Stoichiometry-engineered phase transition in a two-dimensional binary compound
Due to complex thermodynamic and kinetic mechanism, phase engineering in nanomaterials is often limited by restricted phases and small-scale synthesis, hindering material diversity and scalability. Here, we demonstrate the exploration to unlock the stoichiometry as a degree of freedom for phase engineering in the Pd-Te binary compound. By reducing diffusion rates, we effectively engineer the stoichiometry of the reactants. We visualize the kinetic process, showing the stoichiometry transition from Pd<sub>10</sub>Te<sub>3</sub> to PdTe<sub>2</sub> through a sequential multi-step nucleation process. In total, five distinct phases are identified, demonstrating the potential to enhance phase diversity by fine-tuning stoichiometry. By controlling spatially uniform nucleation and halting the phase transition at precise points, we achieve stoichiometry-controllable wafer-scale growth. Notably, four of these phases exhibit superconducting properties. Our findings offer insights into the mechanism of phase transition through stoichiometry engineering, enabling the expansion of the phase library in nanomaterials and advancing scalable applications.
Authors
- Zhihui Ren
- Ze Hua (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1681-263X)
- Pingfan Gu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4203-794X)
- Caizhen Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6854-116X)
- Yeliang Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8896-0748)
- Mengting Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7583-7970)
- Yuan Bo Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7005-1319)
- Roger Guzmán (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5580-0043)
- Decheng Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3162-9181)
- Ruiwen Shao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3082-0486)
- Wu Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6803-1095)
- Yu Ye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6046-063X)
- Hui Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0315-7989)
- Yiming Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8370-5529)
- Xiaolong Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2657-9658)
- Shiqi Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3235-8974)
Institutions
- Beijing Institute of Technology (CN)
- Peking University (CN)
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures (CN)
- Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Beijing Advanced Sciences and Innovation Center (CN)
- Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-05-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59429-3
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.07
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Beijing Institute of Technology
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities