Chemically identifying single adatoms with single-bond sensitivity during oxidation reactions of borophene

Linfei Li, Jeremy F. Schultz, Sayantan Mahapatra, Zhongyi Lu, Xu Zhang and Nan Jiang ()
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Linfei Li: University of Illinois Chicago
Jeremy F. Schultz: University of Illinois Chicago
Sayantan Mahapatra: University of Illinois Chicago
Zhongyi Lu: University of Illinois Chicago
Xu Zhang: California State University, Northridge
Nan Jiang: University of Illinois Chicago

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The chemical interrogation of individual atomic adsorbates on a surface significantly contributes to understanding the atomic-scale processes behind on-surface reactions. However, it remains highly challenging for current imaging or spectroscopic methods to achieve such a high chemical spatial resolution. Here we show that single oxygen adatoms on a boron monolayer (i.e., borophene) can be identified and mapped via ultrahigh vacuum tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (UHV-TERS) with ~4.8 Å spatial resolution and single bond (B–O) sensitivity. With this capability, we realize the atomically defined, chemically homogeneous, and thermally reversible oxidation of borophene via atomic oxygen in UHV. Furthermore, we reveal the propensity of borophene towards molecular oxygen activation at room temperature and phase-dependent chemical properties. In addition to offering atomic-level insights into the oxidation of borophene, this work demonstrates UHV-TERS as a powerful tool to probe the local chemistry of surface adsorbates in the atomic regime with widespread utilities in heterogeneous catalysis, on-surface molecular engineering, and low-dimensional materials.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29445-8

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