Edge-Mediated Charge Deposition at 2D Contact.

Electrical charge deposition modulates carrier mobility in electronic devices and governs interfacial processes such as frictional energy dissipation and triboelectric power generation. Selective charge deposition on 2D materials enables logic and memory functions, but controlling charge transfer and trapping remains a challenge. Here, we report an unconventional contact electrification mechanism activated at a sliding structural superlubric interface between highly ordered pyrolytic graphite and h-BN.

On-Device Pressure-Tunable Moving Schottky Contacts.

Contact engineering enhances electronic device performance and functions but often involves costly, inconvenient fabrication and material replacement processes. We develop an , reversible, full-device-scale approach to reconfigurable 2D van der Waals contacts. Ideal p-type Schottky contacts free from surface dangling bonds and Fermi-level pinning are constructed at structurally superlubric graphite-MoS interfaces.

Robust structural superlubricity under gigapascal pressures.

Structural superlubricity (SSL) is a state of contact with no wear and ultralow friction. SSL has been characterized at contact with van der Waals (vdW) layered materials, while its stability under extreme loading conditions has not been assessed. By designing both self-mated and non-self-mated vdW contacts with materials chosen for their high strengths, we report outstanding robustness of SSL under very high pressures in experiments.

Vertical strain engineering of Van der Waals heterostructures.

Van der Waals materials and their interfaces play critical roles in defining electrical contacts for nanoelectronics and developing vehicles for mechanoelectrical energy conversion. In this work, we propose a vertical strain engineering approach by enforcing pressure across the heterostructures. First-principles calculations show that the in-plane band structures of 2D materials such as graphene, h-BN, and MoSas well as the electronic coupling at their contacts can be significantly modified.