One-Dimensional van der Waals Materials
The investigation of unique electrical, thermal and optical properties of graphene and two-dimensional van der Waals materials resulted in numerous exciting developments in fundamental science and practical applications. Now, a different class of materials, with one-dimensional (1D) motifs in their crystalline structures, is attracting a lot of attention. Machine learning studies suggest the existence of hundreds of 1D van der Waals materials with bandgaps ranging from metallic to insulating. Transition metal trichalcogenides (TMTs) are a prominent group of quasi-1D materials that consist of strongly bonded one-dimensional chains, which are weakly bonded to neighboring chains. Historically, TMTs have been extensively studied due to the existence of multiple, strongly correlated phases, such as charge density wave and superconducting phases. More recently, semiconducting and metallic TMTs have displayed robustness of their room temperature electrical conductivity to cross sectional scaling. This property is interesting for ultra-scaled FET and interconnect applications. Several 1D topological insulators and Weyl semimetals have been identified. This special topic will cover recent developments in the field of one-dimensional and quasi-one-dimensional van der Waals materials – TMTs and beyond – covering novel preparation techniques together with experimental and/or theoretical studies of their properties, theory developments, and prospective practical applications.
Topics covered include, but are not limited to:
- Study of TMTs and other van der Waals materials containing 1D motifs
- Machine learning and other innovative techniques prospecting for new quasi-1D van der Waals materials with properties relevant to applications
- Discovery and experimental investigation of novel quasi-1D van der Waals materials
- Applied physics aspects of strongly correlated phenomena in quasi-1D van der Waals materials
- Charge-density-waves and superconductivity in quasi-1D nanowires
- Physical properties of topological 1D materials towards application
- Downscaling from bundles of atomic chains to individual atomic chains of quasi-1D van der Waals materials
- Advancements in the theory of 1D van der Waals physical properties
- Device applications of 1D van der Waals materials, such as interconnects, information processing, and quantum computing
Guest Editors
Roger K. Lake, University of California, Riverside
Tina T. Salguero, University of Georgia
APL Editor
Alexander A. Balandin, University of California, Riverside