Epitaxial binding and strain effects of monolayer stanene on the Al2O3(0001) surface

Abstract

Stanene, the two-dimensional (2D) monolayer form of tin, has been predicted to be a 2D topological insulator due to its large spin-orbit interaction. However, a clear experimental demonstration of stanene's topologically nontrivial properties has eluded observation, in part because of the difficulty of choosing a substrate on which stanene will remain topologically nontrivial. In this paper, we present first-principles density functional theory calculations of epitaxial monolayer stanene grown on the (0001) surface of alumina, ${\mathrm{Al}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$, as well as freestanding decorated stanene under strain. By describing the energetics and nature of how monolayer stanene binds to alumina, we show a strong energetic drive for the monolayer to be coherently strained and epitaxial to the substrate. By analyzing the electronic structure of strained stanene, we find it to be a quantum spin Hall insulator on ${\mathrm{Al}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$. We also describe the effect of in situ fluorine decoration on the bound stanene monolayer, including on its potential for mechanical exfoliation.