# Protective layer enhanced the stability and superconductivity of tailored antimonene bilayer

## TL;DR

This study predicts that electron doping and Ca-intercalation can induce superconductivity in antimonene bilayers, and demonstrates that protective layers like graphene and h-BN improve stability and raise the superconducting transition temperature to 9.6 K.

## Contribution

It introduces protective layers to enhance stability and superconductivity in antimonene bilayers, a novel approach for two-dimensional superconductors.

## Key findings

- Antimonene bilayers can become superconducting via doping and intercalation.
- Protective layers significantly improve stability in air.
- Superconducting transition temperature reaches 9.6 K.

## Abstract

For two-dimensional superconductors, the high stability in ambient conditions is critical for experiments and applications. Few-layer antimonene can be non-degradative over a couple of months, which is superior to the akin black phosphorus. Based on the anisotropic Migdal-Eliashberg theory and maximally-localised Wannier functions, this work predicts that electron-doping and Ca-intercalation can transform $\beta$-Sb bilayer from a semimetal to a superconductor. However, the stability of antimonene bilayer in air trends to be decreased due to the electron doping. To overcome this drawback, two kinds of protective layers (graphene and $h$-BN) are proposed to enhance the stability. Interestingly, the superconducting transition temperature will also be enhanced to $9.6$ K, making it a promising candidate as nanoscale superconductor.