Indiene 2D monolayer: a new nanoelectronic material

Abstract

One atom thick monolayer nanostructures consisting of group III, IV and V elements are drawing ever more attention for their extraordinary electronic properties. Through first principles calculations, we systematically investigate structural and electronic properties of the corresponding indium monolayers in three different allotropic forms: planar, puckered and buckled. Our study shows that the planar and buckled allotropes are stable and show metallic and semiconducting behavior, respectively. Their stability and electronic properties cannot be easily correlated to those of similar elemental monolayer structures. The van Hove singularity is observed in the electronic density of states which could lead to an increase in the electronic conductivity, opening paths to new electronic applications. Strain engineering is applied in order to determine the changes in the electronic behavior and band gap properties. The planar allotrope remains metallic under both compressive and tensile strain, while the buckled allotrope changes from an indirect semiconductor to a metal. Our study demonstrates that the indiene nanostructures possess diverse electronic properties, tunable by strain engineering, which have potential applications in nanoelectronics and for nanodevices.