Author(s): Wu, JB (Wu, Jiangbin); Wang, N (Wang, Nan); Xie, YR (Xie, Ya-Ru); Liu, HF (Liu, Hefei); Huang, XH (Huang, Xinghao); Cong, X (Cong, Xin); Chen, HY (Chen, Hung-Yu); Ma, JH (Ma, Jiahui); Liu, FX (Liu, Fanxin); Zhao, HB (Zhao, Hangbo); Zhang, J (Zhang, Jun); Tan, PH (Tan, Ping-Heng); Wang, H (Wang, Han)

Source: NANO LETTERS DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c03394 Early Access Date: NOV 2022

Abstract: In high-performance flexible and stretchable electronic devices, conventional inorganic semiconductors made of rigid and brittle materials typically need to be configured into geometrically deformable formats and integrated with elastomeric substrates, which leads to challenges in scaling down device dimensions and complexities in device fabrication and integration. Here we report the extraordinary mechanical properties of the newly discovered inorganic double helical semiconductor tin indium phosphate. This spiral-shape double helical crystal shows the lowest Young's modulus (13.6 GPa) among all known stable inorganic materials. The large elastic (>27%) and plastic (>60%) bending strains are also observed and attributed to the easy slippage between neighboring double helices that are coupled through van der Waals interactions, leading to the high flexibility and deformability among known semiconducting materials. The results advance the fundamental understanding of the unique polymer-like mechanical properties and lay the foundation for their potential applications in flexible electronics and nanomedianics disciplines.

Accession Number: WOS:000879500000001

PubMed ID: 36321634

Author Identifiers:

Author        Web of Science ResearcherID        ORCID Number

Liu, Hefei                  0000-0001-6533-7112

Wu, Jiangbin                  0000-0002-8751-7082

ISSN: 1530-6984

eISSN: 1530-6992

Full Text: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c03394