title: Atomically thin group v elemental films: theoretical investigations of antimonene allotropes.
abstract: Group V elemental monolayers including phosphorene are emerging as promising 2D materials with semiconducting electronic properties. Here, we present the results of first-principles calculations on stability, mechanical and electronic properties of 2D antimony (Sb), antimonene. Our calculations show that free-standing α and β allotropes of antimonene are stable and semiconducting. The α-Sb has a puckered structure with two atomic sublayers and β-Sb has a buckled hexagonal lattice. The calculated Raman spectra and STM images have distinct features thus facilitating characterization of both allotropes. The β-Sb has nearly isotropic mechanical properties, whereas α-Sb shows strongly anisotropic characteristics. An indirect-direct band gap transition is expected with moderate tensile strains applied to the monolayers, which opens up the possibility of their applications in optoelectronics.
authors.affiliation: †Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan 49931, United States.
authors.forename: Gaoxue
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: †Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan 49931, United States.
authors.forename: Ravindra
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.affiliation: ‡U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Weapons and Materials Research Directorate, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland 21005-5069, United States.
authors.forename: Shashi P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Karna
keywords: 2D materials; Raman spectra; STM; antimonene; electronic properties