Aqueous oxidation reaction enabled layer-by-layer corrosion of semiconductor nanoplates into single-crystalline 2D nanocrystals with single layer accuracy and ionic surface capping.

A controllable aqueous oxidation reaction enabled layer-by-layer corrosion has been proposed to prepare high-quality two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor nanocrystals with single layer accuracy and well-retained hexagonal shapes. The appropriate oxidizing agent, such as H2O2, Fe(NO3)3, and HNO3, could not only corrode the layered-crystalline-structured Bi2Te3 nanoplates layer-by-layer to be a single quintuple layer, but also replace the organic barriers to be ionic ligands on the surface synergistically. AFM analysis was used to confirm the layer-by-layer exfoliation from the side to the center. Together with precise XRD, LRTEM and HRTEM characterizations, the controllable oxidation reaction enabled aqueous layer-by-layer corrosion mechanism has been studied.