Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Technology, Electrochemistry, Engineering, Electrical & Electronic, Materials Science, Multidisciplinary, Engineering, Materials Science, 4008 Electrical engineering, 4017 Mechanical engineering, 4018 Nanotechnology

Abstract:

The electronic properties of two-dimensional hexagonal silicon (silicene) are investigated using first-principles simulations. Though silicene is predicted to be a gapless semiconductor, due to the sp 2-hybridization of the Si atoms, the weak overlapping between their 3p z orbitals leads to a very reactive surface, resulting in a more energetically stable semiconducting surface upon the adsorption of foreign chemical species. It is predicted that silicene inserted into a graphite-like lattice, like ultrathin AIN stacks, preserves its sp 2-hydridization, and hence its graphene-like electronic properties. ©The Electrochemical Society.