title: Searching for large-gap quantum spin hall insulators: boron-nitride/(Pb, Sn)/α-Al2O3sandwich structures.
abstract: Topological insulators hold great potential for efficient information processing and storage. Using density functional theory calculations, we predict that a honeycomb lead monolayer can be stabilized on an Al2O3(0001) substrate to become topologically non-trivial with a sizeable band gap (∼0.27 eV). Furthermore, we propose to use a hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) monolayer as a protection for the topological states of Pb/Al2O3and Sn/Al2O3. Our findings suggest new possibilities for designing and protecting two-dimensional TIs for practical applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4575, USA. wur@uci.edu and State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9972-2019
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4575, USA. wur@uci.edu and College of Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4575, USA. wur@uci.edu.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4575, USA. wur@uci.edu.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Pi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4575, USA. wur@uci.edu and State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: R Q
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6156-7874
authors.initials: RQ
authors.lastname: Wu