Two-dimensional (2D) metal nitrides have garnered significant interest due to their potential applications in future electronics and quantum systems. However, the synthesis of such materials with sufficient uniformity and at relevant scales remains an unaddressed challenge. This study demonstrates the potential of confined growth to control and enhance the morphology of 2D metal nitrides. By restricting the reaction volume of vapor–liquid–solid reactions, an enhanced precursor concentration was achieved that reduces the nucleation density, resulting in larger grain sizes and suppression of multilayer growth. Detailed characterization reveals the importance of balancing the energetic and kinetic aspects of tungsten nitride formation toward this ability. The introduction of a promoter enabled the realization of large-scale, single-layer tungsten nitride with a uniform and high interfacial quality. Finally, our advance in morphology control was applied to the production of edge-enriched 2D tungsten nitrides with significantly enhanced hydrogen evolution ability, as indicated by an unprecedented Tafel slope of 55 mV/dec.

中文翻译：

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单层二维氮化钨的受限 VLS 生长


二维（2D）金属氮化物因其在未来电子和量子系统中的潜在应用而引起了人们的极大兴趣。然而，以足够的均匀性和相关规模合成此类材料仍然是一个尚未解决的挑战。这项研究证明了限制生长控制和增强二维金属氮化物形态的潜力。通过限制气-液-固反应的反应体积，可以提高前体浓度，从而降低成核密度，从而产生更大的晶粒尺寸并抑制多层生长。详细的表征揭示了平衡氮化钨形成的能量和动力学方面对于这种能力的重要性。促进剂的引入使得能够实现具有均匀且高界面质量的大尺寸、单层氮化钨。最后，我们在形貌控制方面的进展应用于边缘富集的二维氮化钨的生产，其析氢能力显着增强，史无前例的 55 mV/dec 塔菲尔斜率表明了这一点。