Self-Assembled Moiré Superstructure of MXene

The presence of nanoscale periodic moiré superlattices within two-dimensional heterostructures offers a chance to manipulate new electronic and atomic characteristics that are not present in their 2D and bulk counterparts.^1–5 Nonetheless, a detailed understanding of the atomically reconstructed moiré superlattice and the resulting novel electronic structure on the microscopic level is currently lacking. This understanding is crucial for gaining fundamental knowledge and mastery over the interconnected moiré phenomena. In this study, we rigorously examine and compare the self-assembled moiré superlattices of the novel 2D material MXene through experimental scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy findings with <i>ab initio</i> simulations of MXene's moiré superlattices. We examined three distinct self-assembled moiré patterns with wavelengths approximately around 1.12 nm, 2.17 nm, and 2.32nm. Our findings reveal that the moiré potential exhibits a non-monotonic behavior concerning moiré periods on the valence band side. Our research establishes a fresh groundwork for delving deeper into the exploration of unique correlated phases within MXene.<br/><br/>1. Bistritzer, R. & MacDonald, A. H. Moiré bands in twisted double-layer graphene. <i>Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.</i> <b>108</b>, 12233–12237 (2011).<br/>2. Geim, A. K. & Grigorieva, I. V. Van der Waals heterostructures. <i>Nature</i> <b>499</b>, 419–425 (2013).<br/>3. Novoselov, K. S., Mishchenko, A., Carvalho, A. & Castro Neto, A. H. 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures. <i>Science (80).</i> <b>353</b>, aac9439 (2016).<br/>4. Dean, C. R. <i>et al.</i> Hofstadter’s butterfly and the fractal quantum Hall effect in moiré superlattices. <i>Nature</i> <b>497</b>, 598–602 (2013).<br/>5. Cao, Y. <i>et al.</i> Unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle graphene superlattices. <i>Nature</i> <b>556</b>, 43–50 (2018).