Jingxian Zhong, Dawei Zhou, Qi Bai, Chao Liu, Xinlian Fan, Hehe Zhang, Congzhou Li, Ran Jiang, Peiyi Zhao, Jiaxiao Yuan, Xiaojiao Li, Guixiang Zhan, Hongyu Yang, Jing Liu, Xuefen Song, Junran Zhang, Xiao Huang, Chao Zhu, Chongqin Zhu, Lin Wang
Conventional liquid-phase methods lack precise control in synthesizing and processing materials with macroscopic sizes and atomic thicknesses. Water interfaces are ubiquitous and unique in catalyzing many chemical reactions. However, investigations on two-dimensional (2D) materials related to water interfaces remain limited. Here we report the growth of millimeter-sized 2D PbI2 single crystals at the water-air interface. The growth mechanism is based on an inherent ion-specific preference, i.e. iodine and lead ions tend to remain at the water-air interface and in bulk water, respectively...
April 12, 2024: Nature Communications