Liquid phase exfoliation of novel 2D nanomaterials

Abstract

Over the past decade, there has been a wealth of research, into two dimensional (2D) layered nanomaterials. These materials have unique properties, that can only be realized when they are reduced to the nanoscale. Following reduction to the nanoscale, these materials have many applications which range from gas sensing, transistor technologies and energy storage devices. Several methods have been developed to produce 2D nanomaterials. Pioneering work from Coleman et al, showed that exfoliation of layered nanomaterials can be achieved using common organic solvents. This liquid based exfoliation technique has been shown to exfoliate layered materials such as; graphene, hexagonal boron nitride and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Although a wealth of research has been conducted, the extension to new layered nanomaterials had been slow. Current focus has continued to explore the exfoliation of novel layered materials. Presented in this work, is an extension ofthe liquid phase exfoliation methodology, as applied to novel layered materials such as; molybdenum trioxide (M0O3) and black phosphorus (BP).