Identifying two-dimensional layered materials in the monolayer limit has led to discoveries of numerous new phenomena and unusual properties. We introduced elemental silicon during chemical vapor deposition growth of nonlayered molybdenum nitride to passivate its surface, which enabled the growth of centimeter-scale monolayer films of MoSi₂N₄. This monolayer was built up by septuple atomic layers of N-Si-N-Mo-N-Si-N, which can be viewed as a MoN2layer sandwiched between two Si-N bilayers. This material exhibited semiconducting behavior (bandgap ~1.94 electron volts), high strength (~66 gigapascals), and excellent ambient stability. Density functional theory calculations predict a large family of such monolayer structured two-dimensional layered materials, including semiconductors, metals, and magnetic half-metals.

Fig. 1.The structure and properties of 2D layered MoSi₂N₄ material.