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Hauptverfasser: Wang, Wendong, Tainton, Gareth R. M, Clark, Nick, McHugh, James G., Li, Xue, Sullivan-Allsop, Sam, Hopkinson, David G., Cicvarek, Oldrich, Selles, Francisco, Zhang, Rui, Swindell, Joshua D., Summerfield, Alex, Lewis, David J., Falko, Vladimir I, Sofer, Zdenek, Haigh, Sarah J., Gorbachev, Roman
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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Online-Zugang:https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.19796
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author Wang, Wendong
Tainton, Gareth R. M
Clark, Nick
McHugh, James G.
Li, Xue
Sullivan-Allsop, Sam
Hopkinson, David G.
Cicvarek, Oldrich
Selles, Francisco
Zhang, Rui
Swindell, Joshua D.
Summerfield, Alex
Lewis, David J.
Falko, Vladimir I
Sofer, Zdenek
Haigh, Sarah J.
Gorbachev, Roman
author_facet Wang, Wendong
Tainton, Gareth R. M
Clark, Nick
McHugh, James G.
Li, Xue
Sullivan-Allsop, Sam
Hopkinson, David G.
Cicvarek, Oldrich
Selles, Francisco
Zhang, Rui
Swindell, Joshua D.
Summerfield, Alex
Lewis, David J.
Falko, Vladimir I
Sofer, Zdenek
Haigh, Sarah J.
Gorbachev, Roman
contents Transition metal di-iodides such as FeI2, NiI2 and CoI2 are an emerging class of 2D magnets exhibiting rich and diverse magnetic behaviour, but their study at the monolayer limit has been severely hindered by fabrication challenges due to their air-sensitivity. Here, we introduce a polymer-free method for clean, rapid, and high-yield assembly of hermetically encapsulated suspended samples of air-sensitive monolayers. Applying it to di-iodides enables atomic resolution characterisation of thin samples - down to the monolayer limit - for the first time. Our imaging, combined with complementary first-principles calculations, reveals an unusually small energy barrier between alternate stable stacking polytypes in few-layer films, enabling extrinsic control of the stacking phase. We also observe stable isolated iodine vacancies that do not aggregate to form extended structures, and identify and verify the stability of the various edge configurations of thin samples. These results establish the unique structural characteristics of these materials in the thin limit, and more broadly demonstrate the utility of our transfer platform for creating atomically clean suspended vdW heterostructures.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_19796
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Atomic imaging of 2D transition metal dihalides
Wang, Wendong
Tainton, Gareth R. M
Clark, Nick
McHugh, James G.
Li, Xue
Sullivan-Allsop, Sam
Hopkinson, David G.
Cicvarek, Oldrich
Selles, Francisco
Zhang, Rui
Swindell, Joshua D.
Summerfield, Alex
Lewis, David J.
Falko, Vladimir I
Sofer, Zdenek
Haigh, Sarah J.
Gorbachev, Roman
Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Transition metal di-iodides such as FeI2, NiI2 and CoI2 are an emerging class of 2D magnets exhibiting rich and diverse magnetic behaviour, but their study at the monolayer limit has been severely hindered by fabrication challenges due to their air-sensitivity. Here, we introduce a polymer-free method for clean, rapid, and high-yield assembly of hermetically encapsulated suspended samples of air-sensitive monolayers. Applying it to di-iodides enables atomic resolution characterisation of thin samples - down to the monolayer limit - for the first time. Our imaging, combined with complementary first-principles calculations, reveals an unusually small energy barrier between alternate stable stacking polytypes in few-layer films, enabling extrinsic control of the stacking phase. We also observe stable isolated iodine vacancies that do not aggregate to form extended structures, and identify and verify the stability of the various edge configurations of thin samples. These results establish the unique structural characteristics of these materials in the thin limit, and more broadly demonstrate the utility of our transfer platform for creating atomically clean suspended vdW heterostructures.
title Atomic imaging of 2D transition metal dihalides
topic Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.19796