Ultrahigh anisotropic carrier mobility in ZnSb monolayers functionalized with halogen atoms

The experimental fabrication of novel two-dimensional ZnSb inspires us to explore the tunability of its fundamental physical properties. In this work, we present the density functional theory simulations on the mechanical, electronic and transport properties of the two-dimensional ZnSb monolayers functionalized with halogen atoms. It is found that the halogen atoms prefer to form ionic bonds with Sb atoms and these ZnSbX (X = Cl, Br and I) monolayers are very flexible with Young's moduli ranging from 24.02 N m(−1) to 30.16 N m(−1) along the armchair and zigzag directions. The pristine ZnSb monolayer sheet exhibits metallic phase while the functionalization can lead to a metal-to-semiconductor transition with band gaps as large as 0.55 eV. The transport study reveals a large tunability with the hole mobility reaching 43.44 × 10(3) cm(2) V(−1) s(−1) along the armchair direction and the electron mobility as high as 36.99 × 10(3) cm(2) V(−1) s(−1) along the zigzag direction. In contrast, the electron mobility along the armchair direction and the hole mobility along the zigzag direction are of relatively small magnitude. The ultrahigh carrier mobility together with the directional anisotropy can boost the separation of photo-excited electron–hole pairs. The finite band gaps and exceptional transport property of ZnSbX monolayers render them new materials with promising applications in flexible optoelectronic and nanoelectronic devices.