Protocol for preparing layer-engineered van der Waals materials through atomic spalling

Ji-Yun Moon; Seung-Il Kim; Mukkath Joseph Josline; Chan Young Kim; Jin Su Kim; Ina Kim; Euna Jung; Jae-Hyun Lee

doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102228

Protocol for preparing layer-engineered van der Waals materials through atomic spalling

STAR Protoc. 2023 Apr 17;4(2):102228. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102228. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ji-Yun Moon¹, Seung-Il Kim¹, Mukkath Joseph Josline², Chan Young Kim³, Jin Su Kim³, Ina Kim⁴, Euna Jung³, Jae-Hyun Lee⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Energy Systems Research, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea.
² Department of Energy Systems Research, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea.
³ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea.
⁴ Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, Kyonggi University, Suwon 16227, Korea.
⁵ Department of Energy Systems Research, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea. Electronic address: jaehyunlee@ajou.ac.kr.

Abstract

Here, we present a protocol for preparing layer-engineered van der Waals (vdW) materials via an atomic spalling process. We describe steps for fixing bulk crystals and introduce the appropriate stressor materials. We then detail a deposition technique for internal stress regulation of stressor film, followed by layer-engineered atomic-scale spalling to exfoliate vdW materials with a controlled number of layers from bulk crystals. Lastly, we outline a procedure for polymer/stressor film removal. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Moon et al.¹.

Keywords: Material Sciences; Physics.