EurekAlert May 19, 2023
The effective application of 2D materials is strongly dependent on the mass production of high-quality large area 2D thin films. Researchers in Japan demonstrated a strategy for the automated manufacturing of high-quality 2D thin films using a modified drop-casting approach. They used an automated pipette to drop a dilute aqueous suspension onto a substrate heated on a hotplate, and controlled convection. Liquid removal caused the nanosheets to come together to form a tile-like monolayer film in 1–2 min. Ti0.87O2 nanosheets were utilized as a model system for investigating the control parameters such as concentrations, suction speeds, and substrate temperatures. They performed the automated one-drop assembly of a range of 2D nanosheets (metal oxides, graphene oxide, and hexagonal boron nitride) and successfully fabricated various functional thin films in multilayered, heterostructured, and sub-micrometer-thick forms. According to the researchers their deposition method enables on-demand large-size manufacturing of high-quality 2D thin films while reducing the time and sample consumption… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
High-quality 2D films could be one-drop away. Credit: Dr Minoru Osada