Issue 43, 2020

Distinctive stability of a free-standing monolayer clay mineral nanosheet via transmission electron microscopy

Abstract

Among 2D materials, clay mineral nanosheets have been extensively studied owing to their specific features, such as high surface charge and large surface area. Recently, we reported a stable free-standing (without any surfactants or matrices) monolayer clay mineral, characterized via annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (ADF-STEM) at the atomic-scale. Herein, we demonstrated that the monolayer clay mineral exhibited outstanding stability under electron beam irradiation compared to two- or three-layered nanosheets via electron diffraction analysis. In addition to its low thickness (∼1 nm-thick), the absence of an interlayer space was the critical factor contributing to the distinctive stability of the monolayer clay mineral, compared to that of the two- or three-layered clay mineral. The findings here inspire further investigation in free-standing clay mineral using (S)TEM and also for a wide variety of nanomaterials which are strongly hydrated.

Graphical abstract: Distinctive stability of a free-standing monolayer clay mineral nanosheet via transmission electron microscopy

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
04 Sep 2020
Accepted
08 Oct 2020
First published
08 Oct 2020

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2020,22, 25095-25102

Distinctive stability of a free-standing monolayer clay mineral nanosheet via transmission electron microscopy

I. Akita, Y. Ishida and T. Yonezawa, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2020, 22, 25095 DOI: 10.1039/D0CP04659K

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