Ag atoms have been deposited on 3  ×  3 silicene and  √3  ×  √3 silicene films by molecular beam epitaxy method in ultrahigh vacuum. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, we found that Ag atoms do not form chemical bonds with both 3  ×  3 silicene and  √3  ×  √3 silicene films, which is due to the chemically inert surface of silicene. On 3  ×  3 silicene films, Ag atoms mo...

On the basis of first-principles calculations, we demonstrate the potential application of silicene as a highly sensitive molecule sensor for NH3, NO, and NO2 molecules. NH3, NO and NO2 molecules chemically adsorb on silicene via strong chemical bonds. With distinct charge transfer from silicene to molecules, silicene and chemisorbed molecules form charge-transfer complexes. The adsorption ener...

Absence of the Dirac cone due to a strong band hybridization is revealed to be a common feature for epitaxial silicene on metal substrates according to our first-principles calculations for silicene on Ir, Cu, Mg, Au, Pt, Al, and Ag substrates. The destroyed Dirac cone of silicene, however, can be effectively restored with linear or parabolic dispersion by intercalating alkali metal atoms betwe...

In the search for evidence of silicene, a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of silicon, it is important to obtain a complete picture for the evolution of Si structures on Ag(111), which is believed to be the most suitable substrate for growth of silicene so far. In this work we report the finding and evolution of several monolayer superstructures of silicon on Ag(111), depending on the coverage...

Based on first principles calculations and self-consistent solution of the linearized Boltzmann-Peierls equation for phonon transport approach within a three-phonon scattering framework, we characterize lattice thermal conductivities k of freestanding silicene, germanene and stanene under different isotropic tensile strains and temperatures. We find a strong size dependence of k for silicene wi...

Silicene is a monolayer allotrope of silicon atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure with massless Dirac fermion characteristics similar to graphene. It merits development of silicon-based multifunctional nanoelectronic and spintronic devices operated at room temperature because of strong spin-orbit coupling. Nevertheless, until now, silicene could only be epitaxially grown on conductive substr...

Silicene, the all-Si analogue of graphene, is symmetrically buckled in each of the six-membered units and this buckling is periodically translated across the surface. Raman spectra of silicene clusters were calculated using first principles DFT methods to explore the intrinsic buckling in silicene. The presence of metal clusters as a tip over the silicene units affects the intensity of the buck...

Silicene, the considered equivalent of graphene for silicon, has been recently synthesized on Ag(111) surfaces. Following the tremendous success of graphene, silicene might further widen the horizon of two-dimensional materials with new allotropes artificially created. Due to stronger spin-orbit coupling, lower group symmetry and different chemistry compared to graphene, silicene presents many ...

By performing density functional theory (DFT)-based calculations, the performance of α-silicene as oxidation-resistant coating on Ag(111) surface is investigated. First of all, it is shown that the Ag(111) surface is quite reactive against O atoms and O2 molecules. It is known that when single-layer silicene is formed on the Ag(111) surface, the 3 × 3-reconstructed phase, α-silicene, is the gro...

An alternative approach for hydrogenation of silicene is proposed through applying an external electric field in order to reduce the reaction energy barrier based on density functional theory calculations. It is found that a positive perpendicular electric field F can act as a catalyst to reduce the energy barrier of H2 dissociative adsorption on silicene, which facilitates the hydrogenation of...