In-situ topotactic chemical reaction for spectroscopies

TL;DR

This review discusses how in-situ topotactic chemical reactions enable the transformation of crystalline phases while preserving structural frameworks, facilitating the study of exotic quantum states via advanced spectroscopic techniques.

Contribution

It highlights recent progress in combining topotactic reactions with surface-sensitive spectroscopies to explore and manipulate quantum phases in thin film materials.

Findings

Control of topological phases achieved

Emergence of 2D superconductivity observed

Realization of 2D ferromagnetism

Abstract

Topotactic chemical reaction (TCR) is a chemical process that transforms one crystalline phase to another while maintaining one or more of the original structural frameworks, typically induced by the local insertion, removal, or replacement of atoms in a crystal. The utilization of TCR in atomic-layer materials and surfaces of bulk crystals leads to exotic quantum phases, as highlighted by the control of topological phases, the emergence of two-dimensional (2D) superconductivity, and the realization of 2D ferromagnetism. Advanced surface-sensitive spectroscopies such as angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) are leading techniques to visualize the electronic structure of such exotic states and provide us a guide to further functionalize material properties. In this review article, we summarize the recent progress in this field, with particular emphasis on intriguing results obtained by combining spectroscopies and TCR in thin films.