Electromechanical and photoelectric properties of a novel semiconducting Janus InGaSSe monolayer

Abstract

In recent years, Janus two-dimensional (2D) materials have received extensive research interests because of their outstanding electronic, mechanical, electromechanical, and optoelectronic properties. In this work, we explore the structural, electromechanical, and optoelectronic properties of a novel hypothesized Janus InGaSSe monolayer by means of first-principles calculations. It is confirmed that the Janus InGaSSe monolayer indeed show extraordinary charge transport properties with intrinsic electron mobility of 48 139 cm2/(V·s) and hole mobility of 16 311 cm2/(V·s). Both uniaxial and biaxial strains can effectively tune its electronic property. Moreover, the Janus InGaSSe monolayer possesses excellent piezoelectric property along both in-plane and out-of-plane directions. The results of this work imply that the Janus InGaSSe monolayer is in fact an efficient photocatalyst candidate, and may provide useful guidelines for the discovery of other new 2D photocatalytic and piezoelectric materials.