High throughput investigation of an emergent and naturally abundant 2D material: Clinochlore

TL;DR

This study thoroughly investigates the structure, optical properties, and impurity effects of the naturally abundant 2D mineral clinochlore, highlighting its potential for nanoelectronic applications and the importance of defect engineering.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive experimental and theoretical analysis of clinochlore's properties and impurity effects, establishing a foundation for its use in 2D nanoelectronics.

Findings

Clinochlore can be exfoliated into few-layer 2D forms.

Impurities significantly influence its electronic and optical properties.

Surface quality and insulating behavior are crucial for device applications.

Abstract

Phyllosilicate minerals, which form a class of naturally occurring layered materials (LMs), have been recently considered as a low-cost source of two-dimensional (2D) materials. Clinochlore [Mg5Al(AlSi3)O10(OH)8] is one of the most abundant phyllosilicate minerals in nature, exhibiting the capability to be mechanically exfoliated down to a few layers. An important characteristic clinochlore is the natural occurrence of defects and impurities which can strongly affect their optoelectronic properties, possibly in technologically interesting ways. In the present work, we carry out a thorough investigation of the clinochlore structure on both bulk and 2D exfoliated forms, discussing its optical features and the influence of the insertion of impurities on its macroscopic properties. Several experimental techniques are employed, followed by theoretical first-principles calculations considering several types of naturally-ocurring transition metal impurities in the mineral lattice and their effect on electronic and optical properties. We demonstrate the existence of requirements concerning surface quality and insulating properties of clinochlore that are mandatory for its suitable application in nanoelectronic devices. The results presented in this work provide important informations for clinochlore potential applications and establish a basis for further works that intend to optimize its properties to relevant 2D technological applications through defect engineering.