Tunable Topological Energy Bands in 2D Dialkali-Metal Monoxides

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that monolayer dialkali-metal monoxides exhibit tunable topological phases, including Weyl and Dirac semimetals, which can be controlled via strain, offering a versatile platform for exploring 2D topological physics.

Contribution

It reveals that monolayer dialkali-metal monoxides host multiple topological phases that can be tuned by strain, introducing a new class of 2D materials with emergent fermions.

Findings

ML Na₂O is a 2D double Weyl semimetal

ML K₂O is a 2D pseudospin-1 metal

Strain induces quantum phase transitions among topological phases

Abstract

2D materials with nontrivial energy bands are highly desirable for exploring various topological phases of matter, as low dimensionality opens unprecedented opportunities for manipulating the quantum states. Here, it is reported that monolayer (ML) dialkali-metal monoxides, in the well-known 2H-MoS$_2$ type lattice, host multiple symmetry-protected topological phases with emergent fermions, which can be effectively tuned by strain engineering. Based on first-principles calculations, it is found that in the equilibrium state, ML Na$_2$O is a 2D double Weyl semimetal, while ML K$_2$O is a 2D pseudospin-1 metal. These exotic topological states exhibit a range of fascinating effects, including universal optical absorbance, super Klein tunneling, and super collimation effect. By introducing biaxial or uniaxial strain, a series of quantum phase transitions between 2D double Weyl semimetal, 2D Dirac semimetal, 2D pseudospin-1 metal, and semiconductor phases can be realized. The results suggest monolayer dialkali-metal monoxides as a promising platform to explore fascinating physical phenomena associated with novel 2D emergent fermions.