beyer, S. Koch, D. Anselmetti, A. Gölzhäuser, ACS Nano, in press.

Vapor deposition of three-dimensional (3-D) crystal on a substrate often results in formation of the novel 2-D materials with intriguing electronic states. The approach has been well-known in the field of "Surface Science", which has attracted our attentions over the past decades. Triggered by fabrication of the graphene layers, researches on such monatomic sheets have extended to various kinds such as silicene, germanene and so on. Soft X-ray spectroscopies, such as photoemission spectroscopy, have been used to directly probe electronic states of monatomic layers and also to examine carrier dynamics under the operando condition. We recently observed Dirac Fermions in a 2-D boron sheet, borophene, that forms spontaneously on the Ag( 111) surface. Furthermore, we found pairing of the Dirac cones due to Moire-periodic perturbations of the overlayer-substrate interactions. In the Cu₂Si monolayer, we also discovered the 2-D Dirac nodal line fermions that are protected by the mirror reflection symmetry. In the presentation. I will describe details of our research on the novel 2-D Dirac materials and introduce the advanced soft X-ray techniques that reveal their functionalities for developing devices.

[1] B. Feng, IM et al.,Phys. Rev. Lett., 118, 096401 (2017) .

[2] B. Feng, IM et al.,Adv. Mater. 30, 1704025 (2018) .

[3] B. Feng, IM et al.,Nature Comm., 8, 1007 (2017) .