title: Modifying the interlayer interaction in layered materials with an intense IR laser.
abstract: We propose a transient interlayer compression in two-dimensional compound materials by using an intense IR laser resonant with the out-of-plane optical phonon mode (A(2u) mode). As a test case, we studied bilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), which is one of the compound layered materials. Excited state molecular dynamics calculations using time-dependent density functional theory show an 11.3% transient interlayer contraction of h-BN due to an interlayer dipole-dipole attraction of the laser-pumped A(2u) mode. These results are applicable to other layered compound materials. Such layered materials are a good material for nanospace chemistry, e.g., intercalating molecules and acting with them, and IR irradiation to contract the interlayer distance could provide a new route for chemical reactions under pressure. The duration of the contraction is at least 1 ps in the current simulation, which is observable by high-speed electron-beam diffraction measurements.
authors.affiliation: Nanosystem Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 2, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.affiliation: College of Physical Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Nanosystem Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 2, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.
authors.forename: Takehide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany.|Nano-Bio Spectroscopy group and European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility (ETSF), Universidad del País Vasco CFM CSIC-UPV/EHU-MPC DIPC, 20018 San Sebastian, Spain.
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rubio