High-Pressure Synthesis of Dirac Materials: Layered van der Waals Bonded BeN4 Polymorph

Abstract

High-pressure chemistry is known to inspire the creation of unexpected new classes of compounds with exceptional properties. Here, we employ the laser-heated diamond anvil cell technique for synthesis of a Dirac material BeN4. A triclinic phase of beryllium tetranitride tr-BeN4 was synthesized from elements at ∼85 GPa. Upon decompression to ambient conditions, it transforms into a compound with atomic-thick BeN4 layers interconnected via weak van der Waals bonds and consisting of polyacetylene-like nitrogen chains with conjugated π systems and Be atoms in square-planar coordination. Theoretical calculations for a single BeN4 layer show that its electronic lattice is described by a slightly distorted honeycomb structure reminiscent of the graphene lattice and the presence of Dirac points in the electronic band structure at the Fermi level. The BeN4 layer, i.e., beryllonitrene, represents a qualitatively new class of 2D materials that can be built of a metal atom and polymeric nitrogen chains and host anisotropic Dirac fermions. © 2021 American Physical Society.