The interested in two-dimensional (2-D) materials was sparked by the discovery of graphene in 2004 by Geim and Novosolev. Since then there have been numerous 2-D martials discovered by scientists, driven by their unique properties and potential applications. One sub-group of interesting 2-D materials that were discovered are inorganic molecular crystals (IMC). They are composed of small inorganic molecules which form clusters that are bonded via strong chemical bonds. These clusters form vertical layers in the bulk crystals which are bonded via weak van der waals forces. As a result of their molecular structure they can be facilely fabricated which exhibits appealing potential in integrated 2-D devices. In this presentation a general introduction on IMCs and an overview into the research in the field will be given followed by an in depth look into one IMC, Sb2O3, which was first discovered by Zhai et.al. in 2019.1

  1. Han, W., Huang, P., Li, L. et al. Two-dimensional inorganic molecular crystals. Nat Commun 10, 4728 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12569-9