# Research Progress and Applications of 2D Antimonene
## 2 Theoretical Research and Experimental Methods
### Epitaxial Growth
#### 2.4.2 Preparation of Single-Layer Antimonene
Single-layer antimonene was synthesized by evaporation at 450 \({}^{\circ}\)C, deposition at room temperature under ultra-high vacuum, and annealing at 700 K. The lattice constant of antimonene synthesized on Cu(111) substrate is 4.45 A, while that of synthesized on Cu(110) substrate is 3.9 A. It is shown that the epitaxial growth of antimonene on different crystal faces on the same substrate can regulate the electronic properties of the film by the strain and stress induced by the substrate, and can regenerate antimonene from antimony-copper alloy. The hexagonal lattice of antimonene was detected by STM, but the defect density was high. Antimony-copper band gap was measured with STS, and its stability was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In the same year, they also prepared single-layer antimonene on Cu\({}_{3}\)O\({}_{2}\)/Cu substrate [56]. By evaporating Sb atoms, antimony was deposited at room temperature at a deposition rate of less than 0.1 mL/min and annealed at 550 K for 20 min. Figure 10: In situ LEEM/LEED observation of 2D Sb growth: (**a**) Effects of temperature and deposition rate on 2D Sb growth. In the low–flux zone, the deposition rates for each substrate temperature were F (T = 60 \({}^{\circ}\)C) = 2 Å/min, F (T = 200 \({}^{\circ}\)C) = 2 Å/min, and F (T = 270 \({}^{\circ}\)C) = 50 Å/min. In the high flux area, the deposition rate is F (T = 200 \({}^{\circ}\)C) = 10 Å/min, F (T = 270 \({}^{\circ}\)C) = 200 Å/min; (**b**) Typical post–growth LEED pattern (16 eV), showing Sb (red) and Ge (blue) spots; (**c**,**d**) 2D Sb growth snapshot; (**c**) = 280 \({}^{\circ}\)C, F = 50 Å/min and; (**d**) T = 325 \({}^{\circ}\)C, F = 200 Å/min; (**e**,**f**) signs of thermal decomposition. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [12]. Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society. [PERSON] et al. [17] synthesized antimonene with curved structure on Ag(111) substrate. Ag(111) substrate was first cleaned during Ar ion sputtering for 15 min, and then annealed at 780 K in growth chamber for 40 min. During the preparation process, the substrate temperature was kept at 375 K, and then annealed at 550 K for 60 min. Sb-Ag alloy was formed on the silver substrate, and then the curved honeycomb structure of antimonene was stably grown on the top of the surface of AgSb\({}_{2}\). The lattice constant of the epitaxial antimonene on the substrate is 5 A, which is greater than that of bulk Sb. It has been proved by experiments that antimonene epitaxial growth on the substrate with large lattice mismatch can achieve more than 20% tensile strain. What is more, antimonene at high tensile strain is particularly interesting because of its strong spin-orbit coupling effect. Since the bending degree of antimonene will have different effects on its corresponding electronic structure, [PERSON] et al. [57] studied the preparation of single-layer antimonene with three high bending on Ag(111) substrate in 2020. Firstly, by coating the surface of Ag(111) with Sb-Ag, the Sb crystal was evaporated at 320 \({}^{\circ}\)C onto the surface of Ag at 80 \({}^{\circ}\)C with deposition rate of 0.01 ML/min. STM images show that the antimony flocculation is disordered. During the secondary growth of Sb atoms, the disordered antimony clusters previously nucleated can further develop and form a triangular antimony island. During the subsequent growth of Sb atoms, the previously formed Sb\({}_{\rm x}\)Ag\({}_{\rm 1-x}\) alloy is gradually transformed into an ordered SbAg\({}_{2}\) alloy, and then the antimony with curved surface is formed on the surface of the alloy. The STM image resolves the atomic structure. Compared with [PERSON] et al. 's preparation of antimonene on silver substrate, this one has a different bending structure. It can be seen that the preparation of antimonene on the same substrate under different conditions will produce different electronic structures. In 2020, [PERSON] et al. [19] prepared single-layer antimonene with \(\alpha\)-phase with thickness of 6.8 A on SnSe substrate.